Ephraim Reminded
And pursues the east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [b]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and implored His favor.
He found Him at Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [c]name.
6 So as for you, return to your God,
Maintain [d]kindness and justice,
And wait for your God continually.
7 A [e]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the prophets,
And I [f]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
And Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his disgrace back to him.
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
- Hosea 12:1 Lit they make
- Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
- Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
- Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
- Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
- Hosea 12:12 Lit field