Hosea 12:1
in Hosea 12Ephraim 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he continually multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.
KJV
Ephraim 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.
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This verse in Hosea 12
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"Ephraim feeds on the wind and follows after the east wind: all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. And he made a covenant with the Assyrians and brought oil into Egypt." LXX: "But Ephraim is a spirit of wickedness, following the heat: all the day long he hath multiplied lies and vanities, and he hath made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil he carried into Egypt."
This site's exposition
feedeth on wind
on Hosea 12:1-2
Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind pictures a nation chasing what cannot nourish, the daily increase of lies and desolation running alongside a foreign policy played both ways at once, a covenant made with Assyria while oil is carried south as tribute to Egypt, trust split between two powers instead of resting in the Lord who alone had delivered them before. The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah extends the charge south, according to his doings will he recompense him stating the law of just recompense that governs the rest of the chapter's Jacob material.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
God of my heart … I didn't know how to love you, because I did not know how to conceive the existence of anything—however glorious—beyond mere matter. The soul that goes puffing and wheezing after such figments of the imagination [as fortune telling] is one that goes whoring from you and trusts what is phony and feeds on the wind. Yet while I wouldn't have this sorcerer sacrificing to demons on my behalf, I was actually sacrificing to them myself just by being involved in my superstition. For what else is to feed on the wind, if not to feed on error, and so to become the sport and plaything of the demonic?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They thought to secure the Egyptians for their confederates by a rich present of the commodities of their country, not only to purchase their favour, but to show that their friendship was worth having: Oil is carried into Egypt. But the Egyptians, when they had got the bribe, dropped the cause, and Ephraim was never the better for them.
Feedeth on wind - It is a proverbial speech; denoting his supporting himself with hopes, as unfit to sustain him as the wind is to feed us. Increaseth lies - By making new leagues, and fortifying himself with them, against the menaces of God by his prophets.
Ephraim feedeth on wind,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind - The East wind in Palestine, coming from Arabia and the far East, over large tracts of sandy waste, is parching, scorching, destructive to vegetation, oppressive to man, violent and destructive on the sea Psa 48:7, and, by land also, having the force of the whirlwind (Job 27:21; see Jer 18:17). “The East wind carrieth him away and he departeth, and as a whirlwind hurleth him out of his place.” In leaving God and following idols, Ephraim “fed on” what is unsatisfying, and chased after what is destructive.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Israel follows not only things vain, but things pernicious (compare Job 15:2). increaseth lies--accumulates lie upon lie, that is, impostures wherewith they deceive themselves, forsaking the truth of God. desolation--violent oppressions practised by Israel [MAURER]. Acts which would prove the cause of Israel's own desolation [CALVIN]. covenant with . . .
Ephraim feedeth on wind - He forms and follows empty and unstable counsels. Followeth after the east wind - They are not only empty, but dangerous and destructive. The east wind was, and still is, in all countries, a parching, wasting, injurious wind. He daily increaseth lies - He promises himself safety from foreign alliances. He “made a covenant with the Assyrians,” and sent a subsidy of “oil to Egypt.” The latter abandoned him; the former oppressed him.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
has surrounded Me Ephraim and the house of Israel have already surrounded Me with lies and deceit, i.e., the kings of the Ten Tribes and all the people, but Judah still.. rules with God Still rules with fear of God. rules Heb. רָד. Comp.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶפְרַ֜יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| רֹעֶ֥ה | roeh | [is] feeding | H7462 → | 177 times |
| ר֙וּחַ֙ | ruach | wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| וְרֹדֵ֣ף | verodef | and [is] pursuing | H7291 → | 143 times |
| קָדִ֔ים | kadim | an east wind | H6921 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיּ֕וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| כָּזָ֥ב | kazav | falsehood | H3577 → | |
| וָשֹׁ֖ד | vashod | and violence | H7701 → | 25 times |
| יַרְבֶּ֑ה | yarbeh | he increases | H7235 → | 227 times |
| וּבְרִית֙ | uverit | and a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אַשּׁ֣וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| יִכְרֹ֔תוּ | yikhrotu | they are making | H3772 → | 288 times |
| וְשֶׁ֖מֶן | veshemen | and oil | H8081 → | |
| לְמִצְרַ֥יִם | lemitzrayim | to Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| יוּבָֽל׃ | yuval | it is carried | H2986 → |
אֶפְרַ֜יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
רֹעֶ֥ה[is] feeding
roehH7462 →177 times
ר֙וּחַ֙wind
ruachH7307 →378 times
וְרֹדֵ֣ףand [is] pursuing
verodefH7291 →143 times
קָדִ֔יםan east wind
kadimH6921 →
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיּ֕וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
כָּזָ֥בfalsehood
kazavH3577 →
וָשֹׁ֖דand violence
vashodH7701 →25 times
יַרְבֶּ֑הhe increases
yarbehH7235 →227 times
וּבְרִית֙and a covenant
uveritH1285 →284 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אַשּׁ֣וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
יִכְרֹ֔תוּthey are making
yikhrotuH3772 →288 times
וְשֶׁ֖מֶןand oil
veshemenH8081 →
לְמִצְרַ֥יִםto Egypt
lemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
יוּבָֽל׃it is carried
yuvalH2986 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 8:7For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:8
He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath…
- Proverbs 22:8
Through
Hosea 5:13When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
it leads to
- Hosea 7:11
So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.
- Jeremiah 30:12
For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
- 2 Kings 15:19
Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.
- Hosea 7:11
Through
Ezekiel 17:10Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”
it leads to
- Hosea 13:15
Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder…
- Hosea 13:15
Where this verse is studied
About Hosea
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceUpper MesopotamiaAssyriaMesopotamian empire whose capital Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching and fell to Nahum's burden in 612 BC; the rod of God's ang…
- PlaceJudeaEphraimThe town near the wilderness where Jesus withdrew with His disciples before the last Passover (John 11:54).
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, CONFESSIONS 4:2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 12:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.