[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. [2] Now 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. [3] Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. [4] Yes, 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 - [5] the LORD God of Heaven's Armies, the LORD is his name! [6] So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him. [7] But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales- they love to cheat. [8] Israel boasts, "I am rich! I've made a fortune all by myself! No one has caught me cheating! My record is spotless!" [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. [10] I sent my prophets to warn you with many visions and parables." [11] But 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. [12] Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and there he earned a wife by tending sheep. [13] Then by a prophet the LORD brought Jacob's descendants out of Egypt; and by that prophet they were protected. [14] But the people of Israel have bitterly provoked the LORD, so their Lord will now sentence them to death in payment for their sins.
