###### 1
Ephraim feeds on wind And pursues the east wind continually; He abounds in falsehood and destruction. Moreover, he cuts a covenant with Assyria, And oil is carried to Egypt. 

## Yahweh's Contention with Judah 

###### 2
And Yahweh has a contention with Judah And will punish Jacob according to his ways; He will cause _everything_ to return to him according to his deeds. 

###### 3
In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he wrestled with God. 

###### 4
Indeed, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel, And there He spoke with us, 

###### 5
Even Yahweh, the God of hosts, Yahweh is His _name_ of remembrance. 

###### 6
Therefore, return to your God, Keep lovingkindness and justice, And hope in your God continually. 

###### 7
A merchant, in whose hands are deceptive balances, He loves to oppress. 

###### 8
And Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich; I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity, which _would be_ sin." 

###### 9
But I _have been_ Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you settle in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival. 

###### 10
And I have spoken to the prophets, And I made visions abound, And by the hand of the prophets I gave parables. 

###### 11
Is there wickedness _in_ Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field. 

###### 12
Now Jacob fled to the field of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept _sheep_. 

###### 13
But by a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt, And by a prophet he was kept. 

###### 14
Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him And cause his reproach to return to him.