Ephraim feeds on the wind
        and pursues the east wind all day long;
    they multiply falsehood and violence;
        they make a covenant with Assyria,
        and oil is carried to Egypt.
    
    
        The LORD has an indictment against Judah
        and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
        he will repay him according to his deeds.
    In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
        and in his manhood he strove with God.
    He strove with the angel and prevailed;
        he wept and sought his favor.
    He met God at Bethel,
        and there God spoke with us—
    the LORD, the God of hosts,
        the LORD is his memorial name:
    “So you, by the help of your God, return,
        hold fast to love and justice,
        and wait continually for your God.”
    
    
    A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,
        he loves to oppress.
    Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;
        I have found wealth for myself;
    in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
    I am the LORD your God
        from the land of Egypt;
    I will again make you dwell in tents,
        as in the days of the appointed feast.
    
    
    I spoke to the prophets;
        it was I who multiplied visions,
        and through the prophets gave parables.
    If there is iniquity in Gilead,
        they shall surely come to nothing:
    in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
        their altars also are like stone heaps
        on the furrows of the field.
    Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
        there Israel served for a wife,
        and for a wife he guarded sheep.
    By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt,
        and by a prophet he was guarded.
    Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
        so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
        and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.
    
    
        When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
        he was exalted in Israel,
        but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
    And now they sin more and more,
        and make for themselves metal images,
    idols skillfully made of their silver,
        all of them the work of craftsmen.
    It is said of them,
        “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”
    Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
        or like the dew that goes early away,
    like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
        or like smoke from a window.
    
    
    But I am the LORD your God
        from the land of Egypt;
    you know no God but me,
        and besides me there is no savior.
    It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
        in the land of drought;
    but when they had grazed, they became full,
        they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
        therefore they forgot me.
    So I am to them like a lion;
        like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
    I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;
        I will tear open their breast,
    and there I will devour them like a lion,
        as a wild beast would rip them open.
    
    
    He destroys you, O Israel,
        for you are against me, against your helper.
    Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
        Where are all your rulers—
    those of whom you said,
        “Give me a king and princes”?
    I gave you a king in my anger,
        and I took him away in my wrath.
    
    
    The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
        his sin is kept in store.
    The pangs of childbirth come for him,
        but he is an unwise son,
    for at the right time he does not present himself
        at the opening of the womb.
    
    
    I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
        I shall redeem them from Death.
    O Death, where are your plagues?
        O Sheol, where is your sting?
        Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
    
    
    Though he may flourish among his brothers,
        the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come,
        rising from the wilderness,
    and his fountain shall dry up;
        his spring shall be parched;
    it shall strip his treasury
        of every precious thing.
    Samaria shall bear her guilt,
        because she has rebelled against her God;
    they shall fall by the sword;
        their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
        and their pregnant women ripped open.
    
    
        Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
        for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
    Take with you words
        and return to the LORD;
    say to him,
        “Take away all iniquity;
    accept what is good,
        and we will pay with bulls
        the vows of our lips.
    Assyria shall not save us;
        we will not ride on horses;
    and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
        to the work of our hands.
    In you the orphan finds mercy.”
    
    
    I will heal their apostasy;
        I will love them freely,
        for my anger has turned from them.
    I will be like the dew to Israel;
        he shall blossom like the lily;
        he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
    his shoots shall spread out;
        his beauty shall be like the olive,
        and his fragrance like Lebanon.
    They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
        they shall flourish like the grain;
    they shall blossom like the vine;
        their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
    
    
    O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
        It is I who answer and look after you.
    I am like an evergreen cypress;
        from me comes your fruit.
    
    
    Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
        whoever is discerning, let him know them;
    for the ways of the LORD are right,
        and the upright walk in them,
        but transgressors stumble in them. (ESV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (ESV)