Chapter 12

Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind. He continually multiplies lies and violence. He makes a covenant with Assyria, and olive oil is carried to Egypt.
The Lord also has a dispute with Judah. He is about to punish Jacob according to his conduct; he will repay him based on his actions.
In the womb he grasped his brother's heel, and as an adult he wrestled with God.
Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him.
The Lord is the God of Armies; the Lord is his name.
But you must return to your God. Maintain love and justice, and always put your hope in God.
A merchant loves to extort with dishonest scales in his hands.
But Ephraim thinks, "How rich I have become; I made it all myself. In all my earnings, no one can find any iniquity in me that I can be punished for!" Judgment on Apostate Israel
I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will make you live in tents again, as in the festival days.
I will speak through the prophets and grant many visions; I will give parables through the prophets.
Since Gilead is full of evil, they will certainly come to nothing. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; even their altars will be like piles of rocks on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob's Heirs

Jacob fled to the territory of Aram. Israel worked to earn a wife; he tended flocks for a wife.
The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet, and Israel was tended by a prophet.
Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and repay him for his contempt.