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Hosea 13
Contemporary English Version
Hosea 13
Contemporary English Version
Israel Is Doomed
The Lord said:
13 When your leaders[a] spoke,
everyone in Israel trembled
and showed great respect.
But you sinned by worshiping Baal,
and you were destroyed.
2 Now you continue to sin
by designing and making
idols of silver
in the shape of calves.
You are told to sacrifice
to these idols[b]—
yes, even to kiss them.
3 And so, all of you will vanish
like the mist or the dew
of early morning,
or husks of grain in the wind
or smoke from a chimney.
4 I, the Lord, have been your God
since the time
you were in Egypt.
I am the only God you know,
the only one who can save.
5 (A) I took care of you
in a thirsty desert.[c]
6 I fed you till you were satisfied,
then you became proud
and forgot about me.
7 Now I will attack like a lion,
ambush you like a leopard,
8 and rip you apart like a bear
robbed of her cubs.
I will gnaw on your bones,
as though I were a lion
or some other wild animal.
9 Israel, you are done for.
Don't expect help from me.[d]
10 (B) You wanted a king and rulers.
Where is your king now?
What cities have rulers?
11 (C) In my anger, I gave you a king;
in my fury, I took him away.
Israel's Terrible Fate
The Lord said:
12 Israel, your terrible sins
are written down
and stored away.
13 You are like a senseless child
who refuses to be born
at the proper time.
14 (D) Should I, the Lord, rescue you
from death and the grave?
No! I call death and the grave
to strike you like a plague.
I refuse to show mercy.
15 No matter if you prosper
more than the other tribes,[e]
I, the Lord, will wipe you out,
just as a scorching desert wind
dries up streams of water.
I will take away
your precious treasures.
16 Samaria[f] will be punished
for turning against me.
It will be destroyed in war—
children will be beaten
against rocks,
and pregnant women
will be ripped open.
Footnotes
- 13.1 your leaders: The Hebrew text has “Ephraim,” here meaning Mount Ephraim, where the royal palace of Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) was located.
- 13.2 You are told … idols: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 13.5 thirsty desert: The 40 years that Israel wandered through the desert, after leaving Egypt.
- 13.9 Don't … me: Or “You are against me, the one who helps you.”
- 13.15 more … tribes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 13.16 Samaria: The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Hosea 13
New International Version
Hosea 13
New International Version
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(A)
he was exalted(B) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(C) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(D) idols for themselves from their silver,(E)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(F)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[a](G) calf-idols!(H)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(I)
like chaff(J) swirling from a threshing floor,(K)
like smoke(L) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(M)
You shall acknowledge(N) no God but me,(O)
no Savior(P) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(Q)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(R)
then they forgot(S) me.(T)
7 So I will be like a lion(U) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(V)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(W) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(X)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(Y) against your helper.(Z)
10 Where is your king,(AA) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(AB)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(AC)
and in my wrath I took him away.(AD)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(AE)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(AF) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(AG) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(AH)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(AI)
I will redeem them from death.(AJ)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(AK)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(AL) among his brothers.
An east wind(AM) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(AN)
His storehouse will be plundered(AO)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(AP) must bear their guilt,(AQ)
because they have rebelled(AR) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(AS)
their little ones will be dashed(AT) to the ground,
their pregnant women(AU) ripped open.”[b]
Footnotes
- Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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