Hosea 11:12-12:14

New International Version

Israel’s Sin

¹²Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,^(A)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful^(B) Holy One.^[a]^(C)

12 ^[b]¹Ephraim^(D) feeds on the wind;^(E)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.^(F)
He makes a treaty with Assyria^(G)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.^(H)
²The Lord has a charge^(I) to bring against Judah;^(J)
    he will punish^(K) Jacob^[c] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.^(L)
³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;^(M)
    as a man he struggled^(N) with God.
⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel^(O)
    and talked with him there—
⁵the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!^(P)
⁶But you must return^(Q) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,^(R)
    and wait for your God always.^(S)

⁷The merchant uses dishonest scales^(T)
    and loves to defraud.
⁸Ephraim boasts,^(U)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^(V)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

⁹“I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;^(W)
I will make you live in tents^(X) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
¹⁰I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables^(Y) through them.”^(Z)

¹¹Is Gilead wicked?^(AA)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^(AB)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.^(AC)
¹²Jacob fled to the country of Aram^[d];^(AD)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.^(AE)
¹³The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,^(AF)
    by a prophet he cared for him.^(AG)
¹⁴But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
    his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed^(AH)
    and will repay him for his contempt.^(AI)

Footnotes

Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia