Hosea 12

Chapter 12

¹Ephraim herds the wind,

and pursues the east wind all day long;

they multiply falsehood and violence;

they make a bargain with Assyria,

and oil is carried to Egypt.

²The Lord has an indictment against Judah,

and will punish Jacob according to his ways,

and requite him according to his deeds.

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

and in his manhood he strove with God.

⁴He strove with the angel and prevailed,

he wept and sought his favor.

He met God at Bethel,

and there God spoke with him—

⁵the Lord the God of hosts,

the Lord is his name:

⁶“So you, by the help of your God, return,

hold fast to love and justice,

and wait continually for your God.”

⁷A trader, in whose hands are false balances,

he loves to oppress.

⁸Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich,

I have gained wealth for myself”:

but all his riches can never offset

the guilt he has incurred.

⁹I am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you dwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied visions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

¹¹If there is iniquity in Gilead

they shall surely come to nought;

if in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

their altars also shall be like stone heaps

on the furrows of the field.

¹²(Jacob fled to the land of Aram,

there Israel did service for a wife,

and for a wife he herded sheep.)

¹³By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was preserved.

¹⁴Ephraim has given bitter provocation;

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him,

and will turn back upon him his reproaches.