Hosea 12
12
1What Israel does is as useless as chasing the wind,
as dangerous as being in a windstorm.
They tell more and more lies
and do more and more violence.
They make agreements with Assyria,
and they send a gift of olive oil to Egypt.
2The Lord also has some things against Judah.
He will punish Israel for what they have done.
He will give them what they deserve.
3Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel
while the two of them were being born.
When Jacob grew to be a man,
he wrestled with God.
4He wrestled with the angel and won.
Jacob cried and asked for his blessing.
Later, God met with him at Bethel
and spoke with him there.
5He is the Lord God of heaven’s armies.
He wants to be remembered as the Lord.
6Like Jacob you must return to him.
You must be loyal and true to him.
You must do what is honest and just.
You must always trust in him as your God.
7The merchants use dishonest scales.
They like to cheat people.
8The people of Israel brag that they are rich.
They think that because they are rich
no one will learn about their sins.
9“But I am the Lord your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again
as you used to do in the desert.
10I spoke to the prophets
and gave them many visions.
Through them, I taught my lessons to you.”
11The people of Gilead are evil.
They are worth nothing.
People sacrifice bulls at Gilgal.
But their altars will become like
piles of stone in a plowed field.
12Your ancestor Jacob fled to Northwest Mesopotamia.
There he worked to get a wife.
He tended sheep to pay for her.
13Later the Lord used a prophet
to bring Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt.
The Lord used a prophet
to take care of the Israelites.
14But the Israelites made the Lord angry.
They killed other people.
They deserve to die for their crimes.
The Lord will make them pay
for the disgraceful things they have done.
Currently Selected:
Hosea 12: ICB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.