Hosea 12

1Ephraim feeds on the wind and chases the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence. They make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.

2Yahweh has a case against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

3In the womb he grabbed his brother’s heel, and in his manhood he struggled with God.

4He struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with us—

5Yahweh, the God of Armies, Yahweh is the name by which he is remembered.

6As for you, return to your God; hold on to faithful love and justice, and wait for your God continually.

7A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand; he loves to defraud.

8Ephraim says, “I have indeed become rich; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors they will find in me no iniquity that is sin.”

9I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt; I will again make you live 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 I spoke in parables.

11If Gilead is wicked, surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars too will be like heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

12Jacob fled to the country of Aram; Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he tended sheep.

13By a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet Israel was tended.

14Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger, so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and pay him back for his contempt.