Hosea 12

Chapter 12

Ephraim Reminded

¹¹Ephraim 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.

²The Lord also has a ^adispute with Judah,

And will punish Jacob ^baccording to his ways;

He will repay him according to his deeds.

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

And in his maturity he ^bcontended with God.

⁴Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;

He wept and ^asought His favor.

He found Him at ^bBethel

And there He spoke with us,

⁵Even the Lord, the God of hosts,

The Lord is His ^1aname.

⁶Therefore, ^areturn to your God,

^bObserve ¹kindness and justice,

And ^cwait for your God continually.

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

He loves to oppress.

⁸And 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.”

⁹But 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.

¹⁰I have also spoken to the ^aprophets,

And I ¹gave numerous visions,

And through the prophets I gave ^bparables.

¹¹Is 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.

¹²Now ^aJacob fled to the ¹land of Aram,

And ^bIsrael worked for a wife,

And for a wife he kept sheep.

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

And by a prophet he was kept.

^14aEphraim has provoked to bitter anger;

So his Lord will leave his ^bbloodguilt on him

And bring back his ^creproach to him.