Hosea 11–12

God’s Love for His Rebellious People

11^*The Lord says,

“When Israel was a child, I loved him

and called him out of Egypt as my son.^f

²But the more I^g called to him,

the more he turned away from me.^h

My people sacrificed to Baal;

they burnt incense to idols.

³Yet I was the one who taught Israel to walk.

I took my people up in my arms,ⁱ

but they did not acknowledge that I took care of them.

⁴I drew them to me with affection and love.

I picked them up and held them to my cheek;

I bent down to them and fed them.^{j 5}“They refuse to return to me, and so they must return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them. ⁶War will sweep through their cities and break down the city gates. It will destroy my people because they do what they themselves think best. ⁷They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.^k

^8*“How can I give you up, Israel?

How can I abandon you?

Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah,

or treat you as I did Zeboiim?

My heart will not let me do it!

My love for you is too strong.

⁹I will not punish you in my anger;

I will not destroy Israel again.

For I am God and not a human being.

I, the Holy One, am with you.

I will not come to you in anger.

¹⁰“My people will follow me when I roar like a lion at their enemies. They will hurry to me from the west. ¹¹They will come from Egypt, as swiftly as birds, and from Assyria, like doves. I will bring them to their homes again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Israel and Judah Are Condemned

¹²The Lord says, “The people of Israel have surrounded me with lies and deceit, and the people of Judah are still rebelling against me, the faithful and holy God.

12Everything that the people of Israel do from morning to night is useless and destructive. Treachery and acts of violence increase among them. They make treaties with Assyria and do business with Egypt.”

²The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people of Judah; he is also going to punish Israel for the way her people act. He will pay them back for what they have done. ^3*Their ancestor Jacob struggled with his twin brother Esau while the two of them were still in their mother’s womb; when Jacob grew up, he fought against God- ^4*he fought against an angel and won. He wept and asked for a blessing. And at Bethel God came to our ancestor Jacob and spoke with him.^{l 5}This was the Lord God Almighty—the Lord is the name by which he is to be worshipped. ⁶So now, descendants of Jacob, trust in your God and return to him. Be loyal and just, and wait patiently for your God to act.

Further Words of Judgement

⁷The Lord says, “The people of Israel are as dishonest as the Canaanites; they love to cheat their customers with false scales. ⁸‘We are rich,’ they say. ‘We’ve made a fortune. And no one can accuse us of getting rich dishonestly.’ ^9*But I, the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt, I will make you live in tents again, as you did when I came to you in the desert.

¹⁰“I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions, and through the prophets I gave my people warnings. ¹¹Yet idols are worshipped in Gilead, and those who worship them will die. Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal, and the altars there will become piles of stone in the open fields.”

^12*Our ancestor Jacob had to flee to Mesopotamia, where, in order to get a wife, he worked for another man and took care of his sheep. ^13*The Lord sent a prophet to rescue the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and to take care of them. ¹⁴The people of Israel have made the Lord bitterly angry; they deserve death for their crimes. Their Lord will punish them for the disgrace they have brought on him.