Hosea - Chapter 12

The Religious and Political Decline of Israel

¹ "Ephraim feeds on the wind, And pursues the east wind; He daily increases lies and desolation. Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians, And oil is carried to Egypt.

² "The LORD also [brings] a charge against Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his deeds He will recompense him.

³ He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God.

⁴ Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him [in] Bethel, And there He spoke to us --

⁵ That is, the LORD God of hosts. The LORD [is] His memorable name.

⁶ So you, by [the help of] your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually.

⁷ "A cunning Canaanite! Deceitful scales [are] in his hand; He loves to oppress.

⁸ And Ephraim said, '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; I will again make you dwell in tents, As in the days of the appointed feast.

¹⁰ I have also spoken by the prophets, And have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets."

¹¹ Though Gilead [has] idols -- Surely they are vanity -- Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars [shall be] heaps in the furrows of the field.

¹² Jacob fled to the country of Syria; Israel served for a spouse, And for a wife he tended [sheep.]

¹³ By a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet he was preserved.

¹⁴ Ephraim provoked [Him] to anger most bitterly; Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him, And return his reproach upon him.