God’s Case against Jacob’s Heirs

12 Ephraim chases[a] the wind(A)
and pursues the east wind.(B)
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,(C)
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.(D)

The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his conduct;(E)
he will repay him based on his actions.
In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,(F)
and as an adult he wrestled with God.(G)
Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.(H)
He found him at Bethel,(I)
and there he spoke with him.[b](J)
The Lord is the God of Armies;
the Lord is his name.(K)
But you must return to your God.(L)
Maintain love and justice,(M)
and always put your hope in God.(N)

A merchant loves to extort(O)
with dishonest scales in his hands.(P)
But Ephraim thinks,
“How rich I have become;(Q)
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any iniquity in me(R)
that I can be punished for!” [c]

Judgment on Apostate Israel

I have been the Lord your God
ever since[d] the land of Egypt.(S)
I will make you live in tents again,(T)
as in the festival days.
10 I will speak through the prophets(U)
and grant many visions;
I will give parables through the prophets.(V)
11 Since Gilead is full of evil,(W)
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;(X)
even their altars will be like piles of rocks(Y)
on the furrows of a field.

Further Indictment of Jacob’s Heirs

12 Jacob fled to the territory of Aram.(Z)
Israel worked to earn a wife;(AA)
he tended flocks for a wife.(AB)
13 The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,(AC)
and Israel was tended by a prophet.

14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,(AD)
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him(AE)
and repay him for his contempt.(AF)

Footnotes

  1. 12:1 Or grazes on, or tends
  2. 12:4 LXX, Syr; MT reads us
  3. 12:8 Lit iniquity which is sin
  4. 12:9 LXX reads God who brought you out of

13 Lord, your name endures forever,
your reputation, Lord,
through all generations.(A)
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.(B)

15 The idols of the nations are of silver and gold,
made by human hands.(C)
16 They have mouths but cannot speak,(D)
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears but cannot hear;
indeed, there is no breath in their mouths.(E)
18 Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.(F)

19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!(G)
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!(H)
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who revere the Lord, bless the Lord!(I)
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion;(J)
he dwells in Jerusalem.(K)
Hallelujah!

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The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw heaven opened,(A) and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True,(B) and with justice he judges and makes war.(C) 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame,(D) and many crowns[a] were on his head.(E) He had a name written that no one knows except himself.(F) 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood,(G) and his name is called the Word of God.(H) 14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp[b] sword(I) came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it.(J) He will rule[c] them with an iron rod.(K) He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,(L) the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 19:12 Or diadems
  2. 19:15 Other mss add double-edged
  3. 19:15 Or shepherd

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