Hosea 12:1–14:9

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.

Final Judgement on Israel

13In the past, when the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the other tribes of Israel were afraid; they looked up to Ephraim. But the people sinned by worshipping Baal, and for this they will die. ²They still keep on sinning by making metal images to worship—idols of silver, designed by human minds, made by human hands. And then they say, “Offer sacrifices to them!” How can anyone kiss those idols—idols in the shape of bulls!^{m 3}And so these people will disappear like morning mist, like the dew that vanishes early in the day. They will be like chaff which the wind blows from the threshing place, like smoke from a chimney.

⁴The Lord says, “I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt. You have no God but me. I alone am your saviour. ^5*I took care of you in a dry, desert land. ^6*But when you entered the good land, you became full and satisfied, and then you grew proud and forgot me. ⁷So I will attack you like a lion. Like a leopard I will lie in wait along your path. ⁸I will attack you like a bear that has lost her cubs, and I will tear you open. Like a lion I will devour you on the spot, and will tear you to pieces like a wild animal.

⁹“I will destroy you, people of Israel! Then who can help you?^{n 10*}You asked for a king and for leaders, but how can they save the nation?^{o 11*}In my anger I have given you kings, and in my fury I have taken them away.

¹²“Israel’s sin and guilt are on record, and the records are safely stored away. ¹³Israel has a chance to live, but is too foolish to take it—like a child about to be born, who refuses to come out of the womb. ^14*I will not save this people from the world of the dead or rescue them from the power of death. Bring on^p your plagues, death! Bring on^q your destruction, world of the dead! I will no longer have pity for this people. ¹⁵Even though Israel flourishes like weeds,^r I will send a hot east wind from the desert, and it will dry up their springs and wells. It will take away everything of value. ¹⁶Samaria must be punished for rebelling against me. Her people will die in war; babies will be dashed to the ground, and pregnant women will be ripped open.”

Hosea’s Plea to Israel

14Return to the Lord your God, people of Israel. Your sin has made you stumble and fall. ²Return to the Lord, and let this prayer be your offering to him: “Forgive all our sins and accept our prayer, and we will praise you as we have promised. ³Assyria can never save us, and war horses cannot protect us. We will never again say to our idols that they are our God. O Lord, you show mercy to those who have no one else to turn to.”

The Promises New Life for Israel

⁴The Lord says,

“I will bring my people back to me.

I will love them with all my heart;

no longer am I angry with them.

⁵I will be to the people of Israel

like rain in a dry land.

They will blossom like flowers;

they will be firmly rooted

like the trees of Lebanon.

⁶They will be alive with new growth,

and beautiful like olive trees.

They will be fragrant

like the cedars of Lebanon.

⁷Once again they will live under my protection.

They will grow corn

and be fruitful like a vineyard.

They will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.

⁸The people of Israel^s will have nothing more to do with idols;

I will answer their prayers and take care of them;

Like an evergreen tree I will shelter them;

I am the source of all their blessings.”

Conclusion

⁹May those who are wise understand what is written here, and may they take it to heart. The Lord’s ways are right, and righteous people live by following them, but sinners stumble and fall because they ignore them.