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12 What Israel does is as useless as chasing the wind;
    he chases the east wind all day.
They tell more and more lies
    and do more and more violence.
They make agreements with Assyria,
    and they send a gift of olive oil to Egypt.
The Lord also has some things against Judah.
    He will punish Israel for what they have done;
    he will give them what they deserve.
Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel
    while the two of them were being born.
When he grew to be a man,
    he wrestled with God.
When Jacob wrestled with the angel and won,
    he cried and asked for his blessing.
Later, God met with him at Bethel
    and spoke with him there.
It was the Lord God All-Powerful;
    the Lord is his great name.
You must return to your God;
    love him, do what is just,
    and always trust in him as your God.

The merchants use dishonest scales;
    they like to cheat people.
Israel said, “I am rich! I am someone with power!”
    All their money will do them no good
    because of the sins they have done.

“But I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you out of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again
    as you used to do on worship days.
10 I spoke to the prophets
    and gave them many visions;
    through them, I taught my lessons to you.”

11 The people of Gilead are evil,
    worth nothing.
Though people sacrifice bulls at Gilgal,
    their altars will become like piles of stone
    in a plowed field.
12 Your ancestor Jacob fled to Northwest Mesopotamia
    where he worked to get a wife;
    he tended sheep to pay for her.
13 Later the Lord used a prophet
    to bring Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt;
he used a prophet
    to take care of the Israelites.
14 But the Israelites made the Lord angry when they killed other people,
    and they deserve to die for their crimes.
The Lord will make them pay
    for the disgraceful things they have done.

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