Hosea 11–12

Chapter 11

¹When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.

²The more I^y called them,

the more they went from me;

they kept sacrificing to the Baals,

and burning incense to idols.

³Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them up in my^a arms;

but they did not know that I healed them.

⁴I led them with cords of compassion,^b

with the bands of love,

and I became to them as one,

who eases the yoke on their jaws,

and I bent down to them and fed them.

⁵They shall return to the land of Egypt,

and Assyria shall be their king,

because they have refused to return to me.

⁶The sword shall rage against their cities,

consume the bars of their gates,

and devour them in their fortresses.^c

⁷My people are bent on turning away from me;^d

so they are appointed to the yoke,

and none shall remove it.

⁸How can I give you up, O Ephraim!

How can I hand you over, O Israel!

How can I make you like Admah!

How can I treat you like Zeboiim!

My heart recoils within me,

my compassion grows warm and tender.

⁹I will not execute my fierce anger,

I will not again destroy Ephraim;

for I am God and not man,

the Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come to destroy.^e

¹⁰They shall go after the Lord,

he will roar like a lion;

yea, he will roar,

and his sons shall come trembling from the west;

¹¹they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,

and like doves from the land of Assyria;

and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.

¹²Ephraim has encompassed me with lies,

and the house of Israel with deceit;

but Judah is still known by^g God,

and is faithful to the Holy One.

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^h—

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.