[1]Ephraim feeds on wind, and follows after the east wind; all the day he multiplies lies and ruin. And they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.[2]Jehovah also has a quarrel with 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 by his strength he contended with God.[4]Yes, he wept and pleaded with Him, and he contended with the Angel and prevailed. He found Him at Bethel, and He spoke with us there,[5]even Jehovah the God of Hosts. Jehovah is His memorial.[6]Therefore return to your God; keep kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually.[7]He is a merchant; the scales of deceit are in his hand; he loves to oppress.[8]And Ephraim said, I am rich; I have found much wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that is sin.[9]But I am Jehovah your God ever since the land of Egypt; I will again make you live in tents, as in the days of the appointed feasts.[10]I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions; and used parables by the hand of the prophets.[11]Is Gilead evil? Surely they are vanity. They sacrificed bulls in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.[12]And Jacob fled into the land of Syria, and Israel served for a wife; yea, he kept sheep for a wife.[13]And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was protected.[14]Ephraim has provoked Him to anger most bitterly. Therefore He shall leave the guilt of his blood upon him, and his Lord shall return his reproach unto him.