Hosea 12

1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; Every day he multiplieth falsehood and violence; They make a league with Assyria, And oil is carried into Egypt.

Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

2 Therefore Jehovah hath a controversy with Judah. And he will punish Jacob for his ways, And requite him according to his doings.

The LORD also brings a charge against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his strength he contended with God;

In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.

4 Yea, he contended with the angel, and prevailed; He wept, and made supplication to him. At Bethel he found him, And there he spake with us.

Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there —

5 And Jehovah, the God of hosts, Jehovah is his name.

the LORD is the God of Hosts— the LORD is His name of renown.

6 Therefore turn thou to thy God; Observe mercy and justice, And hope in thy God always!

But you must return to your God, maintaining love and justice, and always waiting on your God.

7 He is a Canaanite; in his hands are the balances of deceit; He loveth to oppress.

A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.

8 Yet Ephraim saith, Lo, I have become rich; I have found myself substance; In all my earnings can be found no transgression in which there is guilt.

And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”

9 Yet I, Jehovah, have been thy God from the land of Egypt; I will again cause thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.

But I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets, And I have given many visions, And by the prophets I have used similitudes.

I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets.

11 Behold, Gilead is full of iniquity; Surely they have become corrupt; In Gilgal they sacrifice oxen, And their altars are like the heaps in the furrows of the field.

Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled into the country of Syria, And Israel served for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.

Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife— for a wife he tended sheep.

13 By a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet was he preserved.

But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.

14 Ephraim hath provoked his Lord most bitterly; Therefore will he leave his blood upon him, And recompense to him his reproach.

Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him and repay him for his contempt.