Hosea 11:12-14:9

English Standard Version

⁷ A merchant, in whose hands are ^(L)false balances,
    he loves ^(M)to oppress.
⁸ Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ^(N)I am rich;
    I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors ^(O)they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
^9 (P)I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you ^(Q)dwell in tents,
    as in the days of the appointed feast.

^10 (R)I spoke to the prophets;
    it was I who multiplied ^(S)visions,
    and through the prophets gave parables.
^11 (T)If there is iniquity in Gilead,
    they shall surely come to nothing:
^(U)in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
    ^(V)their altars also are like stone heaps
    ^(W)on the furrows of the field.
^12 (X)Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
    there Israel ^(Y)served for a wife,
    and for a wife he guarded sheep.
¹³ By ^(Z)a prophet ^(AA)the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
    and by a prophet he was guarded.
^14 (AB)Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
    so his Lord ^(AC)will leave his bloodguilt on him
    ^(AD)and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

⁴ But ^(AN)I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
^(AO)you know no God but me,
    and ^(AP)besides me there is no savior.
^5 (AQ)It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought;
^6 (AR)but when they had grazed,^[c] they became full,
    ^(AS)they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
    ^(AT)therefore they forgot me.
⁷ So ^(AU)I am to them like a lion;
    ^(AV)like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
⁸ I will fall upon them ^(AW)like a bear robbed of her cubs;
    I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
    ^(AX)as a wild beast would rip them open.

⁹ He destroys^[d] you, O Israel,
    for you are against me, against ^(AY)your helper.
^10 (AZ)Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
    Where are all your rulers—
those of whom ^(BA)you said,
    “Give me a king and princes”?
^11 (BB)I gave you a king in my anger,
    and ^(BC)I took him away in my wrath.

¹² The iniquity of Ephraim is ^(BD)bound up;
    his sin is ^(BE)kept in store.
^13 (BF)The pangs of childbirth come for him,
    but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
    ^(BG)at the opening of the womb.

^14 (BH)I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
    ^(BI)I shall redeem them from Death.^[e]
(BJ)O ^(BK)Death, where are your plagues?
    ^(BL)O ^(BM)Sheol, where is your sting?
    ^(BN)Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵ Though ^(BO)he may flourish among his brothers,
    ^(BP)the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
    rising from the wilderness,
^(BQ)and his fountain shall dry up;
    his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip ^(BR)his treasury
    of every precious thing.
^16 [f] Samaria ^(BS)shall bear her guilt,
    because ^(BT)she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
    ^(BU)their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
    and their ^(BV)pregnant women ripped open.

⁴ I ^(CE)will heal their apostasy;
    ^(CF)I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
^5 (CG)I will be like the dew to Israel;
    ^(CH)he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall take root like the trees ^(CI)of Lebanon;
⁶ his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be ^(CJ)like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷ They shall return and ^(CK)dwell beneath my^[h] shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸ O ^(CL)Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.^[i]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    ^(CM)from me comes your fruit.

^9 (CN)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and ^(CO)the upright walk in them,
    ^(CP)but transgressors stumble in them.