God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs

12 Ephraim chases[a] the wind(A)
and pursues the east wind.(B)
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,(C)
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.(D)

The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways;(E)
He will repay him based on his actions.
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,(F)
and as an adult he wrestled with God.(G)
Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought His favor.(H)
He found him[b] at Bethel,(I)
and there He spoke with him.[c](J)
Yahweh is the God of Hosts;
Yahweh is His name.(K)
But you must return to your God.(L)
Maintain love and justice,(M)
and always put your hope in God.(N)

A merchant loves to extort(O)
with dishonest scales in his hands.(P)
But Ephraim says:
“How rich I have become;(Q)
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any crime in me(R)
that I can be punished for!”[d]

Judgment on Apostate Israel

I have been Yahweh your God
ever since[e] the land of Egypt.(S)
I will make you live in tents again,(T)
as in the festival days.
10 I spoke through the prophets(U)
and granted many visions;
I gave parables through the prophets.(V)
11 Since Gilead is full of evil,(W)
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;(X)
even their altars will be like heaps of rocks(Y)
on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram.(Z)
Israel worked to earn a wife;(AA)
he tended flocks for a wife.(AB)
13 The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,(AC)
and Israel was tended by a prophet.

14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,(AD)
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him(AE)
and repay him for his contempt.(AF)

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 12:1 Or feeds on, or tends
  2. Hosea 12:4 Or Him
  3. Hosea 12:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads us
  4. Hosea 12:8 Lit crime which is sin
  5. Hosea 12:9 LXX reads God who brought you out of

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