Hosea 13

Listen to Hosea 13

The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; 1he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt 2through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin more and more, and 3make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, 4all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, "Those who offer human sacrifice 5kiss calves!"
3 Therefore they shall be 6like the morning mist or 7like the dew that goes early away, 8like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or 9like smoke from a window.
4 But 10I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; 11you know no God but me, and 12besides me there is no savior.
5 13It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought;
6 14but when they had grazed,[a] they became full, 15they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; 16therefore they forgot me.
7 So 17I am to them like a lion; 18like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
8 I will fall upon them 19like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, 20as a wild beast would rip them open.
9 He destroys[b] you, O Israel, for you are against me, against 21your helper.
10 22Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers-- those of whom 23you said, "Give me a king and princes"?
11 24I gave you a king in my anger, and 25I took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is 26bound up; his sin is 27kept in store.
13 28The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself 29at the opening of the womb.
14 30Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? 31Shall I redeem them from Death? 32O 33Death, where are your plagues? 34O 35Sheol, where is your sting? 36Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Though 37he may flourish among his brothers, 38the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come, rising from the wilderness, 39and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip 40his treasury of every precious thing.
16 [c] Samaria 41shall bear her guilt, because 42she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; 43their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their 44pregnant women ripped open.

Cross References 44

  • 1. [Amos 6:13]
  • 2. See Hosea 11:2
  • 3. Hosea 2:8
  • 4. [Psalms 115:4; Isaiah 40:19, 20]
  • 5. [1 Kings 19:18; Job 31:26, 27]
  • 6. Hosea 6:4
  • 7. Hosea 6:4
  • 8. See Psalms 1:4
  • 9. See Psalms 68:2
  • 10. Hosea 12:9
  • 11. See Exodus 20:3
  • 12. Isaiah 43:11; Isaiah 45:21
  • 13. Deuteronomy 2:7; Amos 3:2
  • 14. [Hosea 4:7]
  • 15. Deuteronomy 8:12, 14; [Deuteronomy 32:15]
  • 16. Deuteronomy 8:12, 14; [Deuteronomy 32:15]
  • 17. Hosea 5:14
  • 18. Jeremiah 5:6
  • 19. 2 Samuel 17:8; Proverbs 17:12
  • 20. [Hosea 2:12]
  • 21. [Deuteronomy 33:26]
  • 22. [Hosea 8:4; Hosea 10:3]
  • 23. 1 Samuel 8:5, 19
  • 24. [1 Samuel 8:22]
  • 25. [1 Samuel 15:23]
  • 26. Job 14:17
  • 27. Job 14:17
  • 28. Isaiah 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:3
  • 29. [2 Kings 19:3]
  • 30. Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:12
  • 31. Isaiah 25:8; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37:12
  • 32. [1 Corinthians 15:55]
  • 33. [Ezekiel 14:21]
  • 34. [1 Corinthians 15:55]
  • 35. [Ezekiel 14:21]
  • 36. [Ezekiel 9:10]
  • 37. [Genesis 41:52]
  • 38. [Ezekiel 19:12; Jonah 4:8; Habakkuk 1:9]
  • 39. [Ezekiel 17:10]
  • 40. [Hosea 12:8]
  • 41. [Habakkuk 1:11]
  • 42. 2 Kings 18:12
  • 43. [Hosea 9:12; Hosea 10:14]
  • 44. [2 Kings 8:12; 2 Kings 15:16; Amos 1:13]

Footnotes 3

Hosea 13 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.