¹⁶ “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites^(A) associated with him.^(B)’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ ¹⁷ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.^(C)

¹⁸ “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’^(D)