Hosea 12–13

12Ephraim feeds on the wind

and pursues ^zthe east wind all day long;

they multiply ^yfalsehood and violence;

^athey make a covenant with Assyria,

and ^boil is carried to Egypt.

The Lord’s Indictment of Israel and Judah

^2cThe Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

he will repay him according to his deeds.

^3dIn the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

⁴He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

^eHe met God¹ at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us—

⁵the Lord, the God of hosts,

^fthe Lord is his memorial name:

⁶“So you, ^gby the help of your God, return,

^hhold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.”

⁷A merchant, in whose hands are ⁱfalse balances,

he loves ^jto oppress.

⁸Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ^kI am rich;

I have found wealth for myself;

in all my labors ^lthey cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

^9mI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you ⁿdwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

^10oI spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied ^pvisions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

^11qIf there is iniquity in Gilead,

they shall surely come to nothing:

^rin Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

^stheir altars also are like stone heaps

^ton the furrows of the field.

^12uJacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel ^vserved for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

¹³By ^wa prophet ^xthe Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

^14yEphraim has given bitter provocation;

so his Lord ^zwill leave his bloodguilt on him

^aand will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel

13When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

^bhe was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt ^cthrough Baal and died.

²And now they sin more and more,

and ^dmake for themselves metal images,

idols skillfully made of their silver,

^eall of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of them,

“Those who offer human sacrifice ^fkiss calves!”

³Therefore they shall be ^glike the morning mist

or ^glike the dew that goes early away,

^hlike the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

or ⁱlike smoke from a window.

⁴But ^jI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

^kyou know no God but me,

and ^lbesides me there is no savior.

^5mIt was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought;

⁶ⁿbut when they had grazed,¹ they became full,

^othey were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

^otherefore they forgot me.

⁷So ^pI am to them like a lion;

^qlike a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

⁸I will fall upon them ^rlike a bear robbed of her cubs;

I will tear open their breast,

and there I will devour them like a lion,

^sas a wild beast would rip them open.

⁹He destroys² you, O Israel,

for you are against me, against ^tyour helper.

^10uWhere now is your king, to save you in all your cities?

Where are all your rulers—

those of whom ^vyou said,

“Give me a king and princes”?

^11wI gave you a king in my anger,

and ^xI took him away in my wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is ^ybound up;

his sin is ^ykept in store.

^13zThe pangs of childbirth come for him,

but he is an unwise son,

for at the right time he does not present himself

^aat the opening of the womb.

^14bI shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;

^bI shall redeem them from Death.³

^cO ^dDeath, where are your plagues?

^cO ^dSheol, where is your sting?

^eCompassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Though ^fhe may flourish among his brothers,

^gthe east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,

rising from the wilderness,

^hand his fountain shall dry up;

his spring shall be parched;

it shall strip ⁱhis treasury

of every precious thing.

¹⁶⁴ Samaria ^jshall bear her guilt,

because ^kshe has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword;

^ltheir little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

and their ^mpregnant women ripped open.