Hosea 12-14

English Standard Version

12 Ephraim feeds on the wind
    and pursues ^(A)the east wind all day long;
they multiply ^(B)falsehood and violence;
    ^(C)they make a covenant with Assyria,
    and ^(D)oil is carried to Egypt.

The Lord's Indictment of Israel and Judah

²^(E)The Lord has an indictment against Judah
    and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
    he will repay him according to his deeds.
³^(F)In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
    and in his manhood he strove with God.
⁴He strove with the angel and prevailed;
    he wept and sought his favor.
^(G)He met God^[a] at Bethel,
    and there God spoke with us—
⁵the Lord, the God of hosts,
    ^(H)the Lord is his memorial name:
⁶“So you, ^(I)by the help of your God, return,
    ^(J)hold fast to love and justice,
    and wait continually for your God.”

⁷A merchant, in whose hands are ^(K)false balances,
    he loves ^(L)to oppress.
⁸Ephraim has said, “Ah, but ^(M)I am rich;
    I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors ^(N)they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
⁹^(O)I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you ^(P)dwell in tents,
    as in the days of the appointed feast.

¹⁰^(Q)I spoke to the prophets;
    it was I who multiplied ^(R)visions,
    and through the prophets gave parables.
¹¹^(S)If there is iniquity in Gilead,
    they shall surely come to nothing:
^(T)in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
    ^(U)their altars also are like stone heaps
    ^(V)on the furrows of the field.
¹²^(W)Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
    there Israel ^(X)served for a wife,
    and for a wife he guarded sheep.
¹³By ^(Y)a prophet ^(Z)the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
    and by a prophet he was guarded.
¹⁴^(AA)Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
    so his Lord ^(AB)will leave his bloodguilt on him
    ^(AC)and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
    ^(AD)he was exalted in Israel,
    but he incurred guilt ^(AE)through Baal and died.
²And now they sin more and more,
    and ^(AF)make for themselves metal images,
idols skillfully made of their silver,
    ^(AG)all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of them,
    “Those who offer human sacrifice ^(AH)kiss calves!”
³Therefore they shall be ^(AI)like the morning mist
    or ^(AJ)like the dew that goes early away,
^(AK)like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
    or ^(AL)like smoke from a window.

⁴But ^(AM)I am the Lord your God
    from the land of Egypt;
^(AN)you know no God but me,
    and ^(AO)besides me there is no savior.
⁵^(AP)It was I who knew you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought;
⁶^(AQ)but when they had grazed,^[b] they became full,
    ^(AR)they were filled, and their heart was lifted up;
    ^(AS)therefore they forgot me.
⁷So ^(AT)I am to them like a lion;
    ^(AU)like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
⁸I will fall upon them ^(AV)like a bear robbed of her cubs;
    I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
    ^(AW)as a wild beast would rip them open.

⁹He destroys^[c] you, O Israel,
    for you are against me, against ^(AX)your helper.
¹⁰^(AY)Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?
    Where are all your rulers—
those of whom ^(AZ)you said,
    “Give me a king and princes”?
¹¹^(BA)I gave you a king in my anger,
    and ^(BB)I took him away in my wrath.

¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is ^(BC)bound up;
    his sin is ^(BD)kept in store.
¹³^(BE)The pangs of childbirth come for him,
    but he is an unwise son,
for at the right time he does not present himself
    ^(BF)at the opening of the womb.

¹⁴^(BG)I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
    ^(BH)I shall redeem them from Death.^[d]
^(BI)O ^(BJ)Death, where are your plagues?
    ^(BK)O ^(BL)Sheol, where is your sting?
    ^(BM)Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Though ^(BN)he may flourish among his brothers,
    ^(BO)the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,
    rising from the wilderness,
^(BP)and his fountain shall dry up;
    his spring shall be parched;
it shall strip ^(BQ)his treasury
    of every precious thing.
¹⁶^[e] Samaria ^(BR)shall bear her guilt,
    because ^(BS)she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
    ^(BT)their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
    and their ^(BU)pregnant women ripped open.

A Plea to Return to the Lord

14 ^(BV)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for ^(BW)you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
²Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
accept ^(BX)what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    ^(BY)the vows^[f] of our lips.
³^(BZ)Assyria shall not save us;
    ^(CA)we will not ride on horses;
and ^(CB)we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
^(CC)In you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I ^(CD)will heal their apostasy;
    ^(CE)I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
⁵^(CF)I will be like the dew to Israel;
    ^(CG)he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall take root like the trees ^(CH)of Lebanon;
⁶his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be ^(CI)like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷They shall return and ^(CJ)dwell beneath my^[g] shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O ^(CK)Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.^[h]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
^(CL)from me comes your fruit.

⁹^(CM)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and ^(CN)the upright walk in them,
    ^(CO)but transgressors stumble in them.

Footnotes

Hosea 12:4 Hebrew him
Hosea 13:6 Hebrew according to their pasture
Hosea 13:9 Or I will destroy
Hosea 13:14 Or Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death?
Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew
Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit
Hosea 14:7 Hebrew his
Hosea 14:8 Hebrew him

Hebrews 2

English Standard Version

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ²For since ^(A)the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and ^(B)every transgression or disobedience received a just ^(C)retribution, ³^(D)how shall we escape if we ^(E)neglect such a great salvation? It was ^(F)declared at first by the Lord, and it was ^(G)attested to us ^(H)by those who heard, ⁴^(I)while God also bore witness ^(J)by signs and wonders and various miracles and by ^(K)gifts of the Holy Spirit ^(L)distributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

⁵For it was not to angels that God subjected the world ^(M)to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶It has been testified somewhere,

^(N)“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
    or the son of man, that you care for him?
⁷You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
    you have crowned him with glory and honor,^[a]
⁸    putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, ^(O)we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹But we see him ^(P)who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, ^(Q)crowned with glory and honor ^(R)because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might ^(S)taste death ^(T)for everyone.

¹⁰For it ^(U)was fitting that he, ^(V)for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons ^(W)to glory, should make the ^(X)founder of their salvation ^(Y)perfect through suffering. ¹¹For ^(Z)he who sanctifies and ^(AA)those who are sanctified ^(AB)all have one source.^[b] That is why he is not ashamed to call them ^(AC)brothers,^[c] ¹²saying,

^(AD)“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the ^(AE)congregation I will sing your praise.”

¹³And again,

^(AF)“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

^(AG)“Behold, I and the children ^(AH)God has given me.”

¹⁴Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise ^(AI)partook of the same things, that ^(AJ)through death he might ^(AK)destroy ^(AL)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and deliver all those who ^(AM)through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he ^(AN)helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he had ^(AO)to be made like his brothers in every respect, ^(AP)so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest ^(AQ)in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For because he himself has suffered ^(AR)when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Footnotes

Hebrews 2:7 Some manuscripts insert and set him over the works of your hands
Hebrews 2:11 Greek all are of one
Hebrews 2:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verse 12