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Hosea 12
The Voice
Hosea 12
The Voice
12 Eternal One: Ephraim feeds on the wind.
He chases the hot east wind all day long.
He’s becoming more and more deceitful and violent.
They’ve abandoned their covenant to make an alliance with Assyria,
trading oil for favor from Egypt.
As Israel pursues what she cannot obtain, she becomes entangled in affairs of other nations.
2 The Eternal has charges to bring against Judah;
He’ll punish the nation of Jacob for the way he’s acting
and pay him back for the things he’s done.
3 Even from the womb, he fought with his brother by grabbing his heel;[a]
when he grew to be an adult, he struggled against God.
4-5 He wrestled with a heavenly messenger and won;[b]
he wept and begged for his help.
It was the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies, who met him at Bethel;
the Eternal Himself spoke with him there; the Eternal One is His memorial name.
6 So you must return to your God, maintain loyalty and justice,
and wait patiently for your God.
7 Like Canaan, Israel is a merchant who uses dishonest scales—
he loves to cheat people!
8 Ephraim gloats, “I’ve gotten rich! I’ve made a fortune for myself!
And in all my dealings no one can charge me with iniquity and dishonesty.”
9 Eternal One: I’m the Eternal One; I’ve been your True God ever since you left Egypt.
I’m going to make you live in tents again,
As you do in remembrance during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Every year, the Israelites live in tents for one week as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival reminds the people of God’s constant protection of their ancestors as they wandered for a generation in the Sinai desert. However, the Israelites won’t enjoy their coming time in tents. Living in tents will mean they’ve lost all the wealth and security they built up in their solid houses and cities; they’ll be nomads wandering the earth, but this time without God’s constant protection. In a reversal of the Exodus story, these wanderings will be a prelude to bondage in a foreign nation, where they will be slaves without the ear of God, as their ancestors were in Egypt.
10 Eternal One: I’ve spoken to the prophets; I’ve given them many visions,
and I’ve told you parables through them.
11 Because Gilead is so wicked, it is worthless.[c]
They sacrifice bulls at the cultic center of Gilgal,
But their altars will be heaps of stone next to a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the fields of Aram;[d]
Israel worked for Laban in exchange for a wife;
to pay the bride-price, he shepherded Laban’s flocks.
13 But the Eternal One led Israel out of Egypt by a prophet;
Moses, God’s own prophet, kept the people safe.
14 But now Ephraim has made his Lord furious, and this is His judgment:
God will punish him for the blood he’s shed
and pay him back for his defiance.
Footnotes
- 12:3 Genesis 25:26
- 12:4–5 Genesis 32:28
- 12:11 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 12:12 Genesis 28:5
Hosea 12
New International Version
Hosea 12
New International Version
12 [a]1 Ephraim(A) feeds on the wind;(B)
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.(C)
He makes a treaty with Assyria(D)
and sends olive oil to Egypt.(E)
2 The Lord has a charge(F) to bring against Judah;(G)
he will punish(H) Jacob[b] according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(I)
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;(J)
as a man he struggled(K) with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel(L)
and talked with him there—
5 the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is his name!(M)
6 But you must return(N) to your God;
maintain love and justice,(O)
and wait for your God always.(P)
7 The merchant uses dishonest scales(Q)
and loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim boasts,(R)
“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.(S)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
any iniquity or sin.”
9 “I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt;(T)
I will make you live in tents(U) again,
as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables(V) through them.”(W)
11 Is Gilead wicked?(X)
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?(Y)
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.(Z)
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram[c];(AA)
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.(AB)
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,(AC)
by a prophet he cared for him.(AD)
14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed(AE)
and will repay him for his contempt.(AF)
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
- Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
- Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
Hosea 12
King James Version
Hosea 12
King James Version
12 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.
2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;
5 Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.
6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually.
7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.
9 And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.
10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.
11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.
13 And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
The Voice (VOICE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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