Hosea 12:8

Hosea 12:8

6 ^aSo you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.

7 “A cunning¹ Canaanite!
^aDeceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said,
^a‘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;
^aI will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.

10 ^aI have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given¹ symbols through the witness of the prophets.”

11 Though ^aGilead has idols—
Surely they are¹ vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in ^bGilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob ^afled to the country of Syria;
^bIsrael served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.

13 ^aBy a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
And by a prophet he was preserved.

14 Ephraim ^aprovoked Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
^bAnd return his reproach upon him.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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And—that is, Notwithstanding.

Yet I am . . . rich—I regard not what the prophets say: I am content with my state, as I am rich (Revelation 3:17). Therefore, in just retribution, this is the very language of the enemy in being the instrument of Israel's punishment. Zechariah 11:5 : "They that sell them say . . . I am rich." Far better is poverty with honesty, than riches gained by sin.

my labours—my gains by labor.

they shall find none—that is, none shall find any.

iniquity . . . that were sin—iniquity that would bring down the penalty of sin. Ephraim argues, My success in my labors proves that I am not a guilty sinner as the prophets assert. Thus sinners pervert God's long-suffering goodness (Matthew 5:45) into a justification of their impenitence (compare Ecclesiastes 8:11-13).

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Hosea 12:8:**

Hosea 12:1
Zechariah 11:5
1 Corinthians 4:8
Revelation 3:17

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Hosea 12:9 >>

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