Hosea 12

1 "Ephraim *Job 15:2, 3; Hos. 8:7feeds on the wind,

And pursues the east wind;

He daily increases lies and desolation.

*2 Kin. 17:4; Hos. 8:9Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians,

And *Is. 30:6oil is carried to Egypt.

2 "The*Hos. 4:1; Mic. 6:2Lord also brings a charge against Judah,

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

According to his deeds He will recompense him.

3 He took his brother *Gen. 25:26by the heel in the womb,

And in his strength he *Gen. 32:24–28struggled with God.

4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

He wept, and sought favor from Him.

He found Him in*(Gen. 28:12–19; 35:9–15)Bethel,

And there He spoke to us—

5 That is, the Lord God of hosts.

The Lordis His *Ex. 3:15memorable name.

6 *Hos. 14:1; Mic. 6:8So you, by thehelpof your God, return;

Observe mercy and justice,

And wait on your God continually.

7 "A cunning Canaanite!

*Prov. 11:1; Amos 8:5; Mic. 6:11Deceitful scales are in his hand;

He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said,

*Ps. 62:10; Hos. 13:6; Rev. 3:17‘Surely I have become rich,

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors

They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’

9 "But I am the Lord your God,

Ever since the land of Egypt;

*Lev. 23:42I will again make you dwell in tents,

As in the days of the appointed feast.

10 *2 Kin. 17:13; Jer. 7:25I have also spoken by the prophets,

And have multiplied visions;

I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets."

11 Though *Hos. 6:8Gilead has idols—

Surely they are vanity—

Though they sacrifice bulls in *Hos. 9:15Gilgal,

Indeed their altars shallbe heaps in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob *Gen. 28:5; Deut. 26:5fled to the country of Syria;

*Gen. 29:20, 28Israel served for a spouse,

And for a wife he tended sheep.

13 *Ex. 12:50, 51; 13:3; Ps. 77:20; Is. 63:11, 12; Mic. 6:4By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,

And by a prophet he was preserved.

14 Ephraim *Ezek. 18:10–13provoked Him to anger most bitterly;

Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,

*Dan. 11:18; Mic. 6:16And return his reproach upon him.