13:1 When Ephraim 1 spoke, 2 there was terror; 3
he was exalted 4 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 fashion 6 from their own silver;
all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen!
There is a saying about them: 7
“Those who sacrifice 8 to the calf idol are calf kissers!” 9
13:3 Therefore they will disappear like 10 the morning mist, 11
like early morning dew that evaporates, 12
like chaff that is blown away 13 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 14 for you in the wilderness,
in the dry desert where no water was. 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 So 18 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.
13:9 I will destroy you, 20 O Israel!
Who 21 is there to help you?
13:10 Where 22 then is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities?
Where are 23 your rulers for whom you asked, saying,
“Give me a king and princes”?