12
1“Ephraim ⚓feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and desolation.
⚓Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians,
And ⚓oil is carried to Egypt.
2“The⚓Lord also brings a charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
3He took his brother ⚓by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he ⚓struggled with God.
4Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in⚓Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
5That is, the Lord God of hosts.
The Lordis His ⚓memorable name.
6⚓So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.
7“A cunning Canaanite!
⚓Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
8And 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.”
11Though ⚓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.
12Jacob ⚓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.
14Ephraim ⚓provoked Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
⚓And return his reproach upon him.