Hosea 12

1 Ephraim continually feeds on the wind;
he chases the east wind all day;
he multiplies lies and violence.
They make treatiest with Assyria,
and send olive oil as tributet to Egypt.

2 The Lord also has a covenant lawsuitt against Judah;
he will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.

Israel Must Return to the God of Jacob

3 In the womb he attacked his brother;
in his manly vigor he struggledt with God.

4 He struggleds with an angel and prevailed;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found Godt at Bethel,s
and there he spoke with him!s

5 As for the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is the name by which he is remembered!t

6 But you must returnt to your God,
by maintaining love and justice,
and by waitingt for your God to return to you.t

The Lord Refutes Israel’s False Claim of Innocence

7 The businessmen love to cheat;t
they use dishonest scales.t

8 Ephraim boasts,t “I am very rich!
I have become wealthy!t
In all that I have done to gain my wealth,st
no one can accuse me of any offenset that is actually sinful.”st

9 “I am the Lord your Gods who brought yout out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old.t

10 I spoke to the prophets;
I myself revealed many visions;t
I spoke in parablest throught the prophets.”

11 Is there idolatryt in Gilead?t
Certainly its inhabitantst will come to nothing!t
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

Jacob in Aram, Israel in Egypt, and Ephraim in Trouble

12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram,
then Israel workedt to acquire a wife;
he tended sheep to pay for her.

13 The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet,
and due to a prophett Israelt was preserved alive.t

14 But Ephraim bitterlyt provoked him to anger;
so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed,t
his Lordt will repay him for the contempt he has shown.t

HOSEA 12

1 All day long Israel chases
wind from the desert;
deceit and violence
are found everywhere.
Treaties are made with Assyria;
olive oil is taken to Egypt.

Israel and Judah Condemned

2 The [Lord] also brings charges
against the people of Judah,
the descendants of Jacob.
He will punish them
for what they have done.

3  t t Even before Jacob was born,
he cheated his brother, t
and when he grew up,
he fought against God.t

4  t At Bethel, Jacob wrestled
with an angel and won;
then with tears in his eyes,
he asked for a blessing,
and God spoke to ust there.

5 God's name is the [Lord],
the [Lord] God All-Powerful.

6 So return to your God.
Patiently trust him,
and show love and justice.

7 Israel, you enjoy cheating
and taking advantage
of others.

8 You say to yourself, “I'm rich!
I earned it all on my own,
without committing a sin.”t

The [Lord] Is Still //the God of Israel

9  t Israel, I, the [Lord],
am still your God,
just as I have been
since the time
you were in Egypt.
Now I will force you
to live in tents once again,
as you did in the desert.t

10 I spoke to the prophets—
often I spoke in visions.
And so, I will send my prophets
with messages of doom.

11 Gilead is terribly sinful
and will end up ruined.
Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal
on altars made of stones,
but those stones will be scattered
in every field.

12  t Jacobt escaped to Syriat
where he tended sheep
to earn himself a wife.

13  t I sent the prophet Moses
to lead Israel from Egypt
and to keep them safe.

14 Israel, I will make you pay
for your violent crimes
and for insulting me.