Hosea 12

1 - Ephraim Feeds On The Wind; He Pursues The East Wind All Day And Multiplies Lies And Violence. He Makes A Treaty With Assyria And Sends Olive Oil To Egypt.

2 - The Lord Has A Charge To Bring Against Judah; He Will Punish Jacob According To His Ways And Repay Him According To His Deeds.

3 - In The Womb He Grasped His Brother's Heel; As A Man He Struggled With God.

4 - He Struggled With The Angel And Overcame Him; He Wept And Begged For His Favor. He Found Him At Bethel And Talked With Him There-

5 - The Lord God Almighty, The Lord Is His Name Of Renown!

6 - But You Must Return To Your God; Maintain Love And Justice, And Wait For Your God Always.

7 - The Merchant Uses Dishonest Scales; He Loves To Defraud.

8 - Ephraim Boasts, "I Am Very Rich; I Have Become Wealthy. With All My Wealth They Will Not Find In Me Any Iniquity Or Sin."

9 - "I Am The Lord Your God, Who Brought You Out Of Egypt; I Will Make You Live In Tents Again, As In The Days Of Your Appointed Feasts.

10 - I Spoke To The Prophets, Gave Them Many Visions And Told Parables Through Them."

11 - Is Gilead Wicked? Its People Are Worthless! Do They Sacrifice Bulls In Gilgal? Their Altars Will Be Like Piles Of Stones On A Plowed Field.

12 - Jacob Fled To The Country Of Aram ; Israel Served To Get A Wife, And To Pay For Her He Tended Sheep.

13 - The Lord Used A Prophet To Bring Israel Up From Egypt, By A Prophet He Cared For Him.

14 - But Ephraim Has Bitterly Provoked Him To Anger; His Lord Will Leave Upon Him The Guilt Of His Bloodshed And Will Repay Him For His Contempt.