12 1Ephraim surrounds Me with alies

And the house of Israel with deceit;

Judah is also unruly against God,

Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Chapter 12

Ephraim Reminded

1 1Ephraim feeds on awind,

And pursues the beast wind continually;

He multiplies lies and violence.

Moreover, 2he makes a covenant with Assyria,

And oil is carried to Egypt.

2 The Lord also has a adispute with Judah,

And will punish Jacob baccording to his ways;

He will repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he atook his brother by the heel,

And in his maturity he bcontended with God.

4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;

He wept and asought His favor.

He found Him at bBethel

And there He spoke with us,

5 Even the Lord, the God of hosts,

The Lord is His 1aname.

6 Therefore, areturn to your God,

bObserve 1kindness and justice,

And cwait for your God continually.

7 A 1merchant, in whose hands are false abalances,

He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become arich,

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors they will find in me

bNo iniquity, which would be sin.”

9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;

I will make you alive in tents again,

As in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I have also spoken to the aprophets,

And I 1gave numerous visions,

And through the prophets I gave bparables.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead?

Surely they are worthless.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

Yes, atheir altars are like the stone heaps

Beside the furrows of the field.

12 Now aJacob fled to the 1land of Aram,

And bIsrael worked for a wife,

And for a wife he kept sheep.

13 But by a aprophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt,

And by a prophet he was kept.

14 aEphraim has provoked to bitter anger;

So his Lord will leave his bbloodguilt on him

And bring back his creproach to him.

Chapter 13

Ephraim’s Idolatry

1 aWhen Ephraim 1spoke, there was trembling.

He bexalted himself in Israel,

But through cBaal he 2did wrong and died.

2 And now they sin more and more,

And make for themselves amolten images,

Idols 1bskillfully made from their silver,

All of them the cwork of craftsmen.

They say of them, “Let the 2men who sacrifice kiss the dcalves!”

3 Therefore they will be like the amorning cloud

And like dew which 1soon disappears,

Like bchaff which is blown away from the threshing floor

And like csmoke from a 2chimney.

4 Yet I have been the aLord your God

Since the land of Egypt;

And you were not to know bany god except Me,

For there is no savior cbesides Me.

5 I 1acared for you in the wilderness,

bIn the land of drought.

6 As they had their pasture, they became asatisfied,

And being satisfied, their bheart became proud;

Therefore they cforgot Me.

7 So I will be alike a lion to them;

Like a bleopard I will 1lie in wait by the wayside.

8 I will encounter them alike a bear robbed of her cubs,

And I will tear open 1their chests;

There I will also bdevour them like a lioness,

As a wild beast would tear them.

9 It is your destruction, O Israel,

1That you are aagainst Me, against your bhelp.

10 Where now is your aking

That he may save you in all your cities,

And your bjudges of whom you 1requested,

“Give me a king and princes”?

11 I agave you a king in My anger

And btook him away in My wrath.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

His sin is astored up.

13 The pains of achildbirth come upon him;

He is bnot a wise son,

For 1it is not the time that he should cdelay at the opening of the womb.

14 Shall I aransom them from the 1power of Sheol?

Shall I redeem them from death?

bO Death, where are your thorns?

O Sheol, where is your sting?

cCompassion will be hidden from My sight.

15 Though he aflourishes among the 1reeds,

An beast wind will come,

The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;

And his fountain will cbecome dry

And his spring will be dried up;

It will dplunder his treasury of every precious article.

16 1Samaria will be held aguilty,

For she has brebelled against her God.

cThey will fall by the dsword,

Their little ones will be edashed in pieces,

And their pregnant fwomen will be ripped open.

Chapter 14

Israel’s Future Blessing

1 1aReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

For you have stumbled 2because of your biniquity.

2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.

Say to Him, “aTake away all iniquity

And 1receive us graciously,

That we may bpresent 2the fruit of our lips.

3 “Assyria will not save us,

We will anot ride on horses;

Nor will we say again, ‘bOur god,’

To the cwork of our hands;

For in dYou the 1orphan finds mercy.”

4 I will aheal their apostasy,

I will blove them freely,

For My anger has cturned away from them.

5 I will be like the adew to Israel;

He will blossom like the blily,

And he will 1take root like the cedars of cLebanon.

6 His shoots will 1sprout,

And his 2beauty will be like the aolive tree

And his fragrance like the cedars of bLebanon.

7 Those who alive in his shadow

Will 1again raise bgrain,

And they will blossom like the vine.

His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what more have I to do with aidols?

It is I who answer and look after 1you.

I am like a luxuriant bcypress;

From cMe comes your fruit.

9 aWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;

Whoever is discerning, let him know them.

For the bways of the Lord are right,

And the crighteous will walk in them,

But dtransgressors will stumble in them.