The judgments of God upon Israel for their sins. Christ shall one day redeem them.

¹ While Ephraim was speaking, a horror entered Israel, and he offended by Baal, and he died.

² And now they add that they will be sinning more. And they have made themselves an image cast from their silver, just like the image of idols; but the whole thing has been made by craftsmen. These say to them, “Sacrifice men, you who adore calves.”

³ For this reason, they will be like the morning clouds, and like the morning dew that passes away, just like the dust that is driven by a whirlwind away from the threshing floor, and like the smoke from a chimney.

⁴ But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, and you will not know God apart from me, and there is no Savior except me.

⁵ I knew you in the desert, in the land of solitude.

⁶ According to their pastures, they have been filled up and have been satisfied. And they have lifted up their heart, and they have forgotten me.¹

1. 13:6Or, ‘and they have been neglectful of me.’(Conte)

⁷ And I will be to them like a lioness, like a leopard in the way of the Assyrians.

⁸ I will run to meet them like a bear that has been robbed of her young, and I will split open the middle of their liver. And I will devour them there like a lion; the beast of the field will tear them apart.

⁹ Perdition is yours, Israel. Your help is only in me.

¹⁰ Where is your king? Now, especially, let him save you in all your cities, and from your judges, about whom you said, “Give me kings and princes.”

¹¹ I will give you a king in my wrath, and I will take him away in my indignation.

¹² The iniquity of Ephraim has been bound; his sin has been engulfed.¹

1. 13:12The word ‘absconditum’ usually is translated as ‘hidden.’ But, in this context, Ephraim’s sins are not hidden from view, rather, he is being restrained because of his sins. Therefore, the translation is ‘engulfed’ rather than ‘hidden.’ Context is so important to translation that the same word in Latin cannot be always translated, in any context, by the same corresponding word in English.(Conte)

¹³ The pains of giving birth will reach him. He is an unwise son. For now he will not remain firm during the contrition of his sons.

¹⁴ I will free them from the hand of death; from death I will redeem them. Death, I will be your death. Hell, I will be your deadly wound. Consolation is hidden from my eyes.¹

1. 13:14Here is another play on words in Latin. Death is ‘mors’ and bite is ‘morsus.’ This play on words ought to survive the translation. Since the ‘bite’ refers to the ‘bite of death,’ the translation of ‘mortal wound’ or ‘deadly wound’ is justified. Note that ‘inferne’ is often translated as ‘Hell,’ but it usually does not specifically refer to that place where souls are punished forever. It has a more general meaning, like ‘underworld,’ or ‘afterlife.’ In this case, God is freeing people from the bite of death. Hellfire is the bite of death and a deadly wound.(Conte)

¹⁵ For he will make a division among brothers. The Lord will bring a burning wind, rising up from the desert, and it will dry up his streams, and it will make his fountain desolate, and he will tear apart every collection of desirable useful things.¹

1. 13:15This word ‘venas’ usually means ‘blood vessels’ or ‘fissures’ in the ground (e.g. veins of silver). But in this context it refers to veins of water, such as streams or springs. The next phrase uses ‘fontem’ to refer to springs, so the previous phrase is rendered ‘streams.’ In the last phrase, a very literal translations would be: ‘he will tear apart the treasure chest of every desirable vessel.’ However, ‘thesaurum’ does not always mean ‘treasure.’ It can also refer to any collection of valuable things, as in this phrase where the valuable things are ‘vasis desiderabilis,’ i.e. useful equipment or desirable useful things. The word order is changed so that the phrase sounds better in English, from ‘collections of every desirable useful thing,’ to ‘every collection of desirable useful things.’(Conte)