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MOF HOS Chapter 13

◄ HOS 13 ► ║ ©

13 Whenever Ephraim spoke, men were in awe;

he was a prince in Israel.

But then he worshipped Baal,

and for his guilt he died.

2 And still they go on sinning,

making metal gods of silver,

idols in human form,

the craftsman’s work–

and these they call their “gods”!

And men at a sacrifice,

men offer kisses to calves!

3 Therefore shall they melt away like morning-clouds,

like dew that disappears so soon,

like chaff blown from a threshing-floor,

like smoke out of a lattice.

4 Yet it was I, the Eternal, your God,

who brought you out of Egypt;

you have known no God but me,

there is no other saviour;

5 ’twas I who shepherded you in the desert,

in that houseless land.

6 They fed and filled themselves,

then they grew proud

and they forgot me.

7 So I was a lion to them,

I leapt like a leopard on their path,

8 I sprang at them like a bear robbed of its whelps,

and tore their breast open;

I crunched them like lions,

and worried them like wild beasts.

9 I will destroy you, Israel,

and who can bring you help?

10 Where is your king now to save you,

where are your rulers, to uphold your cause?–

those of whom you said,

“Give us kings and rulers.”

11 Kings I give you in my anger,

and remove them in my wrath.

12 Ephraim’s iniquity is carefully collected,

his sin is kept in store for him.

13 The pangs of childbirth are here,

but a senseless babe is he,

he will not come to the womb’s mouth

at the right moment.

14 Am I to save them from Death-land?

am I to rescue them from death?

Nay, come, death, with your plagues!

Come, Death-land, with your pestilence!

I have no thought of relenting.

15 Though he flourish like the reed-plant in the water,

a wind blows from the east, a wind of the Eternal,

driving up from the desert,

till his fountains are dry,

and his springs are parched;

he shall be stripped of his wealth,

of all his costly treasures.

16 Samaria must suffer for her guilt,

for she rebelled against her God;

her citizens shall be cut down,

their children shall be dashed in pieces,

their women with child shall be ripped open.

◄ HOS 13 ► ║ ©

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