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 ¹ "Ephraim feeds on wind and pursues the east wind; he increases lies and violence daily; they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried to Egypt.

 ² The LORD also has a charge against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds.

 ³ He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God.

 ⁴ Yes, he had power over the angel and prevailed; he wept and made supplication to Him. He found Him in Bethel and there He spoke with us [through him]-

 ⁵ Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his name.

 ⁶ Therefore return to your God; keep mercy and justice and wait on your God continually. [To wait on God is to persistently sit in humble silence, listen for his voice and words, watch for his revelations, hear his commands, and then obey Him; only those who heed and obey Him receive eternal salvation. Heb 5:9]

 ⁷ He [Israel] is a cunning merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand; he loves to defraud.

 ⁸ And Ephraim says, 'I have become rich; I have made wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that is sin.'

 ⁹ I who am the LORD your God, since the land of Egypt, will yet make you to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast [of Tabernacles or tents].

 ¹⁰ I have spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions and used parables through the prophets.

 ¹¹ Are there idols in Gilead? Surely they are worthless; if they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal, their altars will be like stones heaped in the furrows of the fields.

 ¹²  Jacob fled into the country of Syria and Israel served to get 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 he was preserved.

 ¹⁴ Ephraim provoked him most bitterly to anger; therefore the Lord shall leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him, and his LORD shall return his reproach upon him."