Old/New Testament
Fertility Cult Festivals Have Intoxicated Israel
9 O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly[a] like the nations,
for you are unfaithful[b] to your God.
You love to receive a prostitute’s wages[c]
on all the floors where you thresh your grain.
2 Threshing floors and wine vats will not feed the people,[d]
and new wine only deceives them.[e]
Assyrian Exile Will Reverse the Egyptian Exodus
3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land.
Ephraim will return to Egypt;
they will eat ritually unclean food in Assyria.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord;
they will not please him with their sacrifices.
Their sacrifices will be like bread eaten while in mourning;
all those who eat them will make themselves ritually unclean.
For their bread will be only to satisfy their appetite;
it will not come into the temple of the Lord.
5 So what will you do on the festival day,
on the festival days of the Lord?
No Escape for the Israelites This Time
6 Look![f] Even if[g] they flee from the destruction,
Egypt will take hold of[h] them,
and Memphis will bury them.
The weeds will inherit the silver they treasure[i]—
thorn bushes will occupy their homes.[j]
7 The time of judgment[k] is about to arrive![l]
The time of retribution[m] is imminent![n]
Israel will be humbled![o]
Israel Rejects Hosea’s Prophetic Exhortations
The prophet is considered a fool[p]—
the inspired man[q] is viewed as a madman[r]—
because of the multitude of your sins
and your intense[s] animosity.
8 The prophet[t] is a watchman[u] over Ephraim[v] on behalf of God,[w]
yet traps[x] are laid for him along all his paths;[y]
animosity rages against him in the land[z] of his God.
The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
9 They have sunk deep into corruption[aa]
as in the days of Gibeah.
He will remember their wrongdoing.
He will repay them for their sins.
10 When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the wilderness.
I viewed your ancestors[ab] like an early fig on a fig tree in its first season.
Then they came to Baal Peor and they dedicated themselves to shame—
they became as detestable as what they loved.
The Fertility Worshipers Will Become Infertile
11 Ephraim will be like a bird;
what they value[ac] will fly away.
They will not bear children—
they will not enjoy pregnancy—
they will not even conceive![ad]
12 Even if they raise their children,
I will take away every last one of them.[ae]
Woe to them!
For I will turn away from them.
13 Ephraim, as I have seen, has given their children for prey;[af]
Ephraim will bear his sons for slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry,
and breasts that cannot nurse![ag]
15 Because of all their evil in Gilgal,
I hate them there.
On account of their evil deeds,
I will drive them out of my land.[ah]
I will no longer love them;
all their rulers are rebels.
16 Ephraim will be struck down[ai]—
their root will be dried up;
they will not yield any fruit.
Even if they do bear children,
I will kill their precious offspring.
17 My God will reject them,
for they have not obeyed him;
so they will be fugitives among the nations.
Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship
10 Israel was a fertile vine
that yielded fruit.
As his fruit multiplied,
he multiplied altars to Baal.[aj]
As his land prospered,
they adorned the fertility pillars.
2 Their hearts are slipping;
soon they will be punished for their guilt.
The Lord[ak] will break their altars;
he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.
The Lord Will Punish Israel by Removing Its Kings
3 Very soon they will say, “We have no king
since we did not fear the Lord.
But what can a king do for us anyway?”
4 They[al] utter empty words,[am]
taking[an] false oaths and making empty[ao] agreements.
Therefore legal disputes sprout up
like poisonous weeds[ap] in the furrows of a plowed field.
The Calf Idol and Idolaters of Samaria Will Be Exiled
5 The inhabitants[aq] of Samaria will lament[ar] over the calf idol[as] of Beth Aven.[at]
Its people will mourn over it;
its idolatrous priests will wail[au] over it,[av]
because its splendor will be taken from them[aw] into exile.
6 Even the calf idol[ax] will be carried to Assyria,
as tribute for the great king.[ay]
Ephraim will be disgraced;
Israel will be put to shame because[az] of its wooden idol.[ba]
7 Samaria and its king will be carried off[bb]
like a twig[bc] on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places of the “House[bd] of Wickedness”[be] will be destroyed;
it is the place where Israel sins.
Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Failure to Learn from the Sin and Judgment of Gibeah
9 O Israel, you have sinned since the time[bf] of Gibeah,
and there you have remained.
Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please,[bg] I will discipline them;[bh]
I will gather nations together to attack them,[bi]
to bind them in chains[bj] for their two sins.[bk]
Fertility Imagery: Plowing, Sowing, and Reaping
11 Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain;
I myself put a fine yoke[bl] on her neck.
I will harness Ephraim.
Let Judah plow![bm]
Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground[bn] for himself!
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap unfailing love.
Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers deliverance[bo] on you.
13 But you have plowed wickedness;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your chariots;[bp]
you have relied[bq] on your many warriors.
Bethel Will Be Destroyed Like Beth Arbel
14 The roar of battle will rise against your people;
all your fortresses will be devastated,
just as Shalman devastated[br] Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 So will it happen to you, O Bethel,
because of your great wickedness!
When that day dawns,[bs]
the king of Israel will be destroyed.[bt]
Reversal of the Exodus: Return to Egypt and Exile in Assyria
11 “When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son,[bu]
and I summoned my son[bv] out of Egypt.
2 But the more I summoned[bw] them,
the farther they departed from me.[bx]
They sacrificed to the Baal idols
and burned incense to images.
3 Yet it was I who led[by] Ephraim;
I took them by the arm,
but they did not acknowledge
that I had healed them.[bz]
4 I drew them with leather cords,[ca]
with straps of hide;[cb]
I lifted the yoke[cc] from their neck,[cd]
and gently fed them.[ce]
5 They will return to Egypt![cf]
Assyria will rule over them[cg]
because they refuse to repent![ch]
6 A sword will flash in their cities,
it will destroy the bars of their city gates,
and will devour them in their fortresses.
7 My people are obsessed[ci] with turning away from me;[cj]
they call to Baal,[ck] but he will never exalt them!
The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?
8 “How can I give you up,[cl] O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
I have had a change of heart.[cm]
All my tender compassions are aroused.[cn]
9 I cannot carry out[co] my fierce anger!
I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!
Because I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you—
I will not come in wrath!
God Will Restore the Exiles to Israel
10 “He will roar like a lion,
and they will follow the Lord;
when he roars,
his children will come trembling[cp] from the west.
11 They will return in fear and trembling[cq]
like birds from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria,
and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
God’s Lawsuit against Israel: Breach of Covenant
To the Church in Sardis
3 “To[a] the angel of the church in Sardis write the following:[b]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[c] the one who holds[d] the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a reputation[e] that you are alive, but[f] in reality[g] you are dead. 2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about[h] to die, because I have not found your deeds complete[i] in the sight[j] of my God. 3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard,[k] and obey it,[l] and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never[m] know at what hour I will come against[n] you. 4 But you have a few individuals[o] in Sardis who have not stained[p] their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed[q] in white, because they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers[r] will be dressed like them[s] in white clothing,[t] and I will never[u] erase[v] his name from the book of life, but[w] will declare[x] his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “To[y] the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following:[z]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[aa] the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors[ab] no one can shut, and shuts doors[ac] no one can open: 8 ‘I know your deeds. (Look! I have put[ad] in front of you an open door that no one can shut.)[ae] I know[af] that you have little strength,[ag] but[ah] you have obeyed[ai] my word and have not denied my name. 9 Listen![aj] I am going to make those people from the synagogue[ak] of Satan—who say they are Jews yet[al] are not, but are lying—Look, I will make[am] them come and bow down[an] at your feet and acknowledge[ao] that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept[ap] my admonition[aq] to endure steadfastly,[ar] I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come on the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away[as] your crown.[at] 12 The one who conquers[au] I will make[av] a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it. I[aw] will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God),[ax] and my new name as well. 13 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
To the Church in Laodicea
14 “To[ay] the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following:[az]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[ba] the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator[bb] of God’s creation: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.[bc] I wish you were either cold or hot! 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going[bd] to vomit[be] you out of my mouth! 17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth,[bf] and need nothing,” but[bg] do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful,[bh] poor, blind, and naked, 18 take my advice[bi] and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me[bj] white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness[bk] will not be exposed, and buy eye salve[bl] to put on your eyes so you can see! 19 All those[bm] I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! 20 Listen![bn] I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home[bo] and share a meal with him, and he with me. 21 I will grant the one[bp] who conquers[bq] permission[br] to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered[bs] and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
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