Hosea 12

1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; Every day he multiplieth falsehood and violence; They make a league with Assyria, And oil is carried into Egypt.

Ephraim herds the wind and hunts the sirocco. All day long they heap up falsehood and fraud, make a treaty with Assyria, and sends tribute of olive oil to Egypt.

2 Therefore Jehovah hath a controversy with Judah. And he will punish Jacob for his ways, And requite him according to his doings.

The Lord has a charge to bring against Israel, to punish Jacob for his acts, according to his deeds will he requite him,

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his strength he contended with God;

In the womb he supplanted his brother, in manhood he wrestled with God,

4 Yea, he contended with the angel, and prevailed; He wept, and made supplication to him. At Bethel he found him, And there he spake with us.

He wrestled with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his blessing. At Bethel the Lord found him, and there he spoke with us.

5 And Jehovah, the God of hosts, Jehovah is his name.

And the Lord is the God of hosts, the Lord is his name!

6 Therefore turn thou to thy God; Observe mercy and justice, And hope in thy God always!

So now, by the help of your God, return. Keep true love and justice. Trust in your God without ceasing.

7 He is a Canaanite; in his hands are the balances of deceit; He loveth to oppress.

A merchant uses false scales: They love to defraud.

8 Yet Ephraim saith, Lo, I have become rich; I have found myself substance; In all my earnings can be found no transgression in which there is guilt.

Ephraim says, ‘Yes, I have become rich, I have secured wealth for myself. But despite my gains no one will find a crime I can be convicted of!’

9 Yet I, Jehovah, have been thy God from the land of Egypt; I will again cause thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.

I am the Lord your God, ever since the land of Egypt. I will make you again dwell in tents, as in days of old.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets, And I have given many visions, And by the prophets I have used similitudes.

I spoke continually by the prophets. It was I who multiplied visions, and spoke in parables through the prophets.

11 Behold, Gilead is full of iniquity; Surely they have become corrupt; In Gilgal they sacrifice oxen, And their altars are like the heaps in the furrows of the field.

In Gilead is iniquity, they will come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, so their altars will be as stone heaps, among the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled into the country of Syria, And Israel served for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.

And Jacob fled to the territory of Aram, and Israel worked to earn a wife: for a wife he herded sheep.

13 By a prophet Jehovah brought up Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet was he preserved.

The Lord brought Israel up from Egypt by a prophet, and by a prophet Israel was guarded.

14 Ephraim hath provoked his Lord most bitterly; Therefore will he leave his blood upon him, And recompense to him his reproach.

Ephraim has given bitter provocation. His Lord will leave upon him his guilt of bloodshed, and for his contempt he will repay him.