Hosea 13

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 (14:1) 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.