Hosea 12
1 Ephraim to pasture spirit: breath and to pursue east all [the] day lie and violence to multiply and covenant with Assyria to cut: make(covenant) and oil to/for Egypt to conduct
[The leaders of] Israel are constantly wavering [about seeking help from other countries]. [Seeking their help is as useless as] [MET] chasing the wind. They pile up their lies and violent acts. [First, ] they make a treaty with Assyria, and [then they] send olive oil to [the rulers of] Egypt [to seek their help].
2 and strife to/for LORD with Judah and to/for to reckon: punish upon Jacob like/as way: conduct his like/as deed his to return: pay to/for him
Yahweh [says that he] will bring accusations against [the leaders of] Judah, and that he will punish [the descendants of] Jacob for what they have done.
3 in/on/with belly: womb to assail [obj] brother: male-sibling his and in/on/with strength his to strive with God
[When Jacob was] in his mother’s womb, he grabbed his brother [Esau’s] heel [because he wanted to be born first]. When Jacob grew up, he wrestled with God.
4 and to reign to(wards) messenger: angel and be able to weep and be gracious to/for him Bethel Bethel to find him and there to speak: speak with us
He struggled with [the one who had appeared to him in the form of] an angel, and Jacob defeated him, but [then] he cried and asked the angel to bless him. [Later], God came to Jacob at Bethel and talked with him there.
5 and LORD God [the] Hosts LORD memorial his
[That was] the Commander of the armies of angels whose name is Yahweh [who talked with him]!
6 and you(m. s.) in/on/with God your to return: return kindness and justice to keep: careful and to await to(wards) God your continually
But you [people of Israel] must return to your God! You must faithfully love [him], and you must do what is fair/just and always depend on him.
7 merchant in/on/with hand his balance deceit to/for to oppress to love: lover
The merchants [among you] use scales that do not weigh correctly; they love/like to cheat people.
8 and to say Ephraim surely to enrich to find strength to/for me all toil my not to find to/for me iniquity: crime which sin
[The people of] Israel boast, saying “We are [very] rich [DOU]; and we got all that money by our own efforts, and without committing any sin.”
9 and I LORD God your from land: country/planet Egypt still to dwell you in/on/with tent like/as day meeting: festival
“I am Yahweh your God, [the one who brought your ancestors] out of Egypt. [And some day] I will force you to live in tents again [like your ancestors did] when [they celebrated] the Festival [of Living in Temporary Shelters].
10 and to speak: speak upon [the] prophet and I vision to multiply and in/on/with hand: by [the] prophet to resemble
[Many times] I spoke to the prophets, and I gave them many visions, and I gave them parables to tell [to the people].”
11 if Gilead evil: wickedness surely vanity: vain to be in/on/with Gilgal cattle to sacrifice also altar their like/as heap upon furrow field
[The people of] Gilead [city] are [RHQ] extremely wicked; they are worthless. The people sacrifice bulls in Gilgal [city], but their altars will [soon] become like [SIM] piles of stone [at the edge of] a plowed field.
12 and to flee Jacob land: country Aram and to serve Israel in/on/with woman: wife and in/on/with woman: wife to keep: guard
[Your ancestor] Jacob fled [from his brother Esau] and went to northwest Mesopotamia. He worked [for his uncle Laban for many years] to get a wife; he took care of [his uncle’s] sheep [to pay] for her.
13 and in/on/with prophet to ascend: establish LORD [obj] Israel from Egypt and in/on/with prophet to keep: guard
[Many years later, ] Yahweh enabled a prophet to bring the [ancestors of you] people of Israel here from Egypt; that prophet, [Moses], took care of them.
14 to provoke Ephraim bitterness and blood his upon him to leave and reproach his to return: pay to/for him lord his
[But now the people of] Israel have caused [Yahweh] to become very angry; Yahweh says that they deserve to die because they caused [many others] to die [MTY]; he will pay them back for the sins that they have committed against him and for insulting him.
