Hosea 12:14
Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him. Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.
Hosea, whose name means salvation, was the last of the great prophets of the northern kingdom, with the first three chapters of his book written about 785 or 748 and chapters 4-14 written about 734. He was the most subjective and individual of the prophets, with many passages as odes or dirges unexcelled in tragic pathos, yet his closing words are full of beautiful remonstrance and tender exhortation with rich promises of blessing from God as the result of repentance. The verse belongs to his strong prediction of the coming captivity of the tribes, his warning against alliance with Egypt, and his exposure of the sad moral degeneration and decay of the nation and the gross iniquity of priests and princes, while his own painful personal history symbolizes Jehovah's separation from His people.
Ephraim's bitter and persistent rebellion provoked the Lord until judgment could no longer be withheld, following a final gracious invitation to return that Israel met with continued backsliding. The people therefore remained accountable for their bloodshed and suffered the return of their reproach upon themselves when the Lord cast them out, leading to their captivity in Assyria.