Hosea 12
Legacy Standard Bible
12 [a]Ephraim feeds on (A)wind
And pursues the (B)east wind continually;
He abounds in falsehood and destruction.
Moreover, [b]he cuts a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is carried to Egypt.
Yahweh’s Contention with Judah
2 And Yahweh has a (C)contention with Judah
And will punish Jacob (D)according to his ways;
He will cause everything to return to him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (E)took his brother by the heel,
And in his maturity he [c](F)wrestled with God.
4 Indeed, he [d]wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (G)sought His favor.
He found Him at (H)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 Even Yahweh, the God of hosts,
Yahweh is His [e](I)name of remembrance.
6 Therefore, (J)return to your God,
(K)Keep lovingkindness and justice,
And (L)hope in your God continually.
7 A [f]merchant, in whose hands are deceptive (M)balances,
He loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become (N)rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(O)No iniquity, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (P)settle in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 And I have spoken to the (Q)prophets,
And I [g]made visions abound,
And by the hand of the prophets I gave (R)parables.
11 Is there wickedness in Gilead?
Surely they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
Yes, (S)their altars are like the stone heaps
Beside the furrows of the field.
12 Now (T)Jacob fled to the field of Aram,
And (U)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (V)prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was kept.
14 (W)Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (X)bloodguilt on him
And cause his (Y)reproach to return to him.
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
- Hosea 12:1 Lit they cut
- Hosea 12:3 Or strove, cf. Gen 32:28
- Hosea 12:4 Or strove, cf. Gen 32:28
- Hosea 12:5 Lit memorial
- Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
- Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
Hosea 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs
12 Ephraim chases[a] the wind(A)
and pursues the east wind.(B)
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,(C)
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.(D)
2 The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways;(E)
He will repay him based on his actions.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,(F)
and as an adult he wrestled with God.(G)
4 Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought His favor.(H)
He found him[b] at Bethel,(I)
and there He spoke with him.[c](J)
5 Yahweh is the God of Hosts;
Yahweh is His name.(K)
6 But you must return to your God.(L)
Maintain love and justice,(M)
and always put your hope in God.(N)
7 A merchant loves to extort(O)
with dishonest scales in his hands.(P)
8 But Ephraim says:
“How rich I have become;(Q)
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any crime in me(R)
that I can be punished for!”[d]
Judgment on Apostate Israel
9 I have been Yahweh your God
ever since[e] the land of Egypt.(S)
I will make you live in tents again,(T)
as in the festival days.
10 I spoke through the prophets(U)
and granted many visions;
I gave parables through the prophets.(V)
11 Since Gilead is full of evil,(W)
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;(X)
even their altars will be like heaps of rocks(Y)
on the furrows of a field.
Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram.(Z)
Israel worked to earn a wife;(AA)
he tended flocks for a wife.(AB)
13 The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,(AC)
and Israel was tended by a prophet.
14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,(AD)
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him(AE)
and repay him for his contempt.(AF)
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:1 Or feeds on, or tends
- Hosea 12:4 Or Him
- Hosea 12:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads us
- Hosea 12:8 Lit crime which is sin
- Hosea 12:9 LXX reads God who brought you out of
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