Hosea 12

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¹“Ephraim feeds on the wind, And pursues the east wind; He daily increases lies and desolation. Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians, And oil is carried to Egypt. ✦ ²“TheLord also brings a charge against Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his deeds He will recompense him. ✦ ³He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God. ✦ ⁴Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us— ✦ ⁵That is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name. ✦ ⁶So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually. ✦ ⁷“A cunning Canaanite! Deceitful scales are in his hand; He loves to oppress. ✦ ⁸And Ephraim said, ‘Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’ ✦ ⁹“But 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 have also spoken by the prophets, And have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.” ✦ ¹¹Though Gilead has idols— Surely they are vanity— Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field. ✦ ¹²Jacob fled to the country of Syria; Israel served for a spouse, And for a wife he tended sheep. ✦ ¹³By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, And by a prophet he was preserved. ✦ ¹⁴Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly; Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him, And return his reproach upon him. ✦

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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