Old/New Testament
The Coming Exile
9 Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly as the nations do,(A)
for you have acted promiscuously,(B) leaving your God.
You have loved the wages of a prostitute
on every grain-threshing floor.(C)
2 Threshing floor and wine vat will not sustain them,(D)
and the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not stay in the land of the Lord.
Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt,(E)
and they will eat unclean food(F) in Assyria.(G)
4 They will not pour out
their wine offerings to the Lord,(H)
and their sacrifices will not please Him.
Their food will be like the bread of mourners;
all who eat it become defiled.(I)
For their bread will be for their appetites alone;
it will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on a festival day,(J)
on the day of the Lord’s feast?(K)
6 For even if they flee from devastation,
Egypt will gather them, and Memphis will bury them.(L)
Thistles will take possession of their precious silver;
thorns will invade their tents.(M)
7 The days of punishment have come;(N)
the days of retribution have come.(O)
Let Israel recognize it!
The prophet is a fool,(P)
and the inspired man is insane,(Q)
because of the magnitude
of your guilt and hostility.(R)
8 Ephraim’s watchman is with my God.
The prophet encounters a fowler’s snare
on all his ways.(S)
Hostility is in the house of his God!
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves(T)
as in the days of Gibeah.(U)
He will remember their guilt;
He will punish their sins.(V)
Ephraim Bereaved of Offspring
10 I discovered Israel
like grapes in the wilderness.(W)
I saw your fathers
like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season.(X)
But they went to Baal-peor,(Y)
consecrated themselves to Shame,[a](Z)
and became detestable,(AA)
like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird:(AB)
no birth, no gestation, no conception.(AC)
12 Even if they raise children,
I will bereave them of each one.
Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!(AD)
13 I have seen Ephraim like Tyre,(AE)
planted in a meadow,
so Ephraim will bring out his children
to the executioner.
14 Give them, Lord—
What should You give?
Give them a womb that miscarries
and breasts that are dry!(AF)
15 All their evil appears at Gilgal,(AG)
for there I came to hate them.
I will drive them from My house
because of their evil, wicked actions.(AH)
I will no longer love them;
all their leaders are rebellious.(AI)
16 Ephraim(AJ) is struck down;
their roots are withered;
they cannot bear fruit.(AK)
Even if they bear children,
I will kill the precious offspring of their wombs.(AL)
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to Him;(AM)
they will become wanderers among the nations.(AN)
The Vine and the Calf
10 Israel is a lush[b] vine;(AO)
it yields fruit for itself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he increased the altars.(AP)
The better his land produced,
the better they made the sacred pillars.(AQ)
2 Their hearts are devious;[c](AR)
now they must bear their guilt.(AS)
The Lord will break down their altars(AT)
and demolish their sacred pillars.
3 In fact, they are now saying,
“We have no king!
For we do not fear the Lord.(AU)
What can a king do for us?”
4 They speak mere words,
taking false oaths while making covenants.(AV)
So lawsuits break out
like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.(AW)
5 The residents of Samaria(AX) will have anxiety
over the calf(AY) of Beth-aven.(AZ)
Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it;
the people will mourn over it,
over its glory.(BA)
It will certainly depart from them.
6 The calf itself will be taken to Assyria(BB)
as an offering to the great king.[d](BC)
Ephraim will experience shame;(BD)
Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.(BE)
7 Samaria’s king will disappear[e](BF)
like foam[f] on the surface of the water.
8 The high places(BG) of Aven, the sin of Israel,(BH)
will be destroyed;
thorns and thistles will grow over their altars.(BI)
They will say to the mountains,(BJ) “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(BK)
Israel’s Defeat because of Sin
9 Israel, you have sinned
since the days of Gibeah;(BL)
they have taken their stand there.
Will not war against the unjust
overtake them in Gibeah?
10 I will discipline(BM) them at My discretion;(BN)
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bondage[g]
for their two crimes.(BO)
11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf(BP)
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on[h] her fine neck.(BQ)
I will harness Ephraim;(BR)
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves(BS)
and reap faithful love;
break up your unplowed ground.(BT)
It is time to seek the Lord(BU)
until He comes(BV) and sends righteousness
on you like the rain.(BW)
13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;(BX)
you have eaten the fruit of lies.(BY)
Because you have trusted in your own way[i]
and in your large number of soldiers,(BZ)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
and all your fortifications will be demolished(CA)
in a day of war,
like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel.
Mothers will be dashed to pieces
along with their children.(CB)
15 So it will be done to you, Bethel,(CC)
because of your extreme evil.
At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
The Lord’s Love for Israel
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,(CD)
and out of Egypt I called My son.(CE)
2 The more they[j] called them,[k](CF)
the more they[l] departed from Me.[m]
They kept sacrificing to the Baals(CG)
and burning offerings to idols.(CH)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,(CI)
taking them[n] in My arms,(CJ)
but they never knew that I healed them.(CK)
4 I led them with human cords,
with ropes of love.(CL)
To them I was like one
who eases the yoke from their jaws;(CM)
I bent down to give them food.(CN)
5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt
and Assyria will be his king,(CO)
because they refused to repent.(CP)
6 A sword will whirl through his cities;(CQ)
it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,[o](CR)
because of their schemes.(CS)
7 My people are bent on turning from Me.(CT)
Though they call to Him on high,
He will not exalt them at all.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?(CU)
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?(CV)
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?(CW)
I have had a change of heart;
My compassion is stirred!
9 I will not vent the full fury of My anger;(CX)
I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim.(CY)
For I am God and not man,
the Holy One among you;(CZ)
I will not come in rage.[p]
10 They will follow the Lord;(DA)
He will roar like a lion.(DB)
When He roars,
His children will come trembling from the west.(DC)
11 They will be roused like birds from Egypt
and like doves(DD) from the land of Assyria.(DE)
Then I will settle them in their homes.(DF)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
The Letter to Sardis
3 “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:
“The One who has the seven spirits of God(A) and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation[a] for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen[b] what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come[c] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.[d] 4 But you have a few people[e] in Sardis who have not defiled[f] their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. 5 In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life(B) but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Letter to Philadelphia
7 “Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens(C) says: 8 I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close. 9 Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.(D) 10 Because you have kept My command to endure,[g] I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have,(E) so that no one takes your crown. 12 The victor: I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God—the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God—and My new name.(F)
13 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Letter to Laodicea
14 “Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea:
“The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator[h](G) of God’s creation says: 15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit[i] you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed[j] and repent. 20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. 21 The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.”
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