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12 ¶ Ephraim feeds on wind and follows after the east wind; he daily increases lies and desolation because they made a covenant with the Assyrians, and the oil is carried into Egypt.

The LORD also has a controversy with Judah to visit Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and with his strength he overcame the angel;

yea, he dominated the angel and prevailed; he wept and made supplication unto him; he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us;

but the LORD is God of the hosts; the LORD is his memorial.

Therefore be thou converted unto thy God; keep mercy and judgment, and in thy God wait continually.

He is a merchant who has the balances of deceit in his hand; he loves to oppress.

And Ephraim said, Surely I have become rich, I have found riches for myself; no one shall find iniquity in me, nor sin in all my labours.

But I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt; I will yet make thee to dwell in tents as in the days of the solemn feast.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the hand of the prophets.

11 Is Gilead iniquity? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

12 But Jacob fled into the land of Aram, and Israel served for his wife, and for his wife he was a pastor.

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

14 Ephraim provoked God to anger with bitterness: therefore his blood shall be spilled upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord repay unto him.

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