12:1 ①Ephraim feeds on wind,
And pursues the east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, ②he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
▷ ①Ch 12:2 in Heb ②Lit they make
12:2 The LORD also has a case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
12:3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he contended with God.
12:4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and implored His favor.
He found Him at Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
12:5 And the LORD, the God of armies,
The LORD is His ①name.
▷ ①Lit invocation
12:6 So as for you, return to your God,
Maintain ①kindness and justice,
And wait for your God continually.
▷ ①Or loyalty
12:7 A ①merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent balances,
Loves to exploit.
▷ ①Or Canaanite
12:8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
12:9 But I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
12:10 I have also spoken to the prophets,
And I ①provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in parables.
▷ ①Lit multiplied the vision
12:11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12:12 Now Jacob fled to the ①land of Aram,
And Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
▷ ①Lit field
12:13 But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
12:14 Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his disgrace back to him.