God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs

1Ephraim chasesa the windb

and pursues the east wind.c

He continually multiplies lies and violence.

He makes a covenant with Assyria,d

and olive oil is carried to Egypt.e

2The LORD also has a dispute with Judah.

He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways;f

He will repay him based on his actions.

3In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,g

and as an adult he wrestled with God.h

4Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought His favor.i

He found himj at Bethel,k

and there He spoke with him.l, m

5•Yahweh is the God of •Hosts;

Yahweh is His name.n

6But you must return to your God.o

Maintain love and justice,p

and always put your hope in God.q

7A merchant loves to extortr

with dishonest scales in his hands.s

8But Ephraim says:

“How rich I have become;t

I made it all myself.

In all my earnings,

no one can find any crime in meu

that I can be punished for! ”v

Judgment on Apostate Israel

9I have been Yahweh your God

ever sincew the land of Egypt.x

I will make you live in tents again,y

as in the festival days.

10I spoke through the prophetsz

and granted many visions;

I gave parables through the prophets.aa

11Since Gilead is full of evil,ab

they will certainly come to nothing.

They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;ac

even their altars will be like heaps of rocksad

on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs

12Jacob fled to the land of Aram.ae

Israel worked to earn a wife;af

he tended flocks for a wife.ag

13The LORD brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,ah

and Israel was tended by a prophet.

14Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,ai

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on himaj

and repay him for his contempt.ak