13Pain has come to the people

like the pain of childbirth,

but they are like a child

who resists being born.

The moment of birth has arrived,

but they stay in the womb!

14“Should I ransom them from the grave^b?

Should I redeem them from death?

O death, bring on your terrors!

O grave, bring on your plagues!^c

For I will not take pity on them.

15Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers,

but the east wind—a blast from the Lord—

will arise in the desert.

All their flowing springs will run dry,

and all their wells will disappear.

Every precious thing they own

will be plundered and carried away.

16^dThe people of Samaria

must bear the consequences of their guilt

because they rebelled against their God.

They will be killed by an invading army,

their little ones dashed to death against the ground,

their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”