Hosea 12:4-14 ▼

4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and implored His favor. He found Him at Bethel, And there He spoke with us,

5 And the LORD, the God of armies, The LORD is His name.

6 So as for you, return to your God, Maintain kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually.

7 A merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent balances, Loves to exploit.

8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”

9 But I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets, And I provided many visions, And through the prophets I spoke in parables.

11 Is there injustice in Gilead? Certainly they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like stone heaps Beside the furrows of a field.

12 Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.

13 But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, And by a prophet he was protected.

14 Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his guilt for bloodshed on him And bring his disgrace back to him.