| 13:1 | When Ephraim* spoke,* there was terror;* he was exalted* in Israel, but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died. |
| 13:2 | Even now they persist in sin!* They make metal images for themselves, idols that they skillfully fashion* from their own silver; all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen! There is a saying about them:* “Those who sacrifice* to the calf idol are calf kissers!”* |
| 13:3 | Therefore they will disappear like* the morning mist,* like early morning dew that evaporates,* like chaff that is blown away* from a threshing floor, like smoke that disappears through an open window. |
| 13:4 | But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior. |
| 13:5 | I cared* for you in the wilderness, in the dry desert where no water was.* |
| 13:6 | When they were fed,* they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud;* as a result, they forgot me! |
| 13:7 | So* I will pounce on them like a lion;* like a leopard I will lurk by the path. |
| 13:8 | I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs – I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion – like a wild animal would tear them apart. |
| 13:9 | I will destroy you,* O Israel! Who* is there to help you? |
| 13:10 | Where* then is your king, that he may save you in all your cities? Where are* your rulers for whom you asked, saying, “Give me a king and princes”? |
| 13:11 | I granted* you a king in my anger, and I will take him away in my wrath! |
| 13:12 | The punishment* of Ephraim has been decreed;* his punishment is being stored up for the future. |
| 13:13 | The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb! |
| 13:14 | Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not!* Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues!* O Sheol, bring on your destruction!* My eyes will not show any compassion!* |
| 13:15 | Even though he flourishes like a reed plant,* a scorching east wind will come, a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert. As a result, his spring will dry up;* his well will become dry. That wind* will spoil all his delightful foods in the containers in his storehouse. |
| 13:16 | * Samaria will be held guilty,* because she rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their infants will be dashed to the ground – their* pregnant women will be ripped open. |
Hosea 13 - NET Bible [draft]
