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

Judgment on Apostate Israel

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

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Footnotes

  1. 12:8 Lit iniquity which is sin
  2. 12:9 LXX reads God who brought you out of

A trader in whose hands are false balances,
    he loves to oppress.(A)
Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich;
    I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
    no offense has been found in me
    that would be sin.”[a](B)
I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
    as in the days of the appointed festival.(C)

10 I spoke to the prophets;
    it was I who multiplied visions,
    and through the prophets I will bring destruction.(D)
11 In[b] Gilead there is iniquity;
    they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
    so their altars shall be like stone heaps
    on the furrows of the field.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 12.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 12.11 Syr: Heb If