Hos 12 | ESV | STEP | Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; they multiply falsehood and violence ; they make a covenant with Assyria , and oil is carried to Egypt .

1 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and pursues ^athe east wind all day long;
they multiply ^bfalsehood and violence;
^cthey make a covenant with Assyria,
and ^doil is carried to Egypt.

The Lord’s Indictment of Israel and Judah

2 ^eThe Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
3 ^fIn the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
^gHe met God ^{▼▼Hebrew him} at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us—
5 the Lord, the God of hosts,
ⁱthe Lord is his memorial name:
6 “So you, ^jby the help of your God, return,
^khold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
7 A merchant, in whose hands are ^lfalse balances,
he loves ^mto oppress.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ⁿI am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors ^othey cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
9 ^pI am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you ^qdwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 ^rI spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied ^svisions,
and through the prophets gave parables.
11 ^tIf there is iniquity in Gilead,
they shall surely come to nothing:
^uin Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
^vtheir altars also are like stone heaps
^won the furrows of the field.
12 ^xJacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel ^yserved for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.
13 By ^za prophet ^aathe Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.
14 ^abEphraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord ^acwill leave his bloodguilt on him
^adand will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.