| New Living Translation | New International Version |
| 1 The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence; they are making an alliance with Assyria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt. | 1Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt. |
| 2Now the LORD is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done. | 2The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. |
| 3Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. | 3In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God. |
| 4Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him — | 4He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there-- |
| 5the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD is his name! | 5the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name! |
| 6So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him. | 6But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. |
| 7But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales— they love to cheat. | 7The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud. |
| 8Israel boasts, “I am rich! I’ve made a fortune all by myself! No one has caught me cheating! My record is spotless!” | 8Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin." |
| 9“But I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. And I will make you live in tents again, as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters. | 9"I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals. |
| 10I sent my prophets to warn you with many visions and parables.” | 10I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them." |
| 11But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field. | 11Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field. |
| 12Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and there he earned a wife by tending sheep. | 12Jacob fled to the country of Aram; Israel served to get a wife, and to pay for her he tended sheep. |
| 13Then by a prophet the LORD brought Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt; and by that prophet they were protected. | 13The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him. |
| 14But the people of Israel have bitterly provoked the LORD, so their Lord will now sentence them to death in payment for their sins. | 14But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger; his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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