Hosea 12

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

12 E′phraim herds the wind,
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
    they make a bargain with Assyria,
    and oil is carried to Egypt.

⁷ A trader, in whose hands are false balances,
    he loves to oppress.
⁸ E′phraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich,
    I have gained wealth for myself”;
but all his riches can never offset^[b]
    the guilt he has incurred.
⁹ I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
    as in the days of the appointed feast.

¹⁰ I spoke to the prophets;
    it was I who multiplied visions,
    and through the prophets gave parables.
¹¹ If there is iniquity in Gilead
    they shall surely come to nought;
if in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
    their altars also shall be like stone heaps
    on the furrows of the field.
¹² (Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
    there Israel did service for a wife,
    and for a wife he herded sheep.)
¹³ By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
    and by a prophet he was preserved.
¹⁴ E′phraim has given bitter provocation;
    so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him,
    and will turn back upon him his reproaches.