Hosea

A Reproof of Ephraim, Judah, and Jacob

1 Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

2 The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.

4 Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there —

5 the LORD God of Hosts, the LORD is His name of renown.

6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and always wait on your God.

7 A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.

8 And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”

9 But I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.

10 I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife — for a wife he tended sheep.

13 But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.

14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him and repay him for his contempt.

Footnotes:
12:1 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel; also in verses 8 and 14
12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel or he deceives.
12:4 Or Angel
12:4 LXX and Syriac; MT and there He spoke with us
12:12 That is, northwest Mesopotamia