1Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,

the house of Israel, with deceit;

Judah still wanders about with gods,

and is faithful to holy ones.*

2* Ephraim shepherds the wind,

and pursues the east wind all day long.

He multiplies lies and violence:

They make a covenant with Assyria,

and oil is carried to Egypt.

3The Lord has a dispute with Judah,

and will punish Jacob* for his conduct,

and repay him for his deeds.

4In the womb he supplanted his brother,a

and in his vigor he contended with a divine being;

5He contended with an angel and prevailed,b

he wept and entreated him.

At Bethel he met with him,

and there he spoke with him.c

6The Lord is the God of hosts,

the Lord is his name!d

7You must return to your God.

Maintain loyalty and justice

and always hope in your God.

8A merchant who holds a false balance,

he loves to extort!

9Ephraim has said,

“How rich I have become;

I have made a fortune!”e

All his gain will not suffice

for the guilt of his sin.

10I the Lord have been your God,

since the land of Egypt;f

I will again have you live in tents,

as on feast days.

11I spoke to the prophets,

I granted many visions,g

and through the prophets I told parables.

12In Gilead is falsehood, they have come to nothing;

in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

But their altars are like heaps of stonesh

in the furrows of the field.

13Jacob fled to the land of Aram,

and Israel served for a wife;

for a wife he tended sheep.i

14But by a prophet* the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,

and by a prophet Israel was tended.j

15Ephraim has aroused bitter anger,

so his Lord shall cast his bloodguilt upon him

and repay him for his scorn.