Hosea 12:2-14:9
New American Standard Bible
2 The Lord also has a (A)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob (B)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (C)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (D)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (E)implored His favor.
He found Him at (F)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [a](G)name.
6 So as for you, (H)return to your God,
(I)Maintain [b]kindness and justice,
And (J)wait for your God continually.
7 A [c]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (K)balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become (L)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(M)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (N)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (O)prophets,
And I [d]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in (P)parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (Q)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12 Now (R)Jacob fled to the [e]land of Aram,
And (S)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (T)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 (U)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (V)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his (W)disgrace back to him.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (X)When Ephraim [f]spoke, there was trembling.
He (Y)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (Z)Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (AA)cast metal images,
Idols [g](AB)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (AC)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [h]people who sacrifice kiss the (AD)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (AE)morning cloud
And like dew which [i]soon disappears,
Like (AF)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like (AG)smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (AH)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (AI)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (AJ)besides Me.
5 I [j](AK)cared for you in the wilderness,
(AL)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (AM)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their (AN)heart became proud;
Therefore they (AO)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (AP)like a lion to them;
Like a (AQ)leopard I will [k]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will confront them (AR)like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open [l]their chests;
I will also (AS)devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.
9 [m]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are (AT)against Me, against your (AU)help.
10 Where then is your (AV)king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your (AW)judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (AX)gave you a king in My anger,
And (AY)took him away in My wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is (AZ)stored up.
13 The pains of (BA)childbirth come on him;
He is (BB)not a wise son,
For [n]it is not the time that he should (BC)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (BD)ransom them from the [o]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(BE)Death, where are your [p]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
(BF)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (BG)flourishes among the [q]reeds,
An (BH)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (BI)become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will (BJ)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [r]Samaria will pay the penalty for her (BK)guilt,
Because she has (BL)rebelled against her God.
(BM)They will fall by the (BN)sword,
Their children will be [s](BO)slaughtered,
And their pregnant (BP)women will be ripped open.
Israel’s Future Blessing
14 [t](BQ)Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled [u]because of your (BR)wrongdoing.
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “(BS)Take away all guilt
And [v]receive us graciously,
So that we may (BT)present [w]the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us,
We will (BU)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘(BV)Our god’
To the (BW)work of our hands;
For in (BX)You the [x]orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will (BY)heal their apostasy,
I will (BZ)love them freely,
Because My anger has (CA)turned away from them.
5 I will be like the (CB)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the (CC)lily,
And he will [y]take root like the cedars of (CD)Lebanon.
6 His shoots will [z]sprout,
His [aa]majesty will be like the (CE)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of (CF)Lebanon.
7 Those who (CG)live in his shadow
Will [ab]again raise (CH)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with (CI)idols?
It is I who answer and look after [ac]you.
I am like a luxuriant (CJ)juniper;
From (CK)Me [ad]comes your fruit.
9 (CL)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the (CM)ways of the Lord are right,
And the (CN)righteous will walk in them,
But (CO)wrongdoers will stumble in them.
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
- Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
- Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
- Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
- Hosea 12:12 Lit field
- Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
- Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
- Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
- Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
- Hosea 13:5 Or knew
- Hosea 13:7 Or watch
- Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
- Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
- Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
- Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
- Hosea 13:14 Or stings
- Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
- Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
- Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered
- Hosea 14:1 Ch 14:2 in Heb
- Hosea 14:1 Or in
- Hosea 14:2 Or accept that which is good
- Hosea 14:2 As in ancient versions; MT our lips as bulls
- Hosea 14:3 Or fatherless
- Hosea 14:5 Lit strike his roots
- Hosea 14:6 Lit go
- Hosea 14:6 Lit splendor
- Hosea 14:7 Or return, they will raise grain
- Hosea 14:8 Lit him
- Hosea 14:8 Lit is found
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