13:1 When Ephraim1 spoke,2 there was terror;3
he was exalted4 in Israel,
but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.
13:2 Even now they persist in sin!5
They make metal images for themselves,
idols that they skillfully fashion6 from their own silver;
all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen!
There is a saying about them:7
“Those who sacrifice8 to the calf idol are calf kissers!”9
13:3 Therefore they will disappear like10 the morning mist,11
like early morning dew that evaporates,12
like chaff that is blown away13 from a threshing floor,
like smoke that disappears through an open window.
Well-Fed Israel Will Be Fed to Wild Animals
13:4 But I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God except me;
there is no Savior except me.
13:5 I cared14 for you in the wilderness,
in the dry desert which had no water.15
13:6 When they were fed,16 they became satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;17
as a result, they forgot me!
13:7 So18 I will pounce on them like a lion;19
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.
Israel’s King Unable to Deliver the Nation
13:9 I will destroy you,20 O Israel!
Who21 is there to help you?
13:10 Where22 then is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities?
Where are23 your rulers for whom you asked, saying,
“Give me a king and princes”?
13:11 I granted24 you a king in my anger,
and I will take him away in my wrath.
Israel’s Punishment Will Not Be Withheld Much Longer
13:12 The punishment25 of Ephraim has been decreed,26
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!
The Lord Will Not Relent from the Threatened Judgment
13:14 Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not!27
Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not!
O Death, bring on your plagues!28
O Sheol, bring on your destruction!29
My eyes will not show any compassion!30
The Capital City of the Northern Empire Will Be Destroyed
13:15 Even though he flourishes like a reed plant,31
a scorching east wind will come,
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
As a result, his spring will dry up;32
his well will become dry.
That wind33 will spoil all his delightful foods
in the containers in his storehouse.
13:16 34 Samaria will be held guilty,35
because she rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
their infants will be dashed to the ground,
their36 pregnant women will be ripped open.
Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance