Hosea 11–12

God’s Continuing Love for Israel

11“When Israel was a ¹child, I loved him,

And out of Egypt ^aI called My ^bson.

²²As they called them,

So they ^cwent ³from them;

They sacrificed to the Baals,

And burned incense to carved images.

³“I ^dtaught Ephraim to walk,

Taking them by ⁴their arms;

But they did not know that ^eI healed them.

⁴I drew them with ⁵gentle cords,

With bands of love,

And ^fI was to them as those who take the yoke from their ⁶neck.

^gI stooped and fed them.

⁵“He shall not return to the land of Egypt;

But the Assyrian shall be his king,

Because they refused to repent.

⁶And the sword shall slash in his cities,

Devour his districts,

And consume them,

Because of their own counsels.

⁷My people are bent on ^hbacksliding from Me.

Though ⁷they call ⁸to the Most High,

None at all exalt Him.

⁸“How ⁱcan I give you up, Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I make you like ^jAdmah?

How can I set you like Zeboiim?

My heart ⁹churns within Me;

My sympathy is stirred.

⁹I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;

I will not again destroy Ephraim.

^kFor I am God, and not man,

The Holy One in your midst;

And I will not ¹come with terror.

¹⁰“They shall walk after the Lord.

^lHe will roar like a lion.

When He roars,

Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;

¹¹They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,

^mLike a dove from the land of Assyria.

ⁿAnd I will let them dwell in their houses,”

Says the Lord.

God’s Charge Against Ephraim

¹²“Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,

And the house of Israel with deceit;

But Judah still walks with God,

Even with the ²Holy One who is faithful.

12“Ephraim ^afeeds on the wind,

And pursues the east wind;

He daily increases lies and ¹desolation.

^bAlso they make a ²covenant with the Assyrians,

And ^coil is carried to Egypt.

²“The ^dLord also brings a ³charge against Judah,

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

According to his deeds He will recompense him.

³He took his brother ^eby the heel in the womb,

And in his strength he ^fstruggled with God.

⁴Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

He wept, and sought favor from Him.

He found Him in ^gBethel,

And there He spoke to us—

⁵That is, the Lord God of hosts.

The Lord is His ^hmemorable name.

⁶ⁱSo you, by the help of your God, return;

Observe mercy and justice,

And wait on your God continually.

⁷“A cunning ⁴Canaanite!

^jDeceitful scales are in his hand;

He loves to oppress.

⁸And Ephraim said,

^k‘Surely I have become rich,

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors

They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’

⁹“But I am the Lord your God,

Ever since the land of Egypt;

^lI will again make you dwell in tents,

As in the days of the appointed feast.

^10mI have also spoken by the prophets,

And have multiplied visions;

I have given ⁵symbols ⁶through the witness of the prophets.”

¹¹Though ⁿGilead has idols—

Surely they are ⁷vanity—

Though they sacrifice bulls in ^oGilgal,

Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.

¹²Jacob ^pfled to the country of Syria;

^qIsrael served for a spouse,

And for a wife he tended sheep.

^13rBy a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,

And by a prophet he was preserved.

¹⁴Ephraim ^sprovoked Him to anger most bitterly;

Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,

^tAnd return his reproach upon him.