Old/New Testament
Ephraim Reminded
12 [a]Ephraim feeds on (A)wind,
And pursues the (B)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [b]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a (C)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob (D)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (E)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he (F)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (G)implored His favor.
He found Him at (H)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
5 And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His [c](I)name.
6 So as for you, (J)return to your God,
(K)Maintain [d]kindness and justice,
And (L)wait for your God continually.
7 A [e]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent (M)balances,
Loves to exploit.
8 And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become (N)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(O)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (P)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (Q)prophets,
And I [f]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in (R)parables.
11 Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (S)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.
12 Now (T)Jacob fled to the [g]land of Aram,
And (U)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (V)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
14 (W)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (X)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his (Y)disgrace back to him.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (Z)When Ephraim [h]spoke, there was trembling.
He (AA)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (AB)Baal he incurred guilt and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (AC)cast metal images,
Idols [i](AD)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (AE)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [j]people who sacrifice kiss the (AF)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (AG)morning cloud
And like dew which [k]soon disappears,
Like (AH)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like (AI)smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (AJ)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (AK)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (AL)besides Me.
5 I [l](AM)cared for you in the wilderness,
(AN)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (AO)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their (AP)heart became proud;
Therefore they (AQ)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (AR)like a lion to them;
Like a (AS)leopard I will [m]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will confront them (AT)like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open [n]their chests;
I will also (AU)devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.
9 [o]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are (AV)against Me, against your (AW)help.
10 Where then is your (AX)king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your (AY)judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (AZ)gave you a king in My anger,
And (BA)took him away in My wrath.
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is (BB)stored up.
13 The pains of (BC)childbirth come on him;
He is (BD)not a wise son,
For [p]it is not the time that he should (BE)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (BF)ransom them from the [q]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(BG)Death, where are your [r]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
(BH)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (BI)flourishes among the [s]reeds,
An (BJ)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (BK)become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will (BL)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [t]Samaria will pay the penalty for her (BM)guilt,
Because she has (BN)rebelled against her God.
(BO)They will fall by the (BP)sword,
Their children will be [u](BQ)slaughtered,
And their pregnant (BR)women will be ripped open.
Israel’s Future Blessing
14 [v](BS)Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled [w]because of your (BT)wrongdoing.
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “(BU)Take away all guilt
And [x]receive us graciously,
So that we may (BV)present [y]the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us,
We will (BW)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘(BX)Our god’
To the (BY)work of our hands;
For in (BZ)You the [z]orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will (CA)heal their apostasy,
I will (CB)love them freely,
Because My anger has (CC)turned away from them.
5 I will be like the (CD)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the (CE)lily,
And he will [aa]take root like the cedars of (CF)Lebanon.
6 His shoots will [ab]sprout,
His [ac]majesty will be like the (CG)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of (CH)Lebanon.
7 Those who (CI)live in his shadow
Will [ad]again raise (CJ)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
Scene in Heaven
4 After (A)these things I looked, and behold, (B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, (C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “(D)Come up here, and I will (E)show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately I was (F)in the [a]Spirit; and behold, (G)a throne was standing in heaven, and (H)someone was sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a (I)jasper stone and a (J)sardius in appearance; and there was a [b](K)rainbow around the throne, like an (L)emerald in appearance. 4 (M)Around the throne were (N)twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw (O)twenty-four elders (P)sitting, clothed in (Q)white garments, and (R)golden crowns on their heads.
The Throne and Worship of the Creator
5 Out from the throne *came (S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were (T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are [c](U)the seven spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a (V)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the [d]center and (W)around the throne, (X)four living creatures (Y)full of eyes in front and behind. 7 (Z)The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the (AA)four living creatures, each one of them having (AB)six wings, are (AC)full of eyes around and within; and (AD)day and night [e]they do not cease to say,
“(AE)Holy, holy, holy is the (AF)Lord God, the Almighty, (AG)who was and who is and who [f]is to come.”
9 And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who (AH)sits on the throne, to (AI)Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the (AJ)twenty-four elders will (AK)fall down before Him who (AL)sits on the throne, and they will worship (AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their (AN)crowns before the throne, saying,
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