Hosea 12
Chapter 12 of 14
1 Infidelity of Israel Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel, with deceit; Judah still wanders about with gods, and is faithful to holy ones.
2 Ephraim shepherds the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long. He multiplies lies and violence: They make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.
3 The Lord has a dispute with Judah, and will punish Jacob for his conduct, and repay him for his deeds.
4 In the womb he supplanted his brother, and in his vigor he contended with a divine being;
5 He contended with an angel and prevailed, he wept and entreated him. At Bethel he met with him, and there he spoke with him.
6 The Lord is the God of hosts, the Lord is his name!
7 You must return to your God. Maintain loyalty and justice and always hope in your God.
8 A merchant who holds a false balance, he loves to extort!
9 Ephraim has said, “How rich I have become; I have made a fortune!” All his gain will not suffice for the guilt of his sin.
10 I the Lord have been your God, since the land of Egypt; I will again have you live in tents, as on feast days.
11 I spoke to the prophets, I granted many visions, and through the prophets I told parables.
12 In Gilead is falsehood, they have come to nothing; in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, But their altars are like heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
13 Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and Israel served for a wife; for a wife he tended sheep.
14 But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet Israel was tended.
15 Ephraim has aroused bitter anger, so his Lord shall cast his bloodguilt upon him and repay him for his scorn.