Hosea 13-14

New International Version

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;^(A)
    he was exalted^(B) in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship^(C) and died.
²Now they sin more and more;
    they make^(D) idols for themselves from their silver,^(E)
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.^(F)
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss^[a]^(G) calf-idols!^(H)”
³Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,^(I)
    like chaff^(J) swirling from a threshing floor,^(K)
    like smoke^(L) escaping through a window.

⁴“But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.^(M)
You shall acknowledge^(N) no God but me,^(O)
    no Savior^(P) except me.
⁵I cared for you in the wilderness,^(Q)
    in the land of burning heat.
⁶When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;^(R)
    then they forgot^(S) me.^(T)
⁷So I will be like a lion^(U) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
⁸Like a bear robbed of her cubs,^(V)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion^(W) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.^(X)

⁹“You are destroyed, Israel,
    because you are against me,^(Y) against your helper.^(Z)
¹⁰Where is your king,^(AA) that he may save you?
    Where are your rulers in all your towns,
of whom you said,
    ‘Give me a king and princes’?^(AB)
¹¹So in my anger I gave you a king,^(AC)
    and in my wrath I took him away.^(AD)
¹²The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
    his sins are kept on record.^(AE)
¹³Pains as of a woman in childbirth^(AF) come to him,
    but he is a child without wisdom;
when the time^(AG) arrives,
    he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.^(AH)

¹⁴“I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;^(AI)
I will redeem them from death.^(AJ)
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?^(AK)

“I will have no compassion,
¹⁵    even though he thrives^(AL) among his brothers.
An east wind^(AM) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.^(AN)
His storehouse will be plundered^(AO)
    of all its treasures.
¹⁶The people of Samaria^(AP) must bear their guilt,^(AQ)
    because they have rebelled^(AR) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;^(AS)
    their little ones will be dashed^(AT) to the ground,
    their pregnant women^(AU) ripped open.”^[b]

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 ^[c]Return,^(AV) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins^(AW) have been your downfall!^(AX)
²Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive^(AY) all our sins
and receive us graciously,^(AZ)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.^[d]^(BA)
³Assyria cannot save us;^(BB)
    we will not mount warhorses.^(BC)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’^(BD)
    to what our own hands have made,^(BE)
    for in you the fatherless^(BF) find compassion.”

⁴“I will heal^(BG) their waywardness^(BH)
    and love them freely,^(BI)
    for my anger has turned away^(BJ) from them.
⁵I will be like the dew^(BK) to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.^(BL)
Like a cedar of Lebanon^(BM)
    he will send down his roots;^(BN)
⁶    his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,^(BO)
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.^(BP)
⁷People will dwell again in his shade;^(BQ)
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom^(BR) like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine^(BS) of Lebanon.^(BT)
⁸Ephraim, what more have I^[e] to do with idols?^(BU)
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;^(BV)
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

⁹Who is wise?^(BW) Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.^(BX)
The ways of the Lord are right;^(BY)
    the righteous walk^(BZ) in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

Footnotes

Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim

Hebrews 4

New International Version

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.^(A) ²For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.^[a]^(B) ³Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”^[b]^(C)

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”^[c]^(D) ⁵And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”^(E)

⁶Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience,^(F) ⁷God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”^[d]^(G)

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest,^(H) God would not have spoken^(I) later about another day. ⁹There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,^[e]^(J) just as God did from his.^(K) ¹¹Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.^(L)

¹²For the word of God^(M) is alive^(N) and active.^(O) Sharper than any double-edged sword,^(P) it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.^(Q) ¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.^(R) Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest^(S) who has ascended into heaven,^[f]^(T) Jesus the Son of God,^(U) let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.^(V) ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest^(W) who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are^(X)—yet he did not sin.^(Y) ¹⁶Let us then approach^(Z) God’s throne of grace with confidence,^(AA) so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Footnotes

Hebrews 4:2 Some manuscripts because those who heard did not combine it with faith
Hebrews 4:3 Psalm 95:11; also in verse 5
Hebrews 4:4 Gen. 2:2
Hebrews 4:7 Psalm 95:7,8
Hebrews 4:10 Or labor
Hebrews 4:14 Greek has gone through the heavens