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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.

The Lord 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 God.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:1 Hosea 12:1–14 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:2–15 in the Hebrew Bible.

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.

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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.