7 The merchant uses dishonest scales

and loves to defraud.

8 Ephraim boasts,

“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.

With all my wealth they will not find in me

any iniquity or sin.”

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.

10 I spoke to the prophets,

gave them many visions

and told parables through them.”

11 Is Gilead wicked?

Its people are worthless!

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?

Their altars will be like piles of stones

on a plowed field.

12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram;

Israel served to get a wife,

and to pay for her he tended sheep.

13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,

by a prophet he cared for him.

14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;

his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed

and will repay him for his contempt.

7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,

he loves to oppress.

8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;

I have found wealth for myself;

in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

9 I am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you dwell in tents,

as in the days of the appointed feast.

10 I spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied visions,

and through the prophets gave parables.

11 If there is iniquity in Gilead,

they shall surely come to nothing:

in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

their altars also are like stone heaps

on the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;

there Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

14 Ephraim has given bitter provocation;

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand:

He loveth to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance:

In all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

9 And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt

Will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions,

And used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity:

They sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal;

Yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria,

And Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

13 And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,

And by a prophet was he preserved.

14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly:

Therefore shall he leave his blood upon him,

And his reproach shall his Lord return unto 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.

7 “A cunning Canaanite!

Deceitful scales are in his hand;

He loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said,

‘Surely I have become rich,

I have found wealth for myself;

In all my labors

They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’

9 “But I am the Lord your God,

Ever since the land of Egypt;

I will again make you dwell in tents,

As in the days of the appointed feast.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets,

And have multiplied visions;

I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”

11 Though Gilead has idols—

Surely they are vanity—

Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal,

Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria;

Israel served for a spouse,

And for a wife he tended sheep.

13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,

And by a prophet he was preserved.

14 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly;

Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,

And return his reproach upon him.

7 The merchants use dishonest scales;

they like to cheat people.

8 Israel said, “I am rich! I am someone with power!”

All their money will do them no good

because of the sins they have done.

9 “But I am the Lord your God,

who brought you out of Egypt.

I will make you live in tents again

as you used to do on worship days.

10 I spoke to the prophets

and gave them many visions;

through them, I taught my lessons to you.”

11 The people of Gilead are evil,

worth nothing.

Though people sacrifice bulls at Gilgal,

their altars will become like piles of stone

in a plowed field.

12 Your ancestor Jacob fled to Northwest Mesopotamia

where he worked to get a wife;

he tended sheep to pay for her.

13 Later the Lord used a prophet

to bring Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt;

he used a prophet

to take care of the Israelites.

14 But the Israelites made the Lord angry when they killed other people,

and they deserve to die for their crimes.

The Lord will make them pay

for the disgraceful things they have done.

7 He is a merchant, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loveth to oppress. 8 And Ephraim saith, Nevertheless I am become rich, I have found me out substance; in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. 9 But I that am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt will again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast. 10 And I have spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by means of the prophets have I used similitudes. 11 If Gilead is iniquity, surely they are but vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields. 12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. 13 And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. 14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly; and his Lord shall leave his blood upon him, and recompense unto him his reproach.

7 ⸤The Lord says,⸥ “The merchants use dishonest scales. 

They love to cheat people. 

8 The people of Ephraim say, ‘We’re rich. We’ve made a fortune. 

With all this wealth, no one will find us guilty of any sin.’ 

9 I am the Lord your God. 

I brought you out of Egypt. 

I will make you live in tents again 

as you did during your appointed festivals. 

10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions. 

I taught lessons through the prophets.”

11 The people of Gilead are evil. 

They are worthless. 

They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal. 

But their altars will become like piles of rubble 

beside a plowed field. 

12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria. 

Israel worked to get a wife; he took care of sheep to pay for her. 

13 The Lord used a prophet to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. 

He used a prophet to take care of them. 

14 The people of Ephraim made the Lord bitter. 

He will hold them guilty of murder. 

The Lord will pay them back for their insults. 

7 A merchant loves to extort

with dishonest scales in his hands.

8 But Ephraim says:

“How rich I have become;

I made it all myself.

In all my earnings,

no one can find any crime in me

that I can be punished for!”

9 I have been Yahweh your God

ever since the land of Egypt.

I will make you live in tents again,

as in the festival days.

10 I spoke through the prophets

and granted many visions;

I gave 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 heaps of rocks

on the furrows of a field.

12 Jacob fled to the land 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.

7 A trader, in whose hands are false balances,

he loves to oppress.

8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich,

I have gained wealth for myself;

in all of my gain

no offense has been found in me

that would be sin.”

9 I am the Lord your God

from the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

as in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I spoke to the prophets;

it was I who multiplied visions,

and through the prophets I will bring destruction.

11 In Gilead there is iniquity,

they shall surely come to nothing.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

so their altars shall be like stone heaps

on the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram,

there Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he guarded sheep.

13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet he was guarded.

14 Ephraim has given bitter offense,

so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him

and pay him back for his insults.

7 The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit;

he loves to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich,

I gained wealth for myself;

in all my toil they have not found guilt in me

that is sin.

9 But I am Yahweh your God

since the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

like the days of the appointed festival.

10 I spoke to the prophets;

I myself multiplied revelations

and through the hand of the prophets I will destroy.

11 If in Gilead there is evil,

surely they will come to nothing.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

also their altars will be like stone heaps

on furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the open field of Aram,

and Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he watched over sheep.

13 And by a prophet Yahweh brought

Israel up from Egypt,

and by a prophet

he was watched over.

14 Ephraim has caused bitter provocation,

and his Lord will hold him responsible for his crimes

and pay back to him his insults.

7 You are like a trader who uses dishonest scales.

You love to cheat others.

8 People of Ephraim, you brag,

“We are very rich.

We’ve become wealthy.

And no one can prove we sinned

to gain all of this wealth.”

9 The Lord says,

“I am the Lord your God.

I brought you out of Egypt.

But I will make you live in tents again.

That is what you did when you celebrated

the Feast of Booths in the desert.

10 I spoke to the prophets.

They saw many visions.

I gave you warnings through them.”

11 The people of Gilead are evil!

They aren’t worth anything!

Gilgal’s people sacrifice bulls to other gods.

Their altars will become like piles of stones

on a plowed field.

12 Jacob ran away to the country of Aram.

There Israel served Laban to get a wife.

He took care of sheep to pay for her.

13 The prophet Moses brought Israel up from Egypt.

The Lord used him to take care of them.

14 But Ephraim’s people have made the Lord very angry.

Their Lord will hold them accountable for the blood they’ve spilled.

He’ll pay them back for the shameful things they’ve done.

7 A merchant, in whose hands are false 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 the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

As in the days of the appointed festival.

10 I have also spoken to the prophets,

And I gave numerous visions,

And through the prophets I gave parables.

11 Is there iniquity 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 land of Aram,

And Israel worked for a wife,

And for a wife he kept sheep.

13 But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel 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 bring back his reproach to him.