12:1 E′phraim herds the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long; they multiply falsehood and violence; they make a bargain with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.
12:2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways, and requite him according to his deeds.
12:3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.
12:4 He strove with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with him—
12:5 the Lord the God of hosts, the Lord is his name:
12:6 “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”
12:7 A trader, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.
12:8 E′phraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich, I have gained wealth for myself”; but all his riches can never offset the guilt he has incurred.
12:9 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.
12:10 I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables.
12:11 If there is iniquity in Gilead they shall surely come to nought; if in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, their altars also shall be like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.
12:12 (Jacob fled to the land of Aram, there Israel did service for a wife, and for a wife he herded sheep.)
12:13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.
12:14 E′phraim has given bitter provocation; so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt upon him, and will turn back upon him his reproaches.
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