Hosea 12

Hosea · Chapter 12

Hosea 12:7

1Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.2The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.3He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:4Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;5Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.6Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.7He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.8And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.9And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.10I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.11Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.12And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.13And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.14Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his LORD return unto him.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
7He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.He is a trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
Canaanכְּנַ֗עַןke-NA-'anH3667B
merchant

כְּנַ֫עַן (ke.na.an) merchant, trader Also means: ke.na.a.ni (כְּנַעֲנִי "merchant" H3669B)

[who are] in hand hisבְּיָד֛וֹbe-ya-DOH3027G
hand

יָד (yad) : hand/arm[anatomy] 1) hand 1a) hand (of man) 1b) strength, power (fig.) 1c) side (of land), part, portion (metaph.) (fig.) 1d) (various special, technical senses) 1d1) sign, monument 1d2) part, fractional part, share 1d3) time, repetition 1d4) axle-trees, axle 1d5) stays, support (for laver) 1d6) tenons (in tabernacle) 1d7) a phallus, a hand (meaning unsure) 1d8) wrists

scales ofמֹאזְנֵ֥יmoz-NEIH3976
balance

מֹאזֵן (mo.zen) scales, balances Aramaic equivalent: mo.zen (מֹאזֵנְיָא "scale" H3977)

deceitמִרְמָ֖הmir-MAHH4820
deceit

מִרְמָה (mir.mah) deceit, treachery

to defraudלַעֲשֹׁ֥קla-'a-SHOKH6231
to oppress

עָשַׁק (a.shaq) 1) to press upon, oppress, violate, defraud, do violence, get deceitfully, wrong, extort 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to oppress, wrong, extort 1a2) to oppress 1b) (Pual) to be exploited, be crushed

he lovesאָהֵֽב׃'a-HEVH0157G
to love: lover

אָהֵב (a.hav) : lover 1) to love 1a) (Qal) 1a1) human love for another, includes family, and sexual 1a2) human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sleep, wisdom 1a3) human love for or to God 1a4) act of being a friend 1a4a) lover (participle) 1a4b) friend (participle) 1a5) God's love toward man 1a5a) to individual men 1a5b) to people Israel 1a5c) to righteousness 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) lovely (participle) 1b2) loveable (participle) 1c) (Piel) 1c1) friends 1c2) lovers (fig. of adulterers) 2) to like Also means: a.hav (אָהֵב ": friend" H0157H)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.