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12:1 Ephraim continually feeds on the wind; he chases the east wind all day; he multiplies lies and violence. They make treaties with Assyria and send olive oil as tribute to Egypt. 12:2 The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.
12:3 In the womb he attacked his brother; in his manly vigor he struggled with God. 12:4 He struggled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God at Bethel, and there he spoke with him! 12:5 As for the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is the name by which he is remembered! 12:6 But you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice and by waiting for your God to return to you.
12:7 The businessmen love to cheat; they use dishonest scales. 12:8 Ephraim boasts, “I am very rich! I have become wealthy! In all that I have done to gain my wealth, no one can accuse me of any offense that is actually sinful.” 12:9 “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. 12:10 I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; I spoke in parables through the prophets.” 12:11 Is there idolatry in Gilead? Certainly its inhabitants will come to nothing! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!
12:12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her. 12:13 The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet, and due to a prophet Israel was preserved alive. 12:14 But Ephraim bitterly provoked him to anger; so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed; his Lord will repay him for the contempt he has shown.
NET Bible Second Edition. Copyright 2017 Biblical Studies Press
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