Hosea 13

The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

*[Amos 6:13] he was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt *See ch. 11:2through Baal and died.

2 And now they sin more and more,

and *ch. 2:8make for themselves metal images,

idols skillfully made of their silver,

*[Ps. 115:4;Isa. 40:19,20] all of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of them,

"Those who offer human sacrifice *[1 Kgs. 19:18;Job 31:26,27]kiss calves!"

3 Therefore they shall be *ch. 6:4like the morning mist

or *ch. 6:4like the dew that goes early away,

*See Ps. 1:4like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

or *See Ps. 68:2like smoke from a window.

4 But *ch. 12:9I am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

*See Ex. 20:3you know no God but me,

and *Isa. 43:11;45:21besides me there is no savior.

5 *Deut. 2:7;Amos 3:2It was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought;

6 *[ch. 4:7] but when they had grazed,*13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture they became full,

*Deut. 8:12,14;[Deut. 32:15]they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

*Deut. 8:12,14;[Deut. 32:15]therefore they forgot me.

7 So *ch. 5:14I am to them like a lion;

*Jer. 5:6like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

8 I will fall upon them *2 Sam. 17:8;Prov. 17:12like a bear robbed of her cubs;

I will tear open their breast,

and there I will devour them like a lion,

*[ch. 2:12]as a wild beast would rip them open.

9 He destroys*13:9 Or I will destroy you, O Israel,

for you are against me, against *[Deut. 33:26]your helper.

10 *[ch. 8:4;10:3] Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?

Where are all your rulers—

those of whom *1 Sam. 8:5,19you said,

"Give me a king and princes"?

11 *[1 Sam. 8:22] I gave you a king in my anger,

and *[1 Sam. 15:23]I took him away in my wrath.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is *Job 14:17bound up;

his sin is *Job 14:17kept in store.

13 *Isa. 13:8;1 Thess. 5:3The pangs of childbirth come for him,

but he is an unwise son,

for at the right time he does not present himself

*[2 Kgs. 19:3]at the opening of the womb.

14 *Isa. 25:8;26:19;Ezek. 37:12I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;

*Isa. 25:8;26:19;Ezek. 37:12I shall redeem them from Death.*13:14 Or Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death?

*[1 Cor. 15:55] O *[Ezek. 14:21] Death, where are your plagues?

*[1 Cor. 15:55] O *[Ezek. 14:21] Sheol, where is your sting?

*[Ezek. 9:10]Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

15 Though *[Gen. 41:52] he may flourish among his brothers,

*[Ezek. 19:12;Jonah 4:8;Hab. 1:9] the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,

rising from the wilderness,

*[Ezek. 17:10] and his fountain shall dry up;

his spring shall be parched;

it shall strip *[ch. 12:8]his treasury

of every precious thing.

16 * 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew Samaria *[Hab. 1:11] shall bear her guilt,

because *2 Kgs. 18:12she has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword;

*[ch. 9:12;10:14] their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

and their *[2 Kgs. 8:12;15:16;Amos 1:13]pregnant women ripped open.