| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. | 1Ephraim 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. |
| 2The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. | 2The LORD also has a covenant lawsuit against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. |
| 3He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: | 3In the womb he attacked his brother; in his manly vigor he struggled with God. |
| 4Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us; | 4He struggled with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God at Bethel, and there he spoke with him! |
| 5Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial. | 5As for the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is the name by which he is remembered! |
| 6Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually. | 6But you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice, and by waiting for your God to return to you. |
| 7He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. | 7The businessmen love to cheat; they use dishonest scales. |
| 8And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin. | 8Ephraim 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." |
| 9And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast. | 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. |
| 10I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets. | 10I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; I spoke in parables through the prophets." |
| 11Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields. | 11Is 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! |
| 12And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. | 12Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her. |
| 13And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. | 13The LORD brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet, and due to a prophet Israel was preserved alive. |
| 14Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him. | 14But 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. |
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