• 1 Ephraim feeds on wind And pursues the east wind continually; He abounds in falsehood and destruction. Moreover, he cuts a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt.

  • Yahweh’s Contention with Judah

  • 2 And Yahweh has a contention with Judah And will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will cause everything to return to him according to his deeds.
  • 3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he wrestled with God.
  • 4 Indeed, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel, And there He spoke with us,
  • 5 Even Yahweh, the God of hosts, Yahweh is His name of remembrance.
  • 6 Therefore, return to your God, Keep lovingkindness and justice, And hope in your God continually.
  • 7 A merchant, in whose hands are deceptive balances, He loves to oppress.
  • 8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich; I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity, which would be sin.”
  • 9 But I have been Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you settle in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival.
  • 10 And I have spoken to the prophets, And I made visions abound, And by the hand of the prophets I gave parables.
  • 11 Is there wickedness in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field.
  • 12 Now Jacob fled to the field of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.
  • 13 But by a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt, And by a prophet he was kept.
  • 14 Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him And cause his reproach to return to him.