[1] Ephraim continually feeds on the wind; he chases the east wind all day; he multiplies lies and violence. They make treaties with Assyria, and send olive oil as tribute to Egypt. [2] The LORD also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. [3] In the womb he attacked his brother; in his manly vigor he struggled with God. [4] He struggled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God at Bethel, and there he spoke with him! [5] As for the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is the name by which he is remembered! [6] But you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice and by waiting for your God to return to you. [7] The businessmen love to cheat; they use dishonest scales. [8] Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich! I have become wealthy! In all that I have done to gain my wealth, no one can accuse me of any offense that is actually sinful." [9] "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. [10] I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; I spoke in parables through the prophets." [11] Is there idolatry in Gilead? Certainly its inhabitants will come to nothing! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field! [12] Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her. [13] The LORD brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet, and due to a prophet Israel was preserved alive. [14] But Ephraim bitterly provoked him to anger; so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, his Lord will repay him for the contempt he has shown.
