Hosea 11–12

The Lord Loves Israel

11The Lord continues,

“When Israel was a young nation, I loved them.

I chose to bring my son out of Egypt.

²But the more I called out to Israel,

the further they went away from me.

They brought sacrifices to the statues of the gods

that were named after Baal.

And they burned incense to them.

³I taught Israel to walk.

I took them up in my arms.

But they did not realize

I was the one who took care of them.

⁴I led them with kindness and love.

I did not lead them with ropes.

I lifted the heavy loads from their shoulders.

I bent down and fed them.

⁵“But they refuse to turn away from their sins.

So they will return to Egypt.

And Assyria will rule over them.

⁶Swords will flash in their cities.

The heavy metal bars on their gates will be destroyed.

Their plans will come to an end.

⁷My people have made up their minds

to turn away from me.

Even if they call out to me,

I will certainly not honor them.

I am the Most High God.”

⁸The Lord continues,

“People of Ephraim, how can I give you up?

Israel, how can I hand you over to your enemies?

Can I destroy you as I did the town of Admah?

Can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is stirred inside me.

It is filled with pity for you.

⁹My anger will not burn against you anymore.

I will not completely destroy you.

After all, I am God.

I am not a mere man.

I am the Holy One among you.

My burning anger will not come against you.

¹⁰I will roar like a lion against my enemies.

You will follow me.

When I roar, my children will come home trembling with fear.

You will return from the west.

¹¹You will come trembling like birds from Egypt.

You will return like doves from Assyria.

I will settle you again in your homes,”

announces the Lord.

Israel Has Sinned

¹²The people of Ephraim tell nothing but lies.

Israel has not been honest with me.

And Judah continues to wander away from God.

They have deserted the faithful Holy One.

12The people of Ephraim look to others for help.

It’s like chasing the wind.

The wind they keep chasing

is hot and dry.

They tell more and more lies.

They are always hurting others.

They make a peace treaty with Assyria.

They send olive oil to Egypt to get help.

²The Lord is bringing charges against Judah.

He will punish Jacob’s people

because of how they act.

He’ll pay them back

for the evil things they’ve done.

³Even before Jacob was born,

he was holding on to his brother’s heel.

When he became a man,

he struggled with God.

⁴At Peniel he struggled with the angel and won.

He sobbed and begged for his blessing.

God also met with him at Bethel.

He talked with him there.

⁵He is the Lord God who rules over all.

He wants us to remember

that his name is The Lord.

⁶People of Jacob, you must return to your God.

You must hold on to love and do what is fair.

You must trust in your God always.

⁷You are like a trader who uses dishonest scales.

You love to cheat others.

⁸People of Ephraim, you brag,

“We are very rich.

We’ve become wealthy.

And no one can prove we sinned

to gain all of this wealth.”

⁹The Lord says,

“I am the Lord your God.

I brought you out of Egypt.

But I will make you live in tents again.

That is what you did when you celebrated

the Feast of Booths in the desert.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets.

They saw many visions.

I gave you warnings through them.”

¹¹The people of Gilead are evil!

They aren’t worth anything!

Gilgal’s people sacrifice bulls to other gods.

Their altars will become like piles of stones

on a plowed field.

¹²Jacob ran away to the country of Aram.

There Israel served Laban to get a wife.

He took care of sheep to pay for her.

¹³The prophet Moses brought Israel up from Egypt.

The Lord used him to take care of them.

¹⁴But Ephraim’s people have made the Lord very angry.

Their Lord will hold them accountable for the blood they’ve spilled.

He’ll pay them back for the shameful things they’ve done.