Hosea 13:1
in Hosea 13When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel. But he incurred guilt through Baal, and he died.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
KJV
When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
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This verse in Hosea 13
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"While Ephraim was speaking, horror invaded Israel, and he sinned in Baal and died, and now they have added more sins. They made an idol for themselves from their silver, resembling the idols made by craftsmen.
This site's exposition
Ephraim spake trembling
on Hosea 13:1-3
Ephraim once carried real weight in Israel, a tribe whose word made men tremble, and the chapter opens by naming that lost standing before it names the cause: he offended in Baal, and he died. The molten images and the idols shaped by craftsmen follow, with the strange detail that the worshippers kiss the calves they made with their own hands, a picture the commentators read as devotion turned upside down, the maker bowing to the made. The four similes of verse 3, morning cloud, early dew, wind-driven chaff, and smoke from a chimney, pile up to say the same thing four ways: whatever Ephraim has built will not last the day.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Some say that trembling was excited in Israel when Ephraim, that is, Jeroboam, who was born of that tribe, exhorted the people to worship the calves. By the word rtt, retat, "trembling," they understand, that the people were so astonished, that they without thought immediately obeyed the will, or rather the humour, of their impious king.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Exalted himself - The kingdom flourished. When he offended - So soon as they sinned, taking Baal to be their God. He died - They lost their power and glory.
When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel,.... Or, with trembling, as Jarchi: so Jeroboam, who was of the tribe of Ephraim, spake before Solomon, a great king, as he observes. R.
But as for Ephraim he soon lost himself: When he offended in Baal he died, that is, he lost his reputation, his honour soon dwindled and sunk, and was laid in the dust. Baal is here put for all idolatry; when Ephraim forsook God, and took to worship images, the state received its death's wound and was never good for any thing afterwards.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
When Ephraim spake trembling - that is, probably “there was ‘trembling.’” : “Ephraim was once very awful, so as, while he spake, the rest of the tribes were ready to tremble.” The prophet contrasts two conditions of Ephraim, of prosperity, and destruction. His prosperity he owed to the undeserved mercy of God, who blessed him for Joseph’s sake; his destruction, to his own sin. There is no period recorded, “when Ephraim spake trembling,” i. e., in humility. Pride was his characteristic, almost as soon as he had a separate existence as a tribe (see the note at Hos 5:5).
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Therefore it is at this climax of guilt that Ephraim "died." Sin has, in the sight of God, within itself the germ of death, though that death may not visibly take effect till long after. Compare Ro 7:9, "Sin revived, and I died." So Adam in the day of his sin was to die, though the sentence was not visibly executed till long after (Ge 2:17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
When Ephraim spake trembling - When he was meek and humble, of a broken heart and contrite spirit. He exalted himself in Israel - He became great in God’s sight; he rose in the Divine esteem in proportion as he sank in his own. But this did not continue. He offended in Baal - He became an idolater. He died - The sentence of death from the Divine justice went out against him. This has been differently understood: “As soon as Ephraim spake (To your tents, O Israel!) There was a trembling or commotion: then the kingdom was exalted in Israel.” Thus taken, it refers to the division of the ten tribes from Rehoboam, son of Solomon, 1Ki 12:16, etc., and the establishment of the kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam in opposition to that of Judah; which breach was never healed.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
When Ephraim spoke with trembling When Jeroboam showed zeal for the Omnipresent and spoke harshly against Solomon, and tremblingly, for Solomon was a great king.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּדַבֵּ֤ר | kedaber | when spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| רְתֵ֔ת | retet | trembling | H7578 → | |
| נָשָׂ֥א | nasa' | he lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיֶּאְשַׁ֥ם | vaiye'sham | and he became guilty | H816 → | 35 times |
| בַּבַּ֖עַל | babaal | by <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| וַיָּמֹֽת׃ | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
כְּדַבֵּ֤רwhen spoke
kedaberH1696 →1141 times
אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙Ephraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
רְתֵ֔תtrembling
retetH7578 →
נָשָׂ֥אhe lifted up
nasa'H5375 →656 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיֶּאְשַׁ֥םand he became guilty
vaiye'shamH816 →35 times
בַּבַּ֖עַלby <the> Baal
babaalH1168 →82 times
וַיָּמֹֽת׃and he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 14:11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
it leads to
- Luke 18:14
I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Matthew 23:12
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- James 4:6
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Luke 18:14
Through
Genesis 2:17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
it leads to
- Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- James 1:15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
- Romans 6:23
Through
Joshua 3:7Now the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.
it leads to
- Joshua 4:14
On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.
- Joshua 4:14
About Hosea
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 13:1-2; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.