Hosea 12:1–14:9

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.

Relentless Judgment on Israel

13When Ephraim spoke, trembling,

He exalted himself in Israel;

But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.

²Now they sin more and more,

And have made for themselves molded images,

Idols of their silver, according to their skill;

All of it is the work of craftsmen.

They say of them,

“Let ¹the men who sacrifice ²kiss the calves!”

³Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud

And like the early dew that passes away,

^aLike chaff blown off from a threshing floor

And like smoke from a chimney.

⁴“Yet ^bI am the Lord your God

Ever since the land of Egypt,

And you shall know no God but Me;

For ^cthere is no savior besides Me.

^5dI ³knew you in the wilderness,

^eIn the land of ⁴great drought.

^6fWhen they had pasture, they were filled;

They were filled and their heart was exalted;

Therefore they forgot Me.

⁷“So ^gI will be to them like a lion;

Like ^ha leopard by the road I will lurk;

⁸I will meet them ⁱlike a bear deprived of her cubs;

I will tear open their rib cage,

And there I will devour them like a lion.

The ⁵wild beast shall tear them.

⁹“O Israel, ⁶you are destroyed,

But ⁷your help is from Me.

¹⁰⁸I will be your King;

^jWhere is any other,

That he may save you in all your cities?

And your judges to whom ^kyou said,

‘Give me a king and princes’?

^11lI gave you a king in My anger,

And took him away in My wrath.

¹²“The ^miniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

His sin is stored up.

¹³ⁿThe sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.

He is an unwise son,

For he should not stay long where children are born.

¹⁴“I will ransom them from the ⁹power of ¹the grave;

I will redeem them from death.

^oO Death, ²I will be your plagues!

O ³Grave, ⁴I will be your destruction!

^pPity is hidden from My eyes.

¹⁵Though he is fruitful among his brethren,

^qAn east wind shall come;

The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.

Then his spring shall become dry,

And his fountain shall be dried up.

He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.

¹⁶Samaria ⁵is held guilty,

For she has ^rrebelled against her God.

They shall fall by the sword,

Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,

And their women with child ^sripped open.

Israel Restored at Last

14O Israel, ^areturn to the Lord your God,

For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;

²Take words with you,

And return to the Lord.

Say to Him,

“Take away all iniquity;

Receive us graciously,

For we will offer the ^bsacrifices ¹of our lips.

³Assyria shall ^cnot save us,

^dWe will not ride on horses,

Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’

^eFor in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

⁴“I will heal their ^fbacksliding,

I will ^glove them freely,

For My anger has turned away from him.

⁵I will be like the ^hdew to Israel;

He shall ²grow like the lily,

And ³lengthen his roots like Lebanon.

⁶His branches shall ⁴spread;

ⁱHis beauty shall be like an olive tree,

And ^jhis fragrance like Lebanon.

^7kThose who dwell under his shadow shall return;

They shall be revived like grain,

And ⁵grow like a vine.

Their ⁶scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸“Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’

I have heard and observed him.

I am like a green cypress tree;

^lYour fruit is found in Me.”

⁹Who is wise?

Let him understand these things.

Who is prudent?

Let him know them.

For ^mthe ways of the Lord are right;

The righteous walk in them,

But transgressors stumble in them.