Hosea 12

¹Ephraim 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.

The Lord's Indictment of Israel and Judah

²The Lord has an indictment against Judah

and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

he will repay him according to his deeds.

³In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

⁴He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

He met God at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us—

⁵the 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.”

⁷A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,

he loves to oppress.

⁸Ephraim 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.”

⁹I 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.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied visions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

¹¹If 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.

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

¹³By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

¹⁴Ephraim has given bitter provocation;

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.