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A trader in whose hands are false balances,
    he loves to oppress.(A)
Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich;
    I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
    no offense has been found in me
    that would be sin.”[a](B)
I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
    as in the days of the appointed festival.(C)

10 I spoke to the prophets;
    it was I who multiplied visions,
    and through the prophets I will bring destruction.(D)
11 In[b] Gilead there is iniquity;
    they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
    so their altars shall be like stone heaps
    on the furrows of the field.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 12.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 12.11 Syr: Heb If

“Now as for the merchant,[a]
    deceitful balances remain in his hand,
        and he loves to defraud.
Ephraim claims,
    ‘I have become rich,
I have made a fortune!
    Because of all my wealth,
        no one will find any iniquity or sin in me.’

“Yet I remain the Lord your God,
    who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again,
    as in the festival of that name.[b]
10 I spoke to the prophets,
    giving revelation after revelation,
        and employing parables in the prophetic writings.[c]

11 “There’s iniquity in Gilead, isn’t there?
    They have become truly vain.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;
    their altars are like piles of stone in furrowed fields.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 12:7 MT word for merchant sounds like Canaan
  2. Hosea 12:9 I.e. the Festival of Tents
  3. Hosea 12:10 Lit. parables by the hand of the prophets