God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs1 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 favour. 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! ’ Judgement on Apostate Israel9 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. Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs12 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. |
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