12 1 Ephraim feeds on the wind and chases the east wind all day long; they pile up lies and violence. They make a treaty with Assyria, and their oil is carried off to Egypt. 2 Our Father has a lawsuit with Judah, and he will hold Jacob accountable for his ways; according to his deeds he will repay him. 3 In the womb he grasped his brother's heel, and in his strength he wrestled with our Father. 4 He wrestled with the messenger and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. At Bethel he found him, and there he spoke with us — 5 Our Father, the Father of heaven's armies — our Father is the name by which he is remembered. 6 So you — return to your Father; hold fast to covenant love and justice, and wait for your Father continually.
7 A merchant with dishonest scales in his hand — he loves to oppress. 8 Ephraim says, "Ah, but I have grown rich; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they will find no guilt in me — nothing that is truly sin."
9 But I am your Father, who brought you out from the land of Egypt; I will again make you live in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast. a a v9 The appointed feast is Sukkot (Festival of Shelters), when Israel lived in temporary tents or booths to remember the wilderness years. 10 I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets I gave parables.
11 If Gilead is wickedness, they have come to nothing; in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls — their altars too are like heaps of stones on the furrows of a field. 12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram; there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he tended sheep. 13 By a prophet our Father brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded. 14 Ephraim has stirred up bitter provocation; so his Sovereign Father will leave his bloodguilt upon him and repay him for his contempt.
