| 1 | Ephraim herds
and
feeds on the wind and pursues the [parching] east wind; every day he increases lies and violence, and a covenant is made with Assyria and oil is carried to Egypt. |
| 2 | The Lord has also a controversy (a pleading contention) with Judah, and will punish Jacob by visiting upon him according to his ways; according to his doings will He recompense him. |
| 3 | He took his brother by the heel in [their mother’s] womb, and in the strength [of his manhood] he contended
and
had power with God. |
| 4 | Yes, he had power over the
[a]Angel [of the Lord] and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He met Him in Bethel, and there [God] spoke with [him and through him with] us— |
| 5 | Even the Lord the God of hosts, the name of Him [Who spoke with Jacob] is the Lord. |
| 6 | Therefore return to your God! Hold fast to love
and
mercy, to righteousness
and
justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually! |
| 7 | Canaan [Israel—whose ideals have sunk to those of Canaan] is a trader; the balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to oppress
and
defraud. |
| 8 | Ephraim has said, Ah, but I have become rich; I have gained for myself wealth. All my profits shall bring on me no iniquity that would be sin. [But all his profits will never offset nor suffice to expiate the guilt which he has incurred.] |
| 9 | But I [Who] am the Lord your God from [when you became a nation in] the land of Egypt will yet make you to dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed
and
solemn Feast [of Tabernacles]. |
| 10 | I have also spoken to [you by] the prophets, and I have multiplied visions [for you] and [have appealed to you] through parables acted out by the prophets. |
| 11 | If Gilead is given over to idolatry, they shall come to nought
and
be mere waste; if they [insult God by] sacrificing bullocks in Gilgal [on heathen altars], their altars shall be like heaps in the furrows of the fields. |
| 12 | Jacob fled into the open country of Aram
or
Padan-aram, and [there] Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he herded sheep. |
| 13 | And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was [Israel] preserved. |
| 14 | Ephraim has provoked most bitter anger; therefore shall his blood [guilt] be left upon him, and his disgrace
and
reproach shall his Lord return upon him. |
Cross references:
-
Hosea 12:1 : Isa. 30:6, 7.
-
Hosea 12:3 : Gen. 25:26; 27:36.
-
Hosea 12:4 : Gen. 28:12-19; 32:28; Gen. 35:1-15.
-
Hosea 12:8 : Rev. 3:17.
-
Hosea 12:9 : Lev. 23:39-43.
-
Hosea 12:12 : Gen. 29:18-20; 30:31; 31:38-41.
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