¹ Ephraim feeds on the wind
    and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
    they make a covenant with Assyria,
    and oil is carried to Egypt.

² The Lord has an indictment against Judah
    and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
    he will repay him according to his deeds.
³ In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
    and in his manhood he strove with God.
⁴ He strove with the angel and prevailed;
    he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
    and there God spoke with us—
⁵ the Lord, the God of hosts,
    the Lord is his memorial name:
⁶ "So you, by the help of your God, return,
    hold fast to love and justice,
    and wait continually for your God."

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.