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 Ephraim feeds on the wind;
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a treaty with Assyria
and sends olive oil to Egypt.

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

3 In the womb he grasped his brother's heel;
as a man he struggled with God.

4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel
and talked with him there—

5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name of renown!

6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.

7 The merchant uses dishonest scales;
he loves to defraud.

8 Ephraim boasts,
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”

9 “I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of your appointed feasts.

10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables through them.”

11 Is Gilead wicked?
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.

12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram;
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.

13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,
by a prophet he cared for him.

14 But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger;
his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed
and will repay him for his contempt.