God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs

12 Ephraim chases o the wind p

and pursues the east wind. q

He continually multiplies lies and violence.

He makes a covenant with Assyria, r

and olive oil is carried to Egypt. s

2 The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.

He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways; t

He will repay him based on his actions.

3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, u

and as an adult he wrestled with God. v

4 Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought His favor. w

He found him x at Bethel, y

and there He spoke with him. z a

5 * Yahweh is the God of * Hosts;

Yahweh is His name. b

6 But you must return to your God. c

Maintain love and justice, d

and always put your hope in God. e

7 A merchant loves to extort f

with dishonest scales in his hands. g

8 But Ephraim says:

“How rich I have become; h

I made it all myself.

In all my earnings,

no one can find any crime in me i

that I can be punished for!” j

Judgment on Apostate Israel

9 I have been Yahweh your God

ever since k the land of Egypt. l

I will make you live in tents again, m

as in the festival days.

10 I spoke through the prophets n

and granted many visions;

I gave parables through the prophets. o

11 Since Gilead is full of evil, p

they will certainly come to nothing.

They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal; q

even their altars will be like heaps of rocks r

on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram. s

Israel worked to earn a wife; t

he tended flocks for a wife. u

13 The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet, v

and Israel was tended by a prophet.

14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger, w

so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him x

and repay him for his contempt. y