Hosea 10-12

New American Standard Bible

Retribution for Israel’s Sin

10 Israel is a luxuriant ^(A)vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he ^(B)made;
The ^[a]richer his land,
The better ^[b]he made the ^(C)memorial stones.
²Their heart is ^[c]^(D)deceitful;
Now they must suffer for their ^(E)guilt.
^[d]The Lord will ^(F)break down their altars
And destroy their memorial stones.

³Certainly now they will say, “We have ^(G)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
⁴They speak mere words,
^[e]With ^(H)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And ^(I)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
⁵The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the ^[f]^(J)calf of ^(K)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its ^(L)idolatrous priests ^[g]will cry out over it,
Over its ^(M)glory, since it has left it.
⁶The thing itself will be brought to ^(N)Assyria
As a gift of tribute to ^[h]^(O)King Jareb;
Ephraim will ^[i]be ^(P)seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its ^(Q)own plan.
⁷Samaria will be ^(R)destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
⁸Also the ^(S)high places of Aven, the ^(T)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
^(U)Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will ^(V)say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
⁹Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel;
There they stand!
Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?
¹⁰When it is My ^(W)desire, I will ^[j]^(X)discipline them;
And ^(Y)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.

¹¹Ephraim is a trained ^(Z)heifer that loves to thresh,
^[k]And I ^(AA)passed over her lovely neck;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will ^[l]harrow for himself.
¹²^(AB)Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with ^[m]kindness.
^(AC)Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to ^(AD)seek the Lord
Until He ^(AE)comes and ^(AF)rains righteousness on you.
¹³You have ^(AG)plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of ^(AH)lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your ^(AI)many warriors,
¹⁴An uproar will arise among your people,
And all your ^(AJ)fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When ^(AK)mothers were ^[n]slaughtered with their children.
¹⁵So it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

God Yearns over His People

11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And ^(AL)out of Egypt I ^(AM)called My son.
²The more ^[o]^(AN)they called them,
The more they went away from ^[p]them;
They kept ^(AO)sacrificing to the Baals
And ^(AP)burning incense to idols.
³Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
^[q]I ^(AQ)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I ^(AR)healed them.
⁴I ^(AS)pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love,
And ^(AT)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and ^(AU)fed them.

⁵^[r]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be ^[s]their king
Because they ^(AV)refused to return to Me.
⁶And the ^(AW)sword will whirl against ^[t]their cities,
And will destroy ^[u]their oracle priests
And ^(AX)consume them, because of their ^(AY)counsels.
⁷So My people are determined to ^(AZ)turn from Me.
Though ^[v]they call ^[w]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.

⁸^(BA)How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I ^[x]make you like ^(BB)Admah?
How can I treat you like ^(BC)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
^[y]All My compassions are kindled.
⁹I will ^(BD)not carry out My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim ^(BE)again.
For ^(BF)I am God and not a man, the ^(BG)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in ^[z]wrath.
¹⁰They will ^(BH)walk after the Lord,
He will ^(BI)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar,
And His sons will come ^(BJ)trembling from the west.
¹¹They will come trembling like birds from ^(BK)Egypt,
And like ^(BL)doves from the land of ^(BM)Assyria;
And I will ^(BN)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.

¹²^[aa]Ephraim surrounds Me with ^(BO)lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
^[ab]Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Ephraim Reminded

12 ^[ac]Ephraim feeds on ^(BP)wind,
And pursues the ^(BQ)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, ^[ad]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is brought to Egypt.
²The Lord also has a ^(BR)case against Judah,
And will punish Jacob ^(BS)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
³In the womb he ^(BT)took his brother by the heel,
And in his mature strength he ^(BU)contended with God.
⁴Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and ^(BV)implored His favor.
He found Him at ^(BW)Bethel,
And there He spoke with us,
⁵And the Lord, the God of armies,
The Lord is His ^[ae]^(BX)name.
⁶So as for you, ^(BY)return to your God,
^(BZ)Maintain ^[af]kindness and justice,
And ^(CA)wait for your God continually.
⁷A ^[ag]merchant, in whose hands are fraudulent ^(CB)balances,
Loves to exploit.
⁸And Ephraim said, “I have certainly become ^(CC)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
^(CD)No wrongdoing, which would be sin.”
⁹But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you ^(CE)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
¹⁰I have also spoken to the ^(CF)prophets,
And I ^[ah]provided many visions,
And through the prophets I spoke in ^(CG)parables.
¹¹Is there injustice in Gilead?
Certainly they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, ^(CH)their altars are like stone heaps
Beside the furrows of a field.

¹²Now ^(CI)Jacob fled to the ^[ai]land of Aram,
And ^(CJ)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
¹³But by a ^(CK)prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was protected.
¹⁴^(CL)Ephraim has provoked God to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his ^(CM)guilt for bloodshed on him
And bring his ^(CN)disgrace back to him.

Footnotes

Hosea 10:1 Lit better
Hosea 10:1 Lit they
Hosea 10:2 Lit slippery; or divided
Hosea 10:2 Lit He
Hosea 10:4 Or Swearing falsely in making a covenant
Hosea 10:5 As in some ancient versions; MT calves
Hosea 10:5 Or who used to rejoice over
Hosea 10:6 Another reading is the great king; or the contentious king
Hosea 10:6 Lit receive shame
Hosea 10:10 Or instruct
Hosea 10:11 Or But I put a yoke on her lovely
Hosea 10:11 I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
Hosea 10:12 Or loyalty
Hosea 10:14 Lit shattered
Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
Hosea 11:2 I.e., God’s prophets
Hosea 11:3 As in ancient versions; MT He...His
Hosea 11:5 Lit He
Hosea 11:5 Lit his
Hosea 11:6 Lit his
Hosea 11:6 Lit his
Hosea 11:7 I.e., God’s prophets
Hosea 11:7 Lit him; i.e., Israel
Hosea 11:8 Lit give
Hosea 11:8 Lit Together
Hosea 11:9 Lit agitation
Hosea 11:12 Ch 12:1 in Heb
Hosea 11:12 Or But Judah still goes about with God, even with
Hosea 12:1 Ch 12:2 in Heb
Hosea 12:1 Lit they make
Hosea 12:5 Lit invocation
Hosea 12:6 Or loyalty
Hosea 12:7 Or Canaanite
Hosea 12:10 Lit multiplied the vision
Hosea 12:12 Lit field

Psalm 73

New American Standard Bible

BOOK 3

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 God certainly is ^(A)good to Israel,
To those who are ^(B)pure in heart!
²But as for me, ^(C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps ^[a]had almost slipped.
³For I was ^(D)envious of the ^[b]arrogant
As I saw the ^(E)prosperity of the wicked.
⁴For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
⁵They are ^(F)not ^[c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they ^(G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
⁶Therefore arrogance is ^(H)their necklace;
The ^(I)garment of violence covers them.
⁷Their eye ^[d]bulges from ^(J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
⁸They ^(K)mock and ^[e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They ^(L)speak from on high.
⁹They have ^(M)set their mouth ^[f]against the heavens,
And their tongue ^[g]parades through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore ^[h]his people return here,
And ^(N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
¹¹They say, “^(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge ^[i]with the Most High?”
¹²Behold, ^(P)these are the wicked;
And always ^(Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
¹³Surely ^(R)in vain I have ^[j]kept my heart pure
And ^(S)washed my hands in innocence;
¹⁴For I have been stricken ^(T)all day long,
And ^[k]^(U)punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the ^(V)generation of Your children.
¹⁶When I ^(W)thought of understanding this,
It was ^[l]troublesome in my sight
¹⁷Until I entered the ^[m]^(X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their ^(Y)end.
¹⁸You indeed put them on ^(Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into ^[n]^(AA)ruin.
¹⁹How they are ^[o]^(AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by ^(AC)sudden terrors!
²⁰Like a ^(AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when ^(AE)stirred, You will ^(AF)despise their image.

²¹When my ^(AG)heart was embittered
And I was ^(AH)pierced ^[p]within,
²²Then I was ^(AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an ^(AJ)animal ^[q]before You.
²³Nevertheless ^(AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
²⁴You will ^(AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward ^(AM)receive me ^[r]to glory.

²⁵^(AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
²⁶My ^(AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the ^[s]strength of my heart and my ^(AP)portion forever.
²⁷For, behold, ^(AQ)those who are far from You will ^(AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who ^[t]^(AS)are unfaithful to You.
²⁸But as for me, ^(AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord ^[u]God my ^(AU)refuge,
So that I may ^(AV)tell of all Your works.

Footnotes

Psalm 73:2 Lit were caused to slip
Psalm 73:3 Or boasters
Psalm 73:5 Lit in the trouble of people
Psalm 73:7 Lit goes forth
Psalm 73:8 Or they speak in wickedness; From on high they speak of oppression
Psalm 73:9 Or in
Psalm 73:9 Lit walks
Psalm 73:10 Or His
Psalm 73:11 Lit in
Psalm 73:13 Or cleansed my heart
Psalm 73:14 Lit my punishment
Psalm 73:16 Lit labor, trouble
Psalm 73:17 Lit sanctuaries
Psalm 73:18 Or deception
Psalm 73:19 Lit become a desolation
Psalm 73:21 Lit in my kidneys
Psalm 73:22 Lit with You
Psalm 73:24 Or with honor
Psalm 73:26 Lit rock
Psalm 73:27 Lit go to a whoring from
Psalm 73:28 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

Hebrews 4

New American Standard Bible

The Believer’s Rest

4 Therefore, we must fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have ^(A)come short of it. ²For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did; but ^(B)the word ^[a]they heard did not benefit them, because ^[b]they were not united with those who listened with faith. ³For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“^(C)As I swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My rest,”

although His works were finished ^(D)from the foundation of the world. ⁴For He has said ^(E)somewhere concerning the seventh day: “^(F)And God ^(G)rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵and again in this passage, “^(H)They certainly shall not enter My rest.” ⁶Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of ^(I)disobedience, ⁷He again sets a certain day, “Today,” saying ^[c]through David after so long a time just ^(J)as has been said before,

“^(K)Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For ^(L)if ^[d]Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰For the one who has entered His rest has himself also ^(M)rested from his works, as ^(N)God did from His. ¹¹Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same ^(O)example of ^(P)disobedience. ¹²For ^(Q)the word of God is ^(R)living and ^(S)active, and sharper than any two-edged ^(T)sword, even penetrating as far as the division of ^(U)soul and ^(V)spirit, of both joints and marrow, and ^(W)able to ^[e]judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³And ^(X)there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are ^(Y)open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom ^[f]we must answer.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great ^(Z)high priest who has ^(AA)passed through the heavens, Jesus ^(AB)the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our ^(AC)confession. ¹⁵For we do not have ^(AD)a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been ^(AE)tempted in all things just as we are, yet ^(AF)without sin. ¹⁶Therefore let’s ^(AG)approach the throne of grace with ^(AH)confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.