Add parallel Print Page Options

The People of Israel Ignored What the Lord Had Done for Them

12 [a]The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind
    and try to chase the east wind all day.
    They are very violent and destructive.
    They make treaties with Assyria and take olive oil to Egypt.

Yahweh brings charges against Judah and punishes Jacob
    because of the way their people act.
    He will pay them back for what they have done.
Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel
    while the two of them were in their mother’s womb.
    When Jacob became a man, he struggled with Elohim.
He struggled with the Messenger and won.
    Jacob cried and pleaded with him.
        Jacob found him at Bethel,
            and he talked with him there.
Yahweh is the God of Armies.
    Yahweh is the name by which he is remembered.
Return to your Elohim.
    Be loyal and fair, and always wait with hope for your Elohim.

The Lord says, “The merchants use dishonest scales.
    They love to cheat people.
The people of Ephraim say, ‘We’re rich. We’ve made a fortune.
    With all this wealth, no one will find us guilty of any sin.’
I am Yahweh your Elohim.
    I brought you out of Egypt.
    I will make you live in tents again
    as you did during your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions.
    I taught lessons through the prophets.”[b]

11 The people of Gilead are evil.
    They are worthless.
    They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal.
        But their altars will become like piles of rubble
            beside a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria.
    Israel worked to get a wife; he took care of sheep to pay for her.
13 Yahweh used a prophet to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt.
    He used a prophet to take care of them.

14 The people of Ephraim made Yahweh bitter.
    He will hold them guilty of murder.
        Adonay will pay them back for their insults.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 12:1 Hosea 12:1–14 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:2–15 in the Hebrew Bible.
  2. Hosea 12:10 Or “I brought destruction through the prophets.”

12 [a]Ephraim(A) feeds on the wind;(B)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.(C)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(D)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.(E)
The Lord has a charge(F) to bring against Judah;(G)
    he will punish(H) Jacob[b] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.(I)
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(J)
    as a man he struggled(K) with God.
He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(L)
    and talked with him there—
the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!(M)
But you must return(N) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,(O)
    and wait for your God always.(P)

The merchant uses dishonest scales(Q)
    and loves to defraud.
Ephraim boasts,(R)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(S)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

“I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;(T)
I will make you live in tents(U) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables(V) through them.”(W)

11 Is Gilead wicked?(X)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(Y)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.(Z)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[c];(AA)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.(AB)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(AC)
    by a prophet he cared for him.(AD)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
    his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(AE)
    and will repay him for his contempt.(AF)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
  2. Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
  3. Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia