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The Lord says, “I have a complaint against Israel.[a] Jacob must be punished for the bad things he did. While Jacob was still in his mother’s womb, he began to trick his brother.[b] Jacob was a strong young man, and at that time he fought with God. Jacob wrestled with God’s angel and won.[c] He cried and asked for a favor. That happened at Bethel. There he spoke to us.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 12:2 Israel Literally, “Judah.”
  2. Hosea 12:3 he … his brother Or “he grabbed his brother’s heel.” This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word is like the name “Jacob.” Read Gen. 25:26.
  3. Hosea 12:4 Jacob wrestled … and won Read Gen. 32:22-28.

The Lord has a charge(A) to bring against Judah;(B)
    he will punish(C) Jacob[a] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.(D)
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(E)
    as a man he struggled(F) with God.
He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(G)
    and talked with him there—

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.