Hosea 12
GOD’S WORD Translation
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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 He struggled with the Messenger and won.
Jacob cried and pleaded with him.
Jacob found him at Bethel,
and he talked with him there.
5 The Lord is the God of Armies.
The Lord is the name by which he is remembered.
6 Return to your God.
Be loyal and fair, and always wait with hope for your God.
7 ⌞The Lord says,⌟ “The merchants use dishonest scales.
They love to cheat people.
8 The people of Ephraim say, ‘We’re rich. We’ve made a fortune.
With all this wealth, no one will find us guilty of any sin.’
9 I am the Lord your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again
as you did during your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions.
I taught lessons through the prophets.” [b]
11 The people of Gilead are evil.
They are worthless.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal.
But their altars will become like piles of rubble
beside a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria.
Israel worked to get a wife; he took care of sheep to pay for her.
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt.
He used a prophet to take care of them.
14 The people of Ephraim made the Lord bitter.
He will hold them guilty of murder.
The Lord will pay them back for their insults.
Footnotes
- 12:1 Hosea 12:1–14 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:2–15 in the Hebrew Bible.
- 12:10 Or “I brought destruction through the prophets.”
Hosea 12
King James Version
12 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;
5 Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.
6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually.
7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
9 And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.
10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.
11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
13 And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
Hosea 12
English Standard Version
12 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and pursues (A)the east wind all day long;
they multiply (B)falsehood and violence;
(C)they make a covenant with Assyria,
and (D)oil is carried to Egypt.
The Lord's Indictment of Israel and Judah
2 (E)The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
3 (F)In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
(G)He met God[a] at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us—
5 the Lord, the God of hosts,
(H)the Lord is his memorial name:
6 “So you, (I)by the help of your God, return,
(J)hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
7 A merchant, in whose hands are (K)false balances,
he loves (L)to oppress.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but (M)I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors (N)they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
9 (O)I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you (P)dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 (Q)I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied (R)visions,
and through the prophets gave parables.
11 (S)If there is iniquity in Gilead,
they shall surely come to nothing:
(T)in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
(U)their altars also are like stone heaps
(V)on the furrows of the field.
12 (W)Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel (X)served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.
13 By (Y)a prophet (Z)the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.
14 (AA)Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord (AB)will leave his bloodguilt on him
(AC)and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:4 Hebrew him
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