Hosea 13:1-8 ▼

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, But through Baal he incurred guilt and died.

2 And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves cast metal images, Idols skillfully made from their silver, All of them the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the people who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears, Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor, And like smoke from a chimney.

4 Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.

5 I cared for you in the wilderness, In the land of drought.

6 As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And as they became satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.

7 So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside.

8 I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs, And I will tear open their chests; I will also devour them there like a lioness, As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.