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Hosea 12-14
Easy-to-Read Version
Hosea 12-14
Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord Is Against Israel
12 Ephraim is wasting its time; Israel “chases the wind” all day long. The people tell more and more lies and steal more and more. They have made agreements with Assyria, and they are carrying their olive oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord says, “I have a complaint against Israel.[a] Jacob must be punished for the bad things he did. 3 While Jacob was still in his mother’s womb, he began to trick his brother.[b] Jacob was a strong young man, and at that time he fought with God. 4 Jacob wrestled with God’s angel and won.[c] He cried and asked for a favor. That happened at Bethel. There he spoke to us. 5 Yes, Yahweh is the God of the armies.[d] His name is Yahweh. 6 So come back to your God. Be loyal to him. Do the right thing, and always trust in your God!
7 “Jacob is a tricky merchant.[e] He even cheats his friend! Even his scales[f] lie. 8 Ephraim said, ‘I am rich! I have found true riches! No one will learn about my crimes. No one will learn about my sins.’
9 “But I am still the Lord your God, as I was when you left the land of Egypt. I will make you live in tents, as you do during the Festival of Shelters.[g] 10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions. I gave the prophets many ways to teach my lessons to you. 11 But the people in Gilead have sinned. There are many terrible idols in that place. They offer sacrifices to bulls at Gilgal. They have many altars. There are rows and rows of altars—like the rows of dirt in a plowed field.
12 “Jacob ran away to the land of Aram. There Israel worked for a wife. He kept sheep to get another wife. 13 But the Lord used a prophet and brought Israel out of Egypt. He used a prophet and kept Israel safe. 14 But Ephraim made the Lord very angry. Ephraim killed many people, so he will be punished for his crimes. His Lord will make him bear his shame.”
Israel Has Ruined Itself
13 “The tribe of Ephraim made itself very important in Israel. Ephraim spoke and people shook with fear. But Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal, so he must die. 2 Now the Israelites sin more and more. They make idols for themselves. Workers make those fancy statues from silver, and then they talk to their statues. They offer sacrifices to them, and they kiss those calf idols. 3 That is why those people will soon disappear. They will be like a fog that comes early in the morning and then quickly disappears. The Israelites will be like chaff that is blown from the threshing floor. The Israelites will be like smoke that goes out a window and disappears.
4 “I have been the Lord your God since the time you were in the land of Egypt. You did not know any other god except me. I am the one who saved you. 5 I knew you in the desert—I knew you in that dry land. 6 I gave food to the Israelites, and they ate it. They became full and satisfied. They became proud, and then they forgot me.
7 “That is why I will be like a lion to them. I will be like a leopard waiting by the road. 8 I will attack them like a bear whose cubs were robbed from her. I will attack them and rip open their chests. I will be like a lion or other wild animal tearing and eating its prey.
Israel Cannot Be Saved From God’s Anger
9 “Israel, I helped you, but you turned against me. So now I will destroy you. 10 Where is your king? Can he save you in any of your cities? Where are your judges? You asked for them, saying, ‘Give me a king and leaders.’[h] 11 I was angry, and I gave you a king. And when I became very angry, I took him away.
12 “Ephraim tried to hide his guilt.
He thought his sins were a secret,
but he will be punished.
13 His punishment will be like the pain of a woman giving birth.
He will not be a wise son.
The time will come for his birth,
and he will not survive.
14 “I will save them from the grave.
I will rescue them from death.
Death, where are your diseases?
Grave, where is your power?
I am not looking for revenge.
15 Israel grows among his brothers,
but a powerful east wind will come—the Lord’s wind will blow from the desert.
Then his well will dry up.
His spring of water will be dry.
The wind will take away anything of value.
16 Samaria must be punished
because she turned against her God.
The Israelites will be killed with swords.
Their children will be torn to pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”
Return to the Lord
14 Israel, you fell and sinned against God. So come back to the Lord your God. 2 Think about what you will say, and come back to the Lord. Say to him,
“Take away our sin,
and accept these words as our sacrifice.
We offer you the praise from our lips.[i]
3 Assyria will not save us.
We will not ride on war horses.
We will never again say, ‘Our God’
to something we made with our hands.
This is because you are the one who
shows mercy to orphans.”
The Lord Will Forgive Israel
4 The Lord says,
“I will forgive them for leaving me.
I will show them my love without limits,
because I have stopped being angry.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel.
Israel will blossom like the lily.
He will grow like the cedar trees of Lebanon.
6 His branches will grow,
and he will be like a beautiful olive tree.
He will be like the sweet smell
from the cedar trees of Lebanon.
7 The people of Israel will again live under my protection.
They will grow like grain.
They will bloom like a vine.
They will be like the wine of Lebanon.
The Lord Warns Israel About Idols
8 “Ephraim, I will have nothing more to do with idols.
I am the one who answers your prayers and watches over you.[j]
I am like a fir tree that is always green.
Your fruit comes from me.”
Final Advice
9 A wise person understands these things,
and a smart person should learn them.
The Lord’s ways are right.
Good people will live by them.
Sinners will die by them.[k]
Footnotes
- Hosea 12:2 Israel Literally, “Judah.”
- Hosea 12:3 he … his brother Or “he grabbed his brother’s heel.” This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word is like the name “Jacob.” Read Gen. 25:26.
- Hosea 12:4 Jacob wrestled … and won Read Gen. 32:22-28.
- Hosea 12:5 Yahweh is the God of the armies This is like one of the names for God. It is usually translated “Lord All-Powerful.”
- Hosea 12:7 Jacob … merchant Literally, “Cannan.”
- Hosea 12:7 scales Or “balances,” a tool for weighing things.
- Hosea 12:9 as … Shelters Literally, “as in the days of meeting.” This might also refer to the meeting of God with his people in the Holy Tent (see “Holy Tent” in the Word List) during their wandering in the desert.
- Hosea 13:10 You asked for … leaders See 1 Sam. 8:4-9.
- Hosea 14:2 praise from our lips Literally, “the fruit of our lips.”
- Hosea 14:8 and watches over you This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word is like the name “Assyria.” God is saying that he, not some foreign country, protects Israel.
- Hosea 14:9 Good … die by them Literally, “Good people will walk on them. Sinners will stumble on them.”
Hosea 12-14
New International Version
Hosea 12-14
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)
The Lord’s Anger Against Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;(AG)
he was exalted(AH) in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship(AI) and died.
2 Now they sin more and more;
they make(AJ) idols for themselves from their silver,(AK)
cleverly fashioned images,
all of them the work of craftsmen.(AL)
It is said of these people,
“They offer human sacrifices!
They kiss[d](AM) calf-idols!(AN)”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears,(AO)
like chaff(AP) swirling from a threshing floor,(AQ)
like smoke(AR) escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the Lord your God
ever since you came out of Egypt.(AS)
You shall acknowledge(AT) no God but me,(AU)
no Savior(AV) except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness,(AW)
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;(AX)
then they forgot(AY) me.(AZ)
7 So I will be like a lion(BA) to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,(BB)
I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion(BC) I will devour them—
a wild animal will tear them apart.(BD)
9 “You are destroyed, Israel,
because you are against me,(BE) against your helper.(BF)
10 Where is your king,(BG) that he may save you?
Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?(BH)
11 So in my anger I gave you a king,(BI)
and in my wrath I took him away.(BJ)
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.(BK)
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth(BL) come to him,
but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time(BM) arrives,
he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.(BN)
14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;(BO)
I will redeem them from death.(BP)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?(BQ)
“I will have no compassion,
15 even though he thrives(BR) among his brothers.
An east wind(BS) from the Lord will come,
blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
and his well dry up.(BT)
His storehouse will be plundered(BU)
of all its treasures.
16 The people of Samaria(BV) must bear their guilt,(BW)
because they have rebelled(BX) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;(BY)
their little ones will be dashed(BZ) to the ground,
their pregnant women(CA) ripped open.”[e]
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [f]Return,(CB) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(CC) have been your downfall!(CD)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(CE) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(CF)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[g](CG)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(CH)
we will not mount warhorses.(CI)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(CJ)
to what our own hands have made,(CK)
for in you the fatherless(CL) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(CM) their waywardness(CN)
and love them freely,(CO)
for my anger has turned away(CP) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(CQ) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(CR)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(CS)
he will send down his roots;(CT)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(CU)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(CV)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(CW)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(CX) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(CY) of Lebanon.(CZ)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[h] to do with idols?(DA)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(DB)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
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 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
- Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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