Old/New Testament
12 Ephraim continually feeds on the wind;
he chases the east wind all day;
he multiplies lies and violence.
They make treaties[a] with Assyria,
and send olive oil as tribute[b] to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit[c] against Judah;
he will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
Israel Must Return to the God of Jacob
3 In the womb he attacked his brother;
in his manly vigor he struggled[d] with God.
4 He struggled[e] with an angel and prevailed;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found God[f] at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him![g]
5 As for the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is the name by which he is remembered![h]
6 But you must return[i] to your God,
by maintaining love and justice
and by waiting[j] for your God to return to you.[k]
The Lord Refutes Israel’s False Claim of Innocence
7 The businessmen love to cheat;[l]
they use dishonest scales.[m]
8 Ephraim boasts,[n] “I am very rich!
I have become wealthy![o]
In all that I have done to gain my wealth,[p]
no one can accuse me of any offense[q] that is actually sinful.”[r]
9 “I am the Lord your God[s] who brought you[t] out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old.[u]
10 I spoke to the prophets;
I myself revealed many visions;[v]
I spoke in parables[w] through[x] the prophets.”
11 Is there idolatry[y] in Gilead?[z]
Certainly its inhabitants[aa] will come to nothing![ab]
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!
Jacob in Aram, Israel in Egypt, and Ephraim in Trouble
12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram,
then Israel worked[ac] to acquire a wife;
he tended sheep to pay for her.
13 The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet,
and due to a prophet[ad] Israel[ae] was preserved alive.[af]
14 But Ephraim bitterly[ag] provoked him to anger;
so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed,[ah]
his Lord[ai] will repay him for the contempt he has shown.[aj]
Baal Worshipers and Calf Worshipers to be Destroyed
13 When Ephraim[ak] spoke,[al] there was terror;[am]
he was exalted[an] in Israel,
but he became guilty by worshiping Baal and died.
2 Even now they persist in sin![ao]
They make metal images for themselves,
idols that they skillfully fashion[ap] from their own silver;
all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen.
There is a saying about them:[aq]
“Those who sacrifice[ar] to the calf idol are calf kissers!”[as]
3 Therefore they will disappear like[at] the morning mist,[au]
like early morning dew that evaporates,[av]
like chaff that is blown away[aw] from a threshing floor,
like smoke that disappears through an open window.
Well-Fed Israel Will Be Fed to Wild Animals
4 But I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt.
Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me.
Except for me there is no Savior.
5 I cared for[ax] you in the wilderness,
in the dry desert where no water was.[ay]
6 When they were fed,[az] they became satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;[ba]
as a result, they forgot me!
7 So[bb] I will pounce on them like a lion;[bc]
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs—
I will rip open their chests.
I will devour them there like a lion—
like a wild animal would tear them apart.
Israel’s King Unable to Deliver the Nation
9 I will destroy you,[bd] O Israel!
Who[be] is there to help you?
10 Where[bf] then is your king,
that he may save you in all your cities?
Where are[bg] your rulers for whom you asked, saying,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I granted[bh] you a king in my anger,
and I will take him away in my wrath!
Israel’s Punishment Will Not Be Withheld Much Longer
12 The punishment[bi] of Ephraim has been decreed;[bj]
his punishment is being stored up for the future.
13 The labor pains of a woman will overtake him,
but the baby will lack wisdom;
when the time arrives,
he will not come out of the womb!
The Lord Will Not Relent from the Threatened Judgment
14 Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not![bk]
Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not!
O Death, bring on your plagues![bl]
O Sheol, bring on your destruction![bm]
My eyes will not show any compassion![bn]
The Capital of the Northern Empire Will Be Destroyed
15 Even though he flourishes like a reed plant,[bo]
a scorching east wind will come,
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
As a result, his spring will dry up;[bp]
his well will become dry.
That wind[bq] will spoil all his delightful foods
in the containers in his storehouse.
16 (14:1)[br] Samaria will be held guilty,[bs]
because she rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword;
their infants will be dashed to the ground—
their[bt] pregnant women will be ripped open.
Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance
14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall![bu]
2 Return to the Lord and repent![bv]
Say to him: “Completely[bw] forgive our iniquity;
accept[bx] our penitential prayer,[by]
that we may offer the praise of our lips as sacrificial bulls.[bz]
3 Assyria cannot save us;
we will not ride warhorses.
We will never again say, ‘Our gods,’
to what our own hands have made.
For only you will show compassion to Orphan Israel!”[ca]
Divine Promise to Relent from Judgment and to Restore Blessings
4 “I will heal their waywardness[cb]
and love them freely,[cc]
for my anger will turn away[cd] from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily,
he will send down his roots like a cedar of[ce] Lebanon.
6 His young shoots will grow;
his splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7 People will reside again[cf] in his shade;
they will plant and harvest grain in abundance.[cg]
They will blossom like a vine,
and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, I do not want to have anything to do[ch] with idols anymore!
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like[ci] a luxuriant cypress tree;[cj]
your fruitfulness comes from me!”[ck]
Concluding Exhortation
9 Who is wise?
Let him discern[cl] these things!
Who is discerning?
Let him understand them!
For the ways of the Lord are right;
the godly walk in them,
but in them the rebellious stumble.
The Amazing Scene in Heaven
4 After these things I looked, and there was[a] a door standing open in heaven![b] And the first voice I had heard speaking to me[c] like a trumpet[d] said: “Come up here so that[e] I can show you what must happen after these things.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit,[f] and[g] a throne was standing[h] in heaven with someone seated on it! 3 And the one seated on it was like jasper[i] and carnelian[j] in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald[k] encircled the throne. 4 In[l] a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were[m] dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns[n] on their heads. 5 From[o] the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring[p] and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God,[q] were burning in front of the throne 6 and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal.[r]
In[s] the middle of the throne[t] and around the throne were four living creatures[u] full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The[v] first living creature was like a lion, the[w] second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying. 8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings[x] and was full of eyes all around and inside.[y] They never rest day or night, saying:[z]
“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful,[aa]
Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor,[ab] and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground[ac] before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns[ad] before his[ae] throne, saying:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
since you created all things,
and because of your will they existed and were created!”[af]
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