Hosea 12 / 14
- 1
Ephraim feeds on the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
- 2(The Lord's Indictment of Israel and Judah)
The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
- 3
In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
- 4
He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us--
- 5
the Lord, the God of hosts,
the Lord is his memorial name:
- 6
"So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God."
- 7
A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.
- 8
Ephraim has said, "Ah, but I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin."
- 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 nothing:
in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
their altars also are like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.
- 12
Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.
- 13
By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.
- 14
Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.