¹⁶ “And you, son of man,^[a] take for yourself a piece of wood,^[b] and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the Israelites^[c] his associates,’ and take another piece of wood, and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the piece of wood of^[d] Ephraim and all of the house of Israel his associates.’ ¹⁷ And join them one to the other with respect to you as one piece of wood, so that they may become one in your hand. ¹⁸ When^[e] your people^[f] say to you, saying,^[g] ‘Will you not inform us as to what these actions mean for you?’ ¹⁹ Then speak to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am taking the piece of wood for Joseph that is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel its associates, and I will put them on it, the piece of wood of Judah, and I will make them into one piece of wood, so that they be one in my hand.’”