Israel and Judah are condemned now

12 Yahweh says, “The people of Israel have ◄surrounded me with lies/constantly told lies to me►.

And the people of Judah have also turned/rebelled against me, their God,

the Holy One who always does what I promise to do,

and the people of Judah worship other gods.”

12 The leaders of Israel are constantly wavering about seeking help from other countries.

Seeking their help is as useless as [MET] chasing the wind.

They pile up their lies and violent acts.

First, they make a treaty with Assyria,

and then they send olive oil to the rulers of Egypt to seek their help.

2 Yahweh says that he will bring accusations against the leaders of Judah,

and that he will punish the descendants of Jacob for what they have done.

3 When Jacob was in his mother’s womb, he grabbed his brother Esau’s heel because he wanted to be born first.

When Jacob grew up, he wrestled with God.

4 He struggled with the one who had appeared to him in the form of an angel, and Jacob defeated him,

but then he cried and asked the angel to bless him.

Later, God came to Jacob at Bethel

and talked with him there.

5 That was the Commander of the armies of angels

whose name is Yahweh who talked with him!

6 But you people of Israel must return to your God!

You must faithfully love him, and you must do what is fair/just

and always depend on him.

7 The merchants among you use scales that do not weigh correctly;

they love/like to cheat people.

8 The people of Israel boast, saying

“We are very rich [DOU];

and we got all that money by our own efforts,

and without committing any sin.”

9 “I am Yahweh your God,

the one who brought your ancestors out of Egypt.

And some day I will force you to live in tents again like your ancestors did

when they celebrated the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.

10 Many times I spoke to the prophets,

and I gave them many visions,

and I gave them parables to tell to the people.”

11 The people of Gilead city are [RHQ] extremely wicked;

they are worthless.

The people sacrifice bulls in Gilgal city,

but their altars will soon become like [SIM] piles of stone at the edge of a plowed field.

12 Your ancestor Jacob fled from his brother Esau

and went to northwest Mesopotamia.

He worked for his uncle Laban for many years to get a wife;

he took care of his uncle’s sheep to pay for her.

13 Many years later, Yahweh enabled a prophet to bring the ancestors of you people of Israel here from Egypt;

that prophet, Moses, took care of them.

14 But now the people of Israel have caused Yahweh to become very angry;

Yahweh says that they deserve to die because they caused many others to die [MTY];

he will pay them back for the sins that they have committed against him and for insulting him.