Hosea 12
1 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; Judah still wanders with God and is faithful to the holy ones.
2 Ephraim feeds on the wind and chases the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and destruction. They make a treaty with Assyria, and olive oil is carried to Egypt.
3 The LORD has a case against Judah, to punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds.
4 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his strength he wrestled with God.
5 He wrestled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and pleaded with him for favor. At Bethel he found him, and there he spoke with us.
6 The LORD is the God of Hosts; the LORD is his name.
7 And you, return to your God; keep faithful love and justice, and always wait for your God.
8 Canaan has deceitful scales in his hand; he loves to oppress.
9 Ephraim said, “I have indeed become rich; I have gained wealth for myself. In all my labor they will find no guilt in me that is sin.”
10 I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; I will still make you live in tents, as in the days of the festival.
11 I spoke to the prophets; I myself multiplied visions, and through the prophets I used comparisons.
12 If Gilead is wickedness, they have become nothing but lies; at Gilgal they sacrificed bulls. Even their altars are like heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.
13 Jacob fled to the open country of Aram; Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept watch.
14 Through a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, and through a prophet he was kept safe.
15 Ephraim provoked him bitterly; so his Lord will leave his blood upon him and bring his disgrace back upon him.
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