Hosea 12

1 Ephraim tries to herd the wind, chasing after the east wind all day long. Their lies and violence keep on increasing. They make a treaty with Assyria, and send olive oil to Egypt.

Ephraim feeds on wind and follows burning heat; all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. And he has entered into a pact with the Assyrians, and he has carried oil into Egypt.

2 The Lord also has an accusation against Judah, and will punish Jacob for the way the people act; he will repay them for what they have done.

Therefore, the judgment of the Lord is with Judah and a visitation is upon Jacob. He will repay him according to his ways and according to his inventions.

3 Even in the womb he fought with his brother; when he became a man he fought with God.

In the womb, he supplanted his brother; for in his good fortune, he had been guided by an angel.

4 He fought with the angel, and he won. He wept, and begged him for a blessing. Jacob found God at Bethel, and spoke with him there—

And he prevailed over an angel, for he had been strengthened. He wept and petitioned him. He found him in Bethel, and there he has spoken to us.

5 the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his memorable name!

And the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial.

6 You must return to your God. Act lovingly and do what is right, and always wait for your God.

And so, you should convert to your God. Keep mercy and judgment, and have hope in your God always.

7 A merchant who holds in his hands dishonest scales loves to swindle.

Canaan, in his hand is a deceitful balance, he has chosen false accusations.

8 Ephraim says, “I'm rich! I've made myself wealthy! I've made so much from my work, and nobody can prove me guilty of doing wrong.”

And Ephraim has said, “Nevertheless, I have become rich; I have found an idol for myself. All of my labors will not reveal to me the iniquity that I have committed.”

9 But I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. I will make you live again in tents like you do at the time of that particular festival.

And I, the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, nevertheless will cause you to dwell in tabernacles, just as during the days of the feast.

10 I spoke through the prophets. I myself gave many visions and parables through the prophets.

And I have spoken through the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have used parables through the hands of the prophets.

11 If Gilead is idolatrous, they will surely come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Even their altars are like heaps of rocks in the furrows of the field.

If Gilead is an idol, then they have been sacrificing cattle in Gilgal to no purpose. For even their altars are like clutter on the soil of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram; Israel worked there to gain a wife, earning a wife by looking after sheep.

Jacob fled into the region of Syria, and Israel served like a wife, and was served by a wife.

13 Through a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet they were cared for.

Yet by a prophet the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and he was served by a prophet.

14 Ephraim has really upset the Lord, and the Lord will let them have the consequences of their bloodshed and pay them back for their contempt.

Ephraim has provoked me to wrath with his bitterness, and his blood will overcome him, and his Lord will requite him for his shamefulness.