he sin of Israel and its punishment - Hosea 13

                      1 - When Ephraim spake, he trembled; was exalted in Israel; but he was guilty in Baal, and he died.
2 - And now they have multiplied sins, and have made a molten image of their molten image, idols according to their understanding, all the work of craftsmen, of which they say, The sacrificing men kiss the calves.
3 - Therefore they shall be as the cloud of the morning, and as the dew of the morning, which passeth by early; like a shale that the storm throws from the threshing floor, and like the smoke from the hearth.
4 - Nevertheless I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt; therefore you will not recognize another god besides me, because there is no Savior but me.
5 - I knew thee in the wilderness, in the very dry land.
6 - And they were filled in the measure of their pasture; being filled, his heart was puffed up, therefore they have forgotten me.
7 - I will be to them as a lion; like a leopard, I will look on the way.
8 As a bear robbed of her children I will find them, and break the webs of her heart, and devour them as a lion; the beasts of the field will tear them apart.
9 - O Israel, thou hast rebelled against me, even against thy help.
10 - Where is now thy king, that he may keep thee in all thy cities, and thy judges, of whom thou hast said, Give me king and princes?
11 - I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have brought him in my wrath.
12 - The iniquity of Ephraim is bound, his sin is stored.
13 The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon her; he is a foolish son; because it is time and it is not where it should come to light.
14 - I will redeem them out of the hand of hell, and will redeem them from the dead. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where is your perdition, O hell? Repentance is hidden from my eyes.
15 - Though it bears fruit among the brethren, the east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD, coming up out of the wilderness, and the spring thereof shall dry up, and the fountain shall dry up; he will plunder the treasure of all desirable vessels.
16 - And Samaria shall be desolate, because she hath rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword, their children shall be torn to pieces, and their pregnant women shall be split in pieces.