Hosea 12

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¹Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt. ✦ ²The LORD also brings a charge against Judah. He will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. ✦ ³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God. ✦ ⁴Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there— ✦ ⁵the LORD is the God of Hosts—the LORD is His name of renown. ✦ ⁶But you must return to your God, maintaining love and justice, and always waiting on your God. ✦ ⁷A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands. ✦ ⁸And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.” ✦ ⁹But I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast. ✦ ¹⁰I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets. ✦ ¹¹Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field. ✦ ¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep. ✦ ¹³But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved. ✦ ¹⁴Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him and repay him for his contempt. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Gen 32 ·5 Mic 6 ·5 2 Kgs 17 ·5 Hos 4 ·4 Jer 2 ·4 Hos 8 ·3 Amos 5 ·3 1 Tim 6 ·3

Christ at the center

God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.

How Hosea 12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Hosea videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Hosea 12YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Hosea 12David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on HoseaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Hosea 12Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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