Hosea 11:12–13:6

12  4 Ephraim yhas surrounded me with lies,

and the house of Israel with deceit,

but Judah still walks with God

and is faithful to the Holy One.

12 Ephraim 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

2  cThe Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

he will repay him according to his deeds.

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

and in his manhood he strove with God.

4  He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

eHe met God1 at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us—

5  the 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.”

7  A merchant, in whose hands are ifalse balances,

he loves jto oppress.

8  Ephraim 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.”

9  mI 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.

10  oI spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied pvisions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

11  qIf 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.

12  uJacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel vserved for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

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

and by a prophet he was guarded.

14  yEphraim 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

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

bhe was exalted in Israel,

but he incurred guilt cthrough Baal and died.

2  And 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!”

3  Therefore 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.

4  But jI am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

kyou know no God but me,

and lbesides me there is no savior.

5  mIt was I who knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of drought;

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

othey were filled, and their heart was lifted up;

otherefore they forgot me.