Hosea 12:1-14
12 “Eʹphra·im is feeding on wind.
He chases after the east wind all day long.
He multiplies lies and violence.
They make a covenant with As·syrʹi·a+ and take oil to Egypt.+
2 Jehovah has a legal case against Judah;+He will call for an accounting against Jacob according to his ways,And he will repay him according to his deeds.+
3 In the womb he seized his brother by the heel,+And with his vigor he contended with God.+
4 He kept contending with an angel and prevailed.
He wept and begged for his favor.”+
He found him at Bethʹel, and there He spoke with us,+
5 Jehovah the God of armies,+Jehovah is his memorial name.*+
6 “So return to your God,+Maintain loyal love and justice,+And always hope in your God.
7 But in the hand of the tradesman* are deceptive scales;He loves to defraud.+
8 Eʹphra·im keeps saying, ‘Indeed, I have become rich;+I have found wealth.+
And in all my toil, they will not find anything wrong or sinful.’
9 But I am Jehovah your God from* the land of Egypt.+
I will again make you dwell in tentsAs in the days of an appointed time.*
10 I spoke to the prophets,+I multiplied their visions,And I spoke parables through the prophets.
11 With Gilʹe·ad there has been deception*+ and untruth.
In Gilʹgal they have sacrificed bulls,+And their altars are like piles of stones in the furrows of the field.+
12 Jacob ran away to the territory* of Aʹram;*+Israel+ served there for a wife,+And for a wife he guarded sheep.+
13 By a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up from Egypt,+And by a prophet he was guarded.+
14 Eʹphra·im has caused bitter offense;+His bloodguilt remains on him;His Lord will repay him for his reproach.”+
