[1] Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind. He continually multiplies lies and violence. He makes a covenant with Assyria, and olive oil is carried to Egypt. [2] The LORD also has a dispute with Judah. He is about to punish Jacob according to his conduct; he will repay him based on his actions. [3] In the womb he grasped his brother's heel, and as an adult he wrestled with God. [4] Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him. [5] The LORD is the God of Armies; the LORD is his name. [6] But you must return to your God. Maintain love and justice, and always put your hope in God. [7] A merchant loves to extort with dishonest scales in his hands. [8] But Ephraim thinks, "How rich I have become; I made it all myself. In all my earnings, no one can find any iniquity in me that I can be punished for!" [9] I have been the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will make you live in tents again, as in the festival days. [10] I will speak through the prophets and grant many visions; I will give parables through the prophets. [11] Since Gilead is full of evil, they will certainly come to nothing. They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; even their altars will be like piles of rocks on the furrows of a field. [12] Jacob fled to the territory of Aram. Israel worked to earn a wife; he tended flocks for a wife. [13] The LORD brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet, and Israel was tended by a prophet. [14] Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and repay him for his contempt.
