Hosea 11:7-12:11

New American Standard Bible

⁷So My people are determined to ^(A)turn from Me.
Though ^[a]they call ^[b]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.

⁸^(B)How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I ^[c]make you like ^(C)Admah?
How can I treat you like ^(D)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
^[d]All My compassions are kindled.
⁹I will ^(E)not carry out My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim ^(F)again.
For ^(G)I am God and not a man, the ^(H)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in ^[e]wrath.
¹⁰They will ^(I)walk after the Lord,
He will ^(J)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar,
And His sons will come ^(K)trembling from the west.
¹¹They will come trembling like birds from ^(L)Egypt,
And like ^(M)doves from the land of ^(N)Assyria;
And I will ^(O)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.

¹²^[f]Ephraim surrounds Me with ^(P)lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
^[g]Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Ephraim Reminded

12 ^[h]Ephraim feeds on ^(Q)wind,
And pursues the ^(R)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, ^[i]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
²The Lord also has a ^(S)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob ^(T)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
³In the womb he ^(U)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he ^(V)contended with God.
⁴Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and ^(W)implored His favor.
He found Him at ^(X)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
⁵And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His ^[j]^(Y)name.
⁶So as for you, ^(Z)return to your God,
^(AA)Maintain ^[k]kindness and justice,
And ^(AB)wait for your God continually.
⁷A ^[l]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent ^(AC)balances,
Loves to exploit.
⁸And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become ^(AD)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
^(AE)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
⁹But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you ^(AF)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
¹⁰I have also spoken to the ^(AG)prophets,
And I ^[m]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in ^(AH)parables.
¹¹Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, ^(AI)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.