Online Bible

Ephraim Reminded

¹Ephraim feeds on ^awind,And pursues the ^beast wind continually;He multiplies lies and violence.Moreover, ²he makes a covenant with Assyria,And oil is brought to Egypt.2 The LORD also has a ^acase against Judah,And will punish Jacob ^baccording to his ways;He will repay him according to his deeds.3 In the womb he ^atook his brother by the heel,And in his mature strength he ^bcontended with God.4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;He wept and ^aimplored His favor.He found Him at ^bBethel,And there He spoke with us,5 And the LORD, the God of armies,The LORD is His ¹^aname.6 So as for you, ^areturn to your God,^bMaintain ¹kindness and justice,And ^cwait for your God continually.7 A ¹merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent ^abalances,Loves to exploit.8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become ^arich,I have found wealth for myself;In all my labors they will find in me^bNo wrongdoing, which would be sin.”9 But I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt;I will make you ^alive in tents again,As in the days of the appointed festival.10 I have also spoken to the ^aprophets,And I ¹provided many visions,And through the prophets I spoke in ^bparables.11 Is there injustice in Gilead?Certainly they are worthless.In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,Yes, ^atheir altars are like stone heapsBeside the furrows of a field.

12 Now ^aJacob fled to the ¹land of Aram,And ^bIsrael worked for a wife,And for a wife he kept sheep.13 But by a ^aprophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt,And by a prophet he was protected.14 ^aEphraim has provoked God to bitter anger;So his Lord will leave his ^bguilt for bloodshed on himAnd bring his ^cdisgrace back to him.