Old/New Testament
Chapter 12
Israel Ever Deceitful
1 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit.
But Judah still remains aligned with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.
2 Ephraim chases the wind,
ever pursuing the east wind throughout the day.
Numerous are his lies and treachery;
he makes a treaty with Assyria
while sending oil to Egypt.
3 The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah;
he will punish Jacob as his conduct deserves;
he will requite him according to his deeds.
4 While still in the womb he supplanted his brother,
and as a man he struggled with God.
5 He contended with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and entreated his favor.
He met God at Bethel
and spoke with him there.
6 The Lord, the God of hosts,
the Lord is his name.
7 Turn back with God’s help;
remain loyal and act justly,
and always put your trust in him.
8 Merchants use dishonest scales,
for they love to defraud.
9 Ephraim says,
“I have become very rich;
I have made a fortune.”
But all his wealth will avail him nothing
because of the guilt incurred by his sin.
10 I am the Lord, your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents yet again
as in the days of the appointed festival.
11 I spoke to the prophets,
to whom I granted many visions
and through whom I will speak in parables.
12 Gilead is a hotbed of iniquity;
the people there are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
their altars are like piles of stones
on a plowed field.
13 Jacob fled to the country of Aram;
Israel did service to obtain a wife,
paying for her by tending sheep.
14 By a prophet[a] the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
and by a prophet they were protected.
15 Ephraim gave bitter provocation to the Lord;
therefore he will suffer for the blood he has shed,
and the Lord will punish him for his insults.
Chapter 13
The Cult of Calves
1 When Ephraim spoke, the people trembled;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt by worshiping Baal, and died.
2 And now the people continue to sin even more
by casting images for themselves,
idols of silver fashioned after their own concept,
all of them the work of artisans.
They say, “Offer sacrifices to these,”
and people kiss the calf-idols.
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist
or like the dew that quickly fades away,
like chaff that a storm drives from the threshing floor,
or like smoke escaping through a window.
You Know No God but Me, Nor Any Savior Other than Me
4 I am the Lord, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
You know no God but me,
nor any savior other than me.
5 I cared for you in the desert,
in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud of heart
and quickly forgot me.
7 So now I will be like a lion to them;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the road.
8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them
and rip their hearts from their breasts.
Like a lion I will devour them;
like a wild beast I will tear them apart.
9 You are destroyed, O Israel;
who is there to help you?
10 Where now is your king
that he may save you?
Where in all your cities are your rulers,
about whom you said,
“Give me a king and rulers”?
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and in my wrath I took him away.[b]
O Death, Where Are Your Plagues?
12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up;
his sins are kept on record.
13 He experiences the pangs of childbirth,
but he is a child lacking in wisdom.
When his time for birth arrives,
he does not leave the womb.
14 Shall I deliver them from the power of the netherworld?[c]
Shall I redeem them from death?
O death, where are your plagues?
O netherworld, where is your sting?
Compassion will be banished from my sight.
15 Although Ephraim may be more fruitful than his brothers,
an east wind[d] from the Lord will come,
rising from the desert,
causing his springs to be arid
and his fountain to dry up.
His treasury will be plundered
of every precious thing.
Chapter 14
1 Samaria will be severely punished
because she has rebelled against her God.
Her people will fall by the sword;
her little ones will be dashed to pieces,
and her pregnant women will be ripped open.[e]
Come Back, O Israel, and I Will Love You[f]
2 Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God;
your iniquity has been the cause of your downfall.
3 Prepare in advance what you want to say,
and return to the Lord.
Say to him, “Take away all guilt
and give us what is good,
so that we may present as offerings
the bullocks from our stalls.
4 Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we mount horses of war.
We shall never again say ‘Our god’
to the work of our hands,
for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
5 I will forgive them for their apostasy,
and I will love them freely,
for my wrath is turned away from them.
6 I will be like the dew to Israel;
they will blossom like a lily;
they will strike root like the cedars of Lebanon.
7 They will put out fresh shoots;
their splendor shall be like that of the olive tree
and their fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
8 They shall again dwell in my shade
and once again flourish like grain.
They shall blossom like the vine,
and their fame will be like that of the wine of Lebanon.
9 What further dealings does Ephraim have with idols?
I hear you and look out for your welfare.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
your prosperity derives from me.
Final Notice
10 Let those who are wise understand these words,
and let the prudent acknowledge them.
For straight are the ways of the Lord;
the upright walk in them,
but sinners stumble.[g]
Celestial Visions about What Is To Come[a]
Christ, Lord of History[b]
Chapter 4
Vision of the Throne.[c]1 Following this, I had a vision of heaven with an open door, and I heard the voice like a trumpet that I had heard speaking to me before, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was caught up in the spirit,[d] and there in heaven I beheld a throne. 3 Seated upon the throne was one whose appearance was similar to that of jasper and carnelian, and surrounding it was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
4 Encircling the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders,[e] dressed in white with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Emanating from the throne were flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming lamps, the seven spirits of God, 6 and in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass as transparent as crystal.
In the center of the throne and around it there were four living creatures,[f] and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature resembled a lion, the second resembled an ox, the third had a human face, and the fourth resembled an eagle in flight. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and all of them were covered with eyes all around and underneath their wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders prostrate themselves before him who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. As they lay down their crowns in front of the throne, they cry out:
11 “Worthy are you, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
by your will they were created
and have their being.”
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