< Hosea 12 >
1 “Ephraim is enjoying wind, And is pursuing an east wind, All the day he multiplies lying and spoiling, And they make a covenant with Asshur, And oil is carried to Egypt.
Ephraim feeds on the wind and follows after the east wind. He continually multiplies lies and violence. They make a covenant with Assyria and carry olive oil to Egypt.
2 And YHWH has a controversy with Judah, To lay a charge on Jacob according to his ways, He returns to him according to his doings.
Yahweh also has a lawsuit against Judah and will punish Jacob for what he has done; he will repay him for his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And by his strength he was a prince with God,
In the womb Jacob grasped his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he struggled with God.
4 Indeed, he is a prince to the Messenger, And he overcomes [by] weeping, And he makes supplication to Him, At Bethel He finds him, And there He speaks with us,
He struggled with the angel and won. He wept and begged for his favor. He met God at Bethel; there God spoke with him.
5 Even YHWH, God of the Hosts, YHWH [is] His memorial.
This is Yahweh, the God of hosts; “Yahweh” is his name to be called on.
6 And you, through your God, turn, Keep kindness and judgment, And wait on your God continually.
So turn to your God. Keep covenantal faithfulness and justice, and wait continually for your God.
7 Canaan! In his hand [are] balances of deceit! He has loved to oppress.
The merchants have false scales in their hands; they love to defraud.
8 And Ephraim says, Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself, All my labors—they do not find against me iniquity that [is] sin.
Ephraim said, “I have certainly become very rich; I have found wealth for myself. In all my work they will not find any iniquity in me, anything that would be sin.”
9 And I—your God YHWH from the land of Egypt, Again I turn you back into tents, As in the days of the appointed time.
“I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt. I will again make you live in tents, as in the days of the appointed festival.
10 And I have spoken to the prophets, And I have multiplied vision, And by the hand of the prophets I use allegories.
I spoke to the prophets, and I gave them many visions for you. By the hand of the prophets I gave parables.”
11 Surely Gilead [is] iniquity, They have been only vanity, In Gilead they have sacrificed bullocks, Also their altars [are] as heaps, on the furrows of a field.
If there is wickedness in Gilead, surely the people are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars will be like heaps of stone in the furrows of the fields.
12 And Jacob flees to the country of Aram, And Israel serves for a wife, Indeed, he has kept watch for a wife.
Jacob fled to the land of Aram; Israel worked in order to get a wife; and he kept flocks of sheep to get a wife.
13 And by a prophet has YHWH brought up Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet it has been watched.
Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet, and by a prophet he took care of them.
14 Ephraim has most bitterly provoked, And he leaves his blood on himself, And his Lord turns his reproach back to him!”
Ephraim has bitterly angered Yahweh. So his Lord will leave his blood on him and will turn back on him his disgrace.