Old/New Testament
Chapter 9
Such Sacrifice Will Be Like Mourners’ Bread
1 Do not rejoice, O Israel!
Do not exult like the other nations!
For you have been unfaithful to your God;
you have loved the wages of a prostitute
upon every threshing floor.[a]
2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed them,
and the new wine will fail them.
3 They will not remain in the land of the Lord;
Ephraim will return to Egypt[b]
and eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 No longer will they pour libations of wine to the Lord,
nor will their sacrifices please him.
To them such sacrifice will be like mourners’ bread
that defiles all who eat of it.
Whatever food they have will be for them alone;
it cannot enter the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the solemn feasts,
on the festival day of the Lord?[c]
6 Even if the people escape destruction,
Egypt will gather them
and Memphis[d] will bury them.
Weeds will swallow up their treasures of silver,
and thorns will overrun their tents.
The Prophet Is Ridiculed
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of retribution are here.
Israel cries out,
“The prophet is a fool,
the inspired man is a maniac.”
Because your iniquity is great,
all the greater is your hostility.
8 The prophet has been appointed by God
to serve as a watchman over Ephraim.
Yet snares await him on all his paths
and he incurs hostility in the house of his God.
9 They have immersed themselves in corruption
as in the days of Gibeah.[e]
God will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
At the Roots of the Evil of Israel[f]
The Crimes of Baal-peor and Gilgal
10 It was like finding grapes in the desert
when I found Israel.
When I saw your fathers,
it was like seeing the early frost on a fig tree.
However, when they came to Baal-peor,
they consecrated themselves to a shameful idol,
and they became as loathsome as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.
12 Even if they were to bear children,
I will take away from them every single one.
Woe to them
when I turn away from them!
13 Ephraim once seemed to me like Tyre,
planted in a beautiful meadow.
But now Ephraim will be required
to lead out his children for slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give?
Give them wombs that miscarry[g]
and dried-up breasts.
15 All of their wickedness had its root in Gilgal;[h]
it was there that I came to hate them.
Because of their evil deeds,
I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;
all of their rulers are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken;
their root is withered,
and they yield no fruit.
Even if they bring forth children,
I will slay the cherished offspring of their womb.
17 My God will cast them off
because they have not listened to him;
they will become wanderers among the nations.
Chapter 10
Duplicity of Heart
1 Israel is a luxuriant vine
bringing forth a great bounty of fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built.
The more prosperous his land became,
the richer he made the sacred pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must pay the penalty for the guilt.
God himself will destroy their altars
and demolish their sacred pillars.
3 Then they will say,
“We have no king
because we did not serve the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
what could he do for us?”
4 They make many empty promises,
swear false oaths and draw up treaties.
Thus litigation spreads like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the fields.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
The people mourn for it,
and its idolatrous priests mourn over it,
over its glory that has departed from it.
6 It will be carried to Assyria
as an offering to the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced,
and Israel will be shamed by his schemes.
7 The king of Samaria will float away
like a flimsy twig drifting on the water.
8 The high places of Aven will be destroyed,
the shrines where Israel sinned.
Thorns and thistles shall flourish
and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 Since the days of Gibeah,
you have sinned, O Israel,
and there you have remained.
Did not war overtake
the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 I have come to confront the rebels
and to chastise them.
Nations shall mass against them
to punish them for their two crimes.
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer
that loved to thresh grain.
I myself laid a yoke
upon her fair neck.
However, I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will be forced to plow,
and Jacob will harrow the land.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
and reap a harvest of steadfast love.
Break up your fallow ground;
it is time to seek the Lord
so that he may come and rain down righteousness upon you.
13 However, you have plowed wickedness
and reaped depravity;
you have eaten the fruit of falsehood.
Because you have trusted in your chariots
and in your multitude of warriors,
14 the tumult of war will engulf your people,
and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Salman[i] devastated Beth-arbel on the day of battle
when mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.
15 Thus shall it be done to you, O Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
will be utterly destroyed.
Chapter 11
With Human Attachments and with Bonds of Love
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.[j]
2 But the more I called them,
the further they went from me.
They offered sacrifice to the Baals
and burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I who took them up in my arms.
However, they did not know
that I was the one caring for them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bonds of love.
I lifted them to my cheek as I would an infant,
and I bent down to feed them.
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria will be their king
because they refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall be brandished in their cities;
it will destroy the bars of their gates
and devour them because of their evil schemes.
7 My people are determined to ignore me;
if they are summoned to approach me,
not one of them makes any attempt to do so.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?[k]
How can I make you like Zeboiim?
My heart is overwhelmed within me;
tender compassion is enkindled in my heart.
9 I will not give rein to my fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not a mortal.
I am the Holy One in your midst;
I will not come to you in wrath.
10 [l]They will follow the Lord
who roars like a lion.
And when he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like sparrows from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria.
I will resettle them in their homes,
says the Lord.
Chapter 3
To Sardis.[a] 1 “To the angel of the Church in Sardis,[b] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
“ ‘ “I know your deeds. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be on guard and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death. For I have not found any of your deeds perfect in the sight of my God. 3 Therefore, remember the teaching that you have received and heard. Hold on to it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
4 “ ‘ “However, there are still a few in Sardis who have not soiled their robes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 Anyone who is victorious will be dressed like these in white robes, and I shall not blot his name from the book of life.[c] Rather, I shall acknowledge it in the presence of my Father and his angels.
6 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’
To Philadelphia.[d] 7 “To the angel of the Church in Philadelphia,[e] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the holy one,
the true one,
who has the key of David,
who opens the door,
and no one can shut it;
who closes the door,
and no one can open it:
8 “ ‘ “I know your deeds. I have set before you an open door[f] that no one will be able to close. I know that your strength is limited, yet you have kept my word and have not disowned my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who claim to be Jews but are not, for they are lying—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and recognize that I have loved you.
10 “ ‘ “Because you have kept my word to endure patiently, I will keep you safe during the time of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to put the inhabitants of the earth to the test. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you already have so that no one may rob you of your crown.
12 “ ‘ “Anyone who is victorious I will make into a pillar in the temple of my God, and never again will he depart from it. I will inscribe on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, as well as my own new name.[g]
13 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’
14 To Laodicea.[h]“To the angel of the Church in Laodicea,[i] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation:
15 “ ‘ “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either hot or cold. 16 As it is, since you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot,[j] I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, ‘I am rich; I have prospered; I have everything I want,’ never realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.[k]
18 “ ‘ “I advise you to buy from me gold that has been refined by fire so that you will be truly rich, and white robes to clothe you so that you may keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. 19 I reprove and discipline all those whom I love.[l] Therefore, be sincere in your desire to repent.
20 “ ‘ “Behold, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with that person and that person with me. 21 To anyone who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself overcame and sat with my Father on his throne.
22 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’ ”
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