2 Kings 15-16
New King James Version
Azariah Reigns in Judah(A)
15 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, (B)Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, (C)became king. 2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 4 (D)except that the [a]high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 5 Then the Lord (E)struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his (F)death; so he (G)dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land.
6 Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 7 So Azariah [b]rested with his fathers, and (H)they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.
Zechariah Reigns in Israel
8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, (I)Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, (J)as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 10 Then Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and (K)struck and killed him in front of the people; and he reigned in his place.
11 Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
12 This was the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, (L)“Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it was.
Shallum Reigns in Israel
13 Shallum the son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of [c]Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. 14 For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from (M)Tirzah, came to Samaria, and struck Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him; and he reigned in his place.
15 Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he [d]led, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 16 Then from Tirzah, Menahem attacked (N)Tiphsah, all who were there, and its territory. Because they did not surrender, therefore he attacked it. All (O)the women there who were with child he ripped open.
Menahem Reigns in Israel
17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi became king over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. 18 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 19 (P)Pul[e] king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his [f]hand might be with him to (Q)strengthen the kingdom under his control. 20 And Menahem (R)exacted[g] the money from Israel, from all the very wealthy, from each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land.
21 Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 22 So Menahem [h]rested with his fathers. Then Pekahiah his son reigned in his place.
Pekahiah Reigns in Israel
23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. 24 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 25 Then Pekah the son of Remaliah, an officer of his, conspired against him and [i]killed him in Samaria, in the (S)citadel of the king’s house, along with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of Gilead. He killed him and reigned in his place.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Pekah Reigns in Israel
27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, (T)Pekah the son of Remaliah became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. 28 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, [j]Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria (U)came and took (V)Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he (W)carried them captive to Assyria. 30 Then Hoshea the son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck and killed him; so he (X)reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
31 Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
Jotham Reigns in Judah(Y)
32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, (Z)Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. 33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was [k]Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 34 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord; he did (AA)according to all that his father Uzziah had done. 35 (AB)However the [l]high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. (AC)He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord.
36 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 37 In those days the Lord began to send (AD)Rezin king of Syria and (AE)Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. 38 So Jotham [m]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
Ahaz Reigns in Judah(AF)
16 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. 3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed (AG)he made his son pass through the fire, according to the (AH)abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and burned incense on the (AI)high places, (AJ)on the hills, and under every green tree.
5 (AK)Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to make war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. 6 At that time Rezin king of Syria (AL)captured [n]Elath for Syria, and drove the men of Judah from Elath. Then the [o]Edomites went to Elath, and dwell there to this day.
7 So Ahaz sent messengers to (AM)Tiglath-Pileser[p] king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” 8 And Ahaz (AN)took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. 9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against (AO)Damascus and (AP)took it, carried its people captive to (AQ)Kir, and killed Rezin.
10 Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 11 Then (AR)Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. 12 And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; and (AS)the king approached the altar and made offerings on it. 13 So he burned his burnt offering and his grain offering; and he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. 14 He also brought (AT)the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the [q]temple—from between the new altar and the house of the Lord—and put it on the north side of the new altar. 15 Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn (AU)the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” 16 Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.
17 (AV)And King Ahaz cut off (AW)the panels of the carts, and removed the lavers from them; and he took down (AX)the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it on a pavement of stones. 18 Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, and he removed the king’s outer entrance from the house of the Lord, on account of the king of Assyria.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 So Ahaz rested with his fathers, and (AY)was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 15:4 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 15:7 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Kings 15:13 Azariah, 2 Kin. 14:21ff.; 15:1ff.
- 2 Kings 15:15 Lit. conspired
- 2 Kings 15:19 Tiglath-Pileser III, v. 29
- 2 Kings 15:19 Support
- 2 Kings 15:20 took
- 2 Kings 15:22 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Kings 15:25 Lit. struck
- 2 Kings 15:29 A later name of Pul, v. 19
- 2 Kings 15:33 Jerushah, 2 Chr. 27:1
- 2 Kings 15:35 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Kings 15:38 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Kings 16:6 Lit. Large Tree; sing. of Eloth
- 2 Kings 16:6 A few ancient mss. Syrians
- 2 Kings 16:7 A later name of Pul, 2 Kin. 15:19
- 2 Kings 16:14 Lit. house
2 Chronicles 26-27
New King James Version
Uzziah Reigns in Judah(A)
26 Now all the people of Judah took [a]Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. 2 He built [b]Elath and restored it to Judah, after the king rested with his fathers.
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was (B)right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 (C)He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who (D)had understanding in the [c]visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him (E)prosper.
6 Now he went out and (F)made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against (G)the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. 8 Also the Ammonites (H)brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong.
9 And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the (I)Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. 10 Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in [d]Carmel, for he loved the soil.
11 Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. 12 The total number of [e]chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. 13 And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. 15 And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by (J)skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
The Penalty for Uzziah’s Pride(K)
16 But (L)when he was strong his heart was (M)lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God (N)by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So (O)Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It (P)is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the (Q)priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.”
19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, (R)leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also (S)hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him.
21 (T)King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an (U)isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.
22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet (V)Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. 23 (W)So Uzziah [f]rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.
Jotham Reigns in Judah(X)
27 Jotham (Y)was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was [g]Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the Lord). But still (Z)the people acted corruptly.
3 He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord, and he built extensively on the wall of (AA)Ophel. 4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. 5 He also fought with the king of the (AB)Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. 6 So Jotham became mighty, (AC)because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.
7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. 8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. 9 (AD)So Jotham [h]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then (AE)Ahaz his son reigned in his place.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 26:1 Azariah, 2 Kin. 14:21ff.
- 2 Chronicles 26:2 Heb. Eloth
- 2 Chronicles 26:5 Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Tg., Arab. fear
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 Or the fertile fields
- 2 Chronicles 26:12 Lit. chief fathers
- 2 Chronicles 26:23 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Chronicles 27:1 Jerusha, 2 Kin. 15:33
- 2 Chronicles 27:9 Died and joined his ancestors
Psalm 73
New King James Version
BOOK THREE
Psalms 73–89
The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly (B)slipped.
3 (C)For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the (D)wicked.
4 For there are no [a]pangs in their death,
But their strength is firm.
5 (E)They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like other men.
6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
Violence covers them (F)like a garment.
7 (G)Their [b]eyes bulge with abundance;
They have more than heart could wish.
8 (H)They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They (I)speak [c]loftily.
9 They set their mouth (J)against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
10 Therefore his people return here,
(K)And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
11 And they say, (L)“How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who are always at ease;
They increase in riches.
13 Surely I have [d]cleansed my heart in (M)vain,
And washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been plagued,
And chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
16 When I thought how to understand this,
It was [e]too painful for me—
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their (N)end.
18 Surely (O)You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
20 As a dream when one awakes,
So, Lord, when You awake,
You shall despise their image.
21 Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was [f]vexed in my mind.
22 (P)I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 (Q)You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
25 (R)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26 (S)My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the [g]strength of my heart and my (T)portion forever.
27 For indeed, (U)those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who [h]desert You for harlotry.
28 But it is good for me to (V)draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord God,
That I may (W)declare all Your works.
Footnotes
- Psalm 73:4 pains
- Psalm 73:7 Tg. face bulges; LXX, Syr., Vg. iniquity bulges
- Psalm 73:8 Proudly
- Psalm 73:13 kept my heart pure in vain
- Psalm 73:16 troublesome in my eyes
- Psalm 73:21 Lit. pierced in my kidneys
- Psalm 73:26 Lit. rock
- Psalm 73:27 Are unfaithful to You
Psalm 115-116
New King James Version
The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God
115 Not (A)unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
2 Why should the [a]Gentiles say,
(B)“So where is their God?”
3 (C)But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
4 (D)Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 (E)Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
9 (F)O Israel, trust in the Lord;
(G)He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord [b]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 (H)He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.
14 May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
15 May you be (I)blessed by the Lord,
(J)Who made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
17 (K)The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
18 (L)But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
116 I (M)love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 (N)The [c]pains of death surrounded me,
And the [d]pangs of Sheol [e]laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 (O)Gracious is the Lord, and (P)righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (Q)rest, O my soul,
For (R)the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 (S)For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
(T)In the land of the living.
10 (U)I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 (V)I said in my haste,
(W)“All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 (X)I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 (Y)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly (Z)I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, (AA)the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You (AB)the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (AC)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
[f]Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 115:2 nations
- Psalm 115:12 has remembered us
- Psalm 116:3 Lit. cords
- Psalm 116:3 distresses
- Psalm 116:3 Lit. found me
- Psalm 116:19 Heb. Hallelujah
Isaiah 1-7
New King James Version
Judah Called to Repentance
1 The (A)vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the (B)days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The Wickedness of Judah
2 (C)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
3 (D)The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master’s [a]crib;
But Israel (E)does not know,
My people do not [b]consider.”
4 Alas, sinful nation,
A people [c]laden with iniquity,
(F)A [d]brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.
5 (G)Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.
7 (H)Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 So the daughter of Zion is left (I)as a [e]booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
(J)As a besieged city.
9 (K)Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like (L)Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers (M)of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your (N)sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.
12 “When you come (O)to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
13 Bring no more (P)futile[f] sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and (Q)the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your (R)New Moons and your (S)appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
15 (T)When you [g]spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
(U)Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of [h]blood.
16 “Wash(V) yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
(W)Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke [i]the oppressor;
[j]Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.
18 “Come now, and let us (X)reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
(Y)They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
(Z)For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The Degenerate City
21 (AA)How the faithful city has become a [k]harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now (AB)murderers.
22 (AC)Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
23 (AD)Your princes are rebellious,
And (AE)companions of thieves;
(AF)Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They (AG)do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord says,
The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
“Ah, (AH)I will [l]rid Myself of My adversaries,
And [m]take vengeance on My enemies.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And (AI)thoroughly[n] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges (AJ)as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward (AK)you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her [o]penitents with righteousness.
28 The (AL)destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For [p]they shall be ashamed of the [q]terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
31 (AM)The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall (AN)quench them.
The Future House of God(AO)
2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now (AP)it shall come to pass (AQ)in the latter days
(AR)That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
(AS)“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
(AT)For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning [r]hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
The Day of the Lord
5 O house of Jacob, come and let us (AU)walk
In the light of the Lord.
6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled (AV)with eastern ways;
They are (AW)soothsayers like the Philistines,
(AX)And they [s]are pleased with the children of foreigners.
7 (AY)Their land is also full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is also full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 (AZ)Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
9 People bow down,
And each man humbles himself;
Therefore do not forgive them.
10 (BA)Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty.
11 The [t]lofty looks of man shall be (BB)humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted (BC)in that day.
12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up—
And it shall be brought low—
13 Upon all (BD)the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 (BE)Upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up;
15 Upon every high tower,
And upon every fortified wall;
16 (BF)Upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all the beautiful sloops.
17 The [u]loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the idols [v]He shall utterly abolish.
19 They shall go into the (BG)holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the [w]earth,
(BH)From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises (BI)to shake the earth mightily.
20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver
And his idols of gold,
Which they made, each for himself to worship,
To the moles and bats,
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the crags of the rugged rocks,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
22 (BJ)Sever[x] yourselves from such a man,
Whose (BK)breath is in his nostrils;
For [y]of what account is he?
Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem
3 For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
(BL)Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
(BM)The[z] stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
2 (BN)The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
3 The captain of fifty and the [aa]honorable man,
The counselor and the skillful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.
4 “I will give (BO)children[ab] to be their princes,
And [ac]babes shall rule over them.
5 The people will be oppressed,
Every one by another and every one by his neighbor;
The child will be insolent toward the [ad]elder,
And the [ae]base toward the honorable.”
6 When a man takes hold of his brother
In the house of his father, saying,
“You have clothing;
You be our ruler,
And let these ruins be under your [af]power,”
7 In that day he will protest, saying,
“I cannot cure your ills,
For in my house is neither food nor clothing;
Do not make me a ruler of the people.”
8 For (BP)Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory.
9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as (BQ)Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
10 “Say to the righteous (BR)that it shall be well with them,
(BS)For they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
11 Woe to the wicked! (BT)It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be [ag]given him.
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! (BU)Those who lead you [ah]cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.”
Oppression and Luxury Condemned
13 The Lord stands up (BV)to [ai]plead,
And stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
With the elders of His people
And His princes:
“For you have [aj]eaten up (BW)the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by (BX)crushing My people
And grinding the faces of the poor?”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
16 Moreover the Lord says:
“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with [ak]outstretched necks
And [al]wanton eyes,
Walking and [am]mincing as they go,
Making a jingling with their feet,
17 Therefore the Lord will strike with (BY)a scab
The crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
And the Lord will (BZ)uncover their secret parts.”
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:
The jingling anklets, the [an]scarves, and the (CA)crescents;
19 The pendants, the bracelets, and the veils;
20 The headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands;
The perfume boxes, the charms,
21 and the rings;
The nose jewels,
22 the festal apparel, and the mantles;
The outer garments, the purses,
23 and the mirrors;
The fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.
24 And so it shall be:
Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, (CB)baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And [ao]branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your [ap]mighty in the war.
Jerusalem’s Glorious Future
4 And (CE)in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying,
“We will (CF)eat our own food and wear our own apparel;
Only let us be called by your name,
To take away (CG)our reproach.”
The Renewal of Zion
2 In that day (CH)the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious;
And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing
For those of Israel who have escaped.
3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem (CI)will be called holy—everyone who is (CJ)recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 When (CK)the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the [aq]blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, (CL)a cloud and smoke by day and (CM)the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a [ar]covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, (CN)for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.
God’s Disappointing Vineyard
5 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved (CO)regarding His vineyard:
My Well-beloved has a vineyard
[as]On a very fruitful hill.
2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also [at]made a winepress in it;
(CP)So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.
3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
(CQ)Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
4 What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in (CR)it?
Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,
Did it bring forth wild grapes?
5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
(CS)I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will lay it (CT)waste;
It shall not be pruned or [au]dug,
But there shall come up briers and (CU)thorns.
I will also command the clouds
That they rain no rain on it.”
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.
He looked for justice, but behold, oppression;
For righteousness, but behold, [av]a cry for help.
Impending Judgment on Excesses
8 Woe to those who [aw]join (CV)house to house;
They add field to field,
Till there is no place
Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!
9 (CW)In my hearing the Lord of hosts said,
“Truly, many houses shall be desolate,
Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant.
10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one (CX)bath,[ax]
And a homer of seed shall yield one [ay]ephah.”
11 (CY)Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
That they may [az]follow intoxicating drink;
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
12 (CZ)The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute,
And wine are in their feasts;
But (DA)they do not regard the work of the Lord,
Nor consider the operation of His hands.
13 (DB)Therefore my people have gone into captivity,
Because they have no (DC)knowledge;
Their honorable men are famished,
And their multitude dried up with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself
And opened its mouth beyond measure;
Their glory and their multitude and their pomp,
And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.
15 People shall be brought down,
(DD)Each man shall be humbled,
And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be (DE)exalted in judgment,
And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.
17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture,
And in the waste places of (DF)the [ba]fat ones strangers shall eat.
18 Woe to those who [bb]draw iniquity with cords of [bc]vanity,
And sin as if with a cart rope;
19 (DG)That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work,
That we may see it;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come,
That we may know it.”
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are (DH)wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
23 Who (DI)justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!
24 Therefore, (DJ)as the [bd]fire devours the stubble,
And the flame consumes the chaff,
So (DK)their root will be as rottenness,
And their blossom will ascend like dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 (DL)Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people;
He has stretched out His hand against them
And stricken them,
And (DM)the hills trembled.
Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.
(DN)For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.
26 (DO)He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will (DP)whistle to them from (DQ)the end of the earth;
Surely (DR)they shall come with speed, swiftly.
27 No one will be weary or stumble among them,
No one will slumber or sleep;
Nor (DS)will the belt on their loins be loosed,
Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
28 (DT)Whose arrows are sharp,
And all their bows bent;
Their horses’ hooves will [be]seem like flint,
And their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring will be like a lion,
They will roar like young lions;
Yes, they will roar
And lay hold of the prey;
They will carry it away safely,
And no one will deliver.
30 In that day they will roar against them
Like the roaring of the sea.
And if one (DU)looks to the land,
Behold, darkness and [bf]sorrow;
And the light is darkened by the clouds.
Isaiah Called to Be a Prophet(DV)
6 In the year that (DW)King Uzziah died, I (DX)saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, (DY)with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am [bg]undone!
Because I am a man of (EB)unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from (EC)the altar. 7 And he (ED)touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin [bh]purged.”
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for (EE)Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
9 And He said, “Go, and (EF)tell this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 “Make (EG)the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
(EH)Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
And He answered:
(EI)“Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant,
The houses are without a man,
The land is utterly desolate,
12 (EJ)The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 But yet a tenth will be in it,
And will return and be for consuming,
As a terebinth tree or as an oak,
Whose stump remains when it is cut down.
So (EK)the holy seed shall be its stump.”
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz(EL)
7 Now it came to pass in the days of (EM)Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against (EN)it, but could not [bi]prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are [bj]deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and [bk]Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4 and say to him: [bl]‘Take heed, and [bm]be (EO)quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and [bn]trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7 thus says the Lord God:
(EP)“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
8 (EQ)For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be [bo]broken,
So that it will not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
(ER)If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ”
The Immanuel Prophecy
10 Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 (ES)“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; [bp]ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”
13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: (ET)Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear (EU)a Son, and shall call His name (EV)Immanuel.[bq] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 (EW)For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by (EX)both her kings. 17 (EY)The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that (EZ)Ephraim departed from Judah.”
18 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord (FA)will whistle for the fly
That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt,
And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 They will come, and all of them will rest
In the desolate valleys and in (FB)the clefts of the rocks,
And on all thorns and in all pastures.
20 In the same day the Lord will shave with a (FC)hired (FD)razor,
With those from beyond [br]the River, with the king of Assyria,
The head and the hair of the legs,
And will also remove the beard.
21 It shall be in that day
That a man will keep alive a young cow and two sheep;
22 So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give,
That he will eat curds;
For curds and honey everyone will eat who is left in the land.
23 It shall happen in that day,
That wherever there could be a thousand vines
Worth a thousand shekels of silver,
(FE)It will be for briers and thorns.
24 With arrows and bows men will come there,
Because all the land will become briers and thorns.
25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe,
You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns;
But it will become a range for oxen
And a place for sheep to roam.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:3 manger or feed trough
- Isaiah 1:3 understand
- Isaiah 1:4 Lit. heavy, weighed down
- Isaiah 1:4 offspring, seed
- Isaiah 1:8 shelter
- Isaiah 1:13 worthless
- Isaiah 1:15 Pray
- Isaiah 1:15 bloodshed
- Isaiah 1:17 Some ancient vss. the oppressed
- Isaiah 1:17 Vindicate
- Isaiah 1:21 Unfaithful
- Isaiah 1:24 be relieved of
- Isaiah 1:24 avenge Myself
- Isaiah 1:25 refine with lye
- Isaiah 1:27 Lit. returners
- Isaiah 1:29 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. you
- Isaiah 1:29 Sites of pagan worship
- Isaiah 2:4 knives
- Isaiah 2:6 Or clap, shake hands to make bargains with the children
- Isaiah 2:11 proud
- Isaiah 2:17 pride
- Isaiah 2:18 Or shall utterly vanish
- Isaiah 2:19 Lit. dust
- Isaiah 2:22 Lit. Cease yourselves from the man
- Isaiah 2:22 Lit. in what is he to be esteemed
- Isaiah 3:1 Every support
- Isaiah 3:3 Eminent looking men
- Isaiah 3:4 boys
- Isaiah 3:4 Or capricious ones
- Isaiah 3:5 aged
- Isaiah 3:5 despised, lightly esteemed
- Isaiah 3:6 Lit. hand
- Isaiah 3:11 done to him
- Isaiah 3:12 lead you astray
- Isaiah 3:13 contend, plead His case
- Isaiah 3:14 burned
- Isaiah 3:16 Head held high
- Isaiah 3:16 seductive, ogling
- Isaiah 3:16 tripping or skipping
- Isaiah 3:18 headbands
- Isaiah 3:24 burning scar
- Isaiah 3:25 Lit. strength
- Isaiah 4:4 bloodshed
- Isaiah 4:5 canopy
- Isaiah 5:1 Lit. In a horn, the son of fatness
- Isaiah 5:2 Lit. hewed out
- Isaiah 5:6 hoed
- Isaiah 5:7 wailing
- Isaiah 5:8 Accumulate houses
- Isaiah 5:10 1 bath=1⁄10 homer
- Isaiah 5:10 1 ephah=1⁄10 homer
- Isaiah 5:11 pursue
- Isaiah 5:17 Lit. fatlings, rich ones
- Isaiah 5:18 drag
- Isaiah 5:18 emptiness or falsehood
- Isaiah 5:24 Lit. tongue of fire
- Isaiah 5:28 Lit. be regarded as
- Isaiah 5:30 distress
- Isaiah 6:5 destroyed, cut off
- Isaiah 6:7 atoned for
- Isaiah 7:1 conquer it
- Isaiah 7:2 Lit. settled upon
- Isaiah 7:3 Lit. A Remnant Shall Return
- Isaiah 7:4 Be careful
- Isaiah 7:4 be calm
- Isaiah 7:6 cause a sickening dread
- Isaiah 7:8 Lit. shattered
- Isaiah 7:11 Lit. make the request deep or make it high above
- Isaiah 7:14 Lit. God-With-Us
- Isaiah 7:20 The Euphrates
Hosea 1-12
New King James Version
Hosea’s Unfaithful Wife
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of (A)Uzziah, (B)Jotham, (C)Ahaz, and (D)Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of (E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
The Family of Hosea
2 When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:
(F)“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For (G)the land has committed great [a]harlotry
By departing from the Lord.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the Lord said to him:
“Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
(H)I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
(I)And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 (J)It shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:
“Call her name [b]Lo-Ruhamah,
(K)For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
[c]But I will utterly take them away.
7 (L)Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the Lord their God,
And (M)will not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said:
“Call his name [d]Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.
The Restoration of Israel
10 “Yet (N)the number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
(O)And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are [e]not My (P)people,’
There it shall be said to them,
‘You are (Q)sons of the living God.’
11 (R)Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!
The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People
God’s Unfaithful People
2 “Bring[h] charges against your mother, [i]bring charges;
For (S)she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!
Let her put away her (T)harlotries from her sight,
And her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest (U)I strip her naked
And expose her, as in the day she was (V)born,
And make her like a wilderness,
And set her like a dry land,
And slay her with (W)thirst.
4 “I will not have mercy on her children,
For they are the (X)children of harlotry.
5 For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
(Y)Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’
6 “Therefore, behold,
(Z)I will hedge up your way with thorns,
And [j]wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.
7 She will [k]chase her lovers,
But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Then she will say,
(AA)‘I will go and return to my (AB)first husband,
For then it was better for me than now.’
8 For she did not (AC)know
That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil,
And multiplied her silver and gold—
Which they prepared for Baal.
9 “Therefore I will return and take away
My grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And will take back My wool and My linen,
Given to cover her nakedness.
10 Now (AD)I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers,
And no one shall deliver her from My hand.
11 (AE)I will also cause all her mirth to cease,
Her feast days,
Her New Moons,
Her Sabbaths—
All her appointed feasts.
12 “And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,
Of which she has said,
‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me.’
So I will make them a forest,
And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 I will punish her
For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense.
She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry,
And went after her lovers;
But Me she forgot,” says the Lord.
God’s Mercy on His People
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [l]comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And (AF)the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in (AG)the days of her youth,
(AH)As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me [m]‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me [n]‘My Master,’
17 For (AI)I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a (AJ)covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
With the birds of the air,
And with the creeping things of the ground.
Bow and sword of battle (AK)I will shatter from the earth,
To make them (AL)lie down safely.
19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And (AM)you shall know the Lord.
21 “It shall come to pass in that day
That (AN)I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer [o]Jezreel.
23 Then (AO)I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
(AP)And I will have mercy on her who had [p]not obtained mercy;
Then (AQ)I will say to those who were [q]not My people,
‘You are [r]My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”
Israel Will Return to God
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a (AR)lover[s] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You shall (AS)stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days (AT)without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without (AU)ephod or (AV)teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and (AW)seek the Lord their God and (AX)David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the (AY)latter days.
God’s Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a (AZ)charge[t] against the inhabitants of the land:
“There is no truth or mercy
Or (BA)knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed [u]upon bloodshed.
3 Therefore (BB)the land will mourn;
And (BC)everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
4 “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;
For your people are like those (BD)who contend with the priest.
5 Therefore you shall stumble (BE)in the day;
The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 (BF)My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
(BG)Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 “The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
(BH)I[v] will change [w]their glory into shame.
8 They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their [x]heart on their iniquity.
9 And it shall be: (BI)like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And [y]reward them for their deeds.
10 For (BJ)they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the Lord.
The Idolatry of Israel
11 “Harlotry, wine, and new wine (BK)enslave the heart.
12 My people ask counsel from their (BL)wooden idols,
And their [z]staff informs them.
For (BM)the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.
13 (BN)They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops,
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
Because their shade is good.
(BO)Therefore your daughters commit harlotry,
And your brides commit adultery.
14 “I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry,
Nor your brides when they commit adultery;
For the men themselves go apart with harlots,
And offer sacrifices with a (BP)ritual harlot.
Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.
15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
(BQ)Do not come up to Gilgal,
Nor go up to (BR)Beth[aa] Aven,
(BS)Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—
16 “For Israel (BT)is stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the Lord will let them forage
Like a lamb in [ab]open country.
17 “Ephraim is joined to idols,
(BU)Let him alone.
18 Their drink [ac]is rebellion,
They commit harlotry continually.
(BV)Her [ad]rulers [ae]dearly love dishonor.
19 (BW)The wind has wrapped her up in its wings,
And (BX)they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah
5 “Hear this, O priests!
Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For [af]yours is the judgment,
Because (BY)you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
2 The revolters are (BZ)deeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
3 (CA)I know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, (CB)you commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.
4 “They[ag] do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For (CC)the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.
5 The (CD)pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.
6 “With their flocks and herds
(CE)They shall go to seek the Lord,
But they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn Himself from them.
7 They have (CF)dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have begotten [ah]pagan children.
Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.
8 “Blow(CG) the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah!
(CH)Cry aloud at (CI)Beth Aven,
‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.
10 “The princes of Judah are like those who (CJ)remove a landmark;
I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
11 Ephraim is (CK)oppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by (CL)human precept.
12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah (CM)like rottenness.
13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his (CN)wound,
Then Ephraim went (CO)to Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
14 For (CP)I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
(CQ)I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
15 I will return again to My place
Till they [ai]acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
A Call to Repentance
6 Come,(CR) and let us return to the Lord;
For (CS)He has torn, but (CT)He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will [aj]bind us up.
2 (CU)After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 (CV)Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established (CW)as the morning;
(CX)He will come to us (CY)like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Impenitence of Israel and Judah
4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by (CZ)the words of My mouth;
And [ak]your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire (DA)mercy[al] and (DB)not sacrifice,
And the (DC)knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “But like [am]men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
8 (DD)Gilead is a city of evildoers
And [an]defiled with blood.
9 As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man,
So the company of (DE)priests (DF)murder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they commit (DG)lewdness.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
There is the [ao]harlotry of Ephraim;
Israel is defiled.
11 Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you,
When I return the captives of My people.
Israel Has Rebelled Against God
7 “When I would have healed Israel,
Then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered,
And the wickedness of Samaria.
For (DH)they have committed fraud;
A thief comes in;
A band of robbers [ap]takes spoil outside.
2 They [aq]do not consider in their hearts
That (DI)I remember all their wickedness;
Now their own deeds have surrounded them;
They are before My face.
3 They make a (DJ)king glad with their wickedness,
And princes (DK)with their lies.
4 “They(DL) are all adulterers.
Like an oven heated by a baker—
He ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough,
Until it is leavened.
5 In the day of our king
Princes have made him sick, [ar]inflamed with (DM)wine;
He stretched out his hand with scoffers.
6 They prepare their heart like an oven,
While they lie in wait;
[as]Their baker sleeps all night;
In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.
7 They are all hot, like an oven,
And have devoured their judges;
All their kings have fallen.
(DN)None among them calls upon Me.
8 “Ephraim (DO)has mixed himself among the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake unturned.
9 (DP)Aliens have devoured his strength,
But he does not know it;
Yes, gray hairs are here and there on him,
Yet he does not know it.
10 And the (DQ)pride of Israel testifies to his face,
But (DR)they do not return to the Lord their God,
Nor seek Him for all this.
Futile Reliance on the Nations
11 “Ephraim(DS) also is like a silly dove, without [at]sense—
(DT)They call to Egypt,
They go to (DU)Assyria.
12 Wherever they go, I will (DV)spread My net on them;
I will bring them down like birds of the air;
I will chastise them
(DW)According to what their congregation has heard.
13 “Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!
Destruction to them,
Because they have transgressed against Me!
Though (DX)I redeemed them,
Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
14 (DY)They did not cry out to Me with their heart
When they wailed upon their beds.
“They [au]assemble together for grain and new (DZ)wine,
[av]They rebel against Me;
15 Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me;
16 They return, but not [aw]to the Most High;
(EA)They are like a treacherous bow.
Their princes shall fall by the sword
For the (EB)cursings of their tongue.
This shall be their derision (EC)in the land of Egypt.
The Apostasy of Israel
8 “Set the [ax]trumpet to your mouth!
He shall come (ED)like an eagle against the house of the Lord,
Because they have transgressed My covenant
And rebelled against My law.
2 (EE)Israel will cry to Me,
‘My God, (EF)we know You!’
3 Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
4 “They(EG) set up kings, but not by Me;
They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.
From their silver and gold
They made idols for themselves—
That they might be cut off.
5 Your [ay]calf [az]is rejected, O Samaria!
My anger is aroused against them—
(EH)How long until they attain to innocence?
6 For from Israel is even this:
A (EI)workman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
7 “They(EJ) sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
(EK)Aliens would swallow it up.
8 (EL)Israel is swallowed up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
(EM)Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like (EN)a wild donkey alone by itself;
Ephraim (EO)has hired lovers.
10 Yes, though they have hired among the nations,
Now (EP)I will gather them;
And they shall [ba]sorrow a little,
Because of the [bb]burden of (EQ)the king of princes.
11 “Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin,
They have become for him altars for sinning.
12 I have written for him (ER)the great things of My law,
But they were considered a strange thing.
13 For the sacrifices of My offerings (ES)they sacrifice flesh and eat it,
(ET)But the Lord does not accept them.
(EU)Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
They shall return to Egypt.
14 “For(EV) Israel has forgotten (EW)his Maker,
And has built [bc]temples;
Judah also has multiplied (EX)fortified cities;
But (EY)I will send fire upon his cities,
And it shall devour his [bd]palaces.”
Judgment of Israel’s Sin
9 Do(EZ) not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples,
For you have played the harlot against your God.
You have made love for (FA)hire on every threshing floor.
2 The threshing floor and the winepress
Shall not feed them,
And the new wine shall fail in her.
3 They shall not dwell in (FB)the Lord’s land,
(FC)But Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
And (FD)shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord,
Nor (FE)shall their (FF)sacrifices be pleasing to Him.
It shall be like bread of mourners to them;
All who eat it shall be defiled.
For their bread shall be for their own life;
It shall not come into the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do in the appointed day,
And in the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For indeed they are gone because of destruction.
Egypt shall gather them up;
Memphis shall bury them.
(FG)Nettles shall possess their valuables of silver;
Thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The (FH)days of punishment have come;
The days of recompense have come.
Israel knows!
The prophet is a (FI)fool,
(FJ)The spiritual man is insane,
Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
8 The (FK)watchman of Ephraim is with my God;
But the prophet is a [be]fowler’s snare in all his ways—
Enmity in the house of his God.
9 (FL)They are deeply corrupted,
As in the days of (FM)Gibeah.
He will remember their iniquity;
He will punish their sins.
10 “I found Israel
Like grapes in the (FN)wilderness;
I saw your fathers
As the (FO)firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.
But they went to (FP)Baal Peor,
And [bf]separated themselves to that shame;
(FQ)They became an abomination like the thing they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them to the last man.
Yes, (FR)woe to them when I depart from them!
13 Just (FS)as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.”
14 Give them, O Lord—
What will You give?
Give them (FT)a miscarrying womb
And dry breasts!
15 “All their wickedness is in (FU)Gilgal,
For there I hated them.
Because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them from My house;
I will love them no more.
(FV)All their princes are rebellious.
16 Ephraim is (FW)stricken,
Their root is dried up;
They shall bear no fruit.
Yes, were they to bear children,
I would kill the darlings of their womb.”
17 My God will (FX)cast them away,
Because they did not obey Him;
And they shall be (FY)wanderers among the nations.
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
10 Israel (FZ)empties his vine;
He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
(GA)He has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars.
2 Their heart is (GB)divided;[bg]
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.
3 For now they say,
“We have no king,
Because we did not fear the Lord.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?”
4 They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up (GC)like hemlock in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear
Because of the (GD)calf[bh] of Beth Aven.
For its people mourn for it,
And [bi]its priests shriek for it—
Because its (GE)glory has departed from it.
6 The idol also shall be carried to Assyria
As a present for King (GF)Jareb.
Ephraim shall receive shame,
And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water.
8 Also the (GG)high places of [bj]Aven, (GH)the sin of Israel,
Shall be destroyed.
The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars;
(GI)They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of (GJ)Gibeah;
There they stood.
The (GK)battle in Gibeah against the children of [bk]iniquity
Did not [bl]overtake them.
10 When it is My desire, I will chasten them.
(GL)Peoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them [bm]for their two transgressions.
11 Ephraim is (GM)a trained heifer
That loves to thresh grain;
But I harnessed her fair neck,
I will make Ephraim [bn]pull a plow.
Judah shall plow;
Jacob shall break his clods.”
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
(GN)Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He (GO)comes and rains righteousness on you.
13 (GP)You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.
14 Therefore tumult shall arise among your people,
And all your fortresses shall be plundered
As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle—
A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
Because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
Shall be cut off utterly.
God’s Continuing Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a [bo]child, I loved him,
And out of Egypt (GQ)I called My (GR)son.
2 [bp]As they called them,
So they (GS)went [bq]from them;
They sacrificed to the Baals,
And burned incense to carved images.
3 “I(GT) taught Ephraim to walk,
Taking them by [br]their arms;
But they did not know that (GU)I healed them.
4 I drew them with [bs]gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And (GV)I was to them as those who take the yoke from their [bt]neck.
(GW)I stooped and fed them.
5 “He shall not return to the land of Egypt;
But the Assyrian shall be his king,
Because they refused to repent.
6 And the sword shall slash in his cities,
Devour his districts,
And consume them,
Because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on (GX)backsliding from Me.
Though [bu]they call [bv]to the Most High,
None at all exalt Him.
8 “How(GY) can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like (GZ)Admah?
How can I set you like Zeboiim?
My heart [bw]churns within Me;
My sympathy is stirred.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim.
(HA)For I am God, and not man,
The Holy One in your midst;
And I will not [bx]come with terror.
10 “They shall walk after the Lord.
(HB)He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;
11 They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
(HC)Like a dove from the land of Assyria.
(HD)And I will let them dwell in their houses,”
Says the Lord.
God’s Charge Against Ephraim
12 “Ephraim has encircled Me with lies,
And the house of Israel with deceit;
But Judah still walks with God,
Even with the [by]Holy One who is faithful.
Ephraim’s Sins Rebuked by God
12 “Ephraim (HE)feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and [bz]desolation.
(HF)Also they make a [ca]covenant with the Assyrians,
And (HG)oil is carried to Egypt.
2 “The(HH) Lord also brings a [cb]charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
3 He took his brother (HI)by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he (HJ)struggled with God.
4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in (HK)Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
5 That is, the Lord God of hosts.
The Lord is His (HL)memorable name.
6 (HM)So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.
7 “A cunning [cc]Canaanite!
(HN)Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said,
(HO)‘Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors
They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’
9 “But I am the Lord your God,
Ever since the land of Egypt;
(HP)I will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.
10 (HQ)I have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given [cd]symbols [ce]through the witness of the prophets.”
11 Though (HR)Gilead has idols—
Surely they are [cf]vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in (HS)Gilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob (HT)fled to the country of Syria;
(HU)Israel served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.
13 (HV)By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
And by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephraim (HW)provoked Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
(HX)And return his reproach upon him.
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:2 Spiritual adultery
- Hosea 1:6 Lit. No-Mercy
- Hosea 1:6 Or That I may forgive them at all
- Hosea 1:9 Lit. Not-My-People
- Hosea 1:10 Heb. lo-ammi, v. 9
- Hosea 2:1 Heb. Ammi, Hos. 1:9, 10
- Hosea 2:1 Heb. Ruhamah, Hos. 1:6
- Hosea 2:2 Or Contend with
- Hosea 2:2 Or contend
- Hosea 2:6 Lit. wall up her wall
- Hosea 2:7 Or pursue
- Hosea 2:14 Lit. to her heart
- Hosea 2:16 Heb. Ishi
- Hosea 2:16 Heb. Baali
- Hosea 2:22 Lit. God Will Sow
- Hosea 2:23 Heb. lo-ruhamah
- Hosea 2:23 Heb. lo-ammi
- Hosea 2:23 Heb. ammi
- Hosea 3:1 Lit. friend or husband
- Hosea 4:1 A legal complaint
- Hosea 4:2 Lit. touching
- Hosea 4:7 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; scribal tradition, Syr., Tg. They will change
- Hosea 4:7 So with MT, LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; scribal tradition My glory
- Hosea 4:8 Desires
- Hosea 4:9 repay
- Hosea 4:12 Diviner’s rod
- Hosea 4:15 Lit. House of Idolatry or Wickedness
- Hosea 4:16 Lit. a large place
- Hosea 4:18 Or has turned aside
- Hosea 4:18 Lit. shields
- Hosea 4:18 Heb. difficult; a Jewish tradition shamefully love, ‘Give!’
- Hosea 5:1 Or to you
- Hosea 5:4 Or Their deeds will not allow them to turn
- Hosea 5:7 Lit. strange
- Hosea 5:15 Lit. become guilty or bear punishment
- Hosea 6:1 Bandage
- Hosea 6:5 Or the judgments on you
- Hosea 6:6 Or faithfulness or loyalty
- Hosea 6:7 Or Adam
- Hosea 6:8 Lit. foot-tracked
- Hosea 6:10 Spiritual adultery
- Hosea 7:1 plunders
- Hosea 7:2 Lit. do not say to
- Hosea 7:5 Lit. with the heat of
- Hosea 7:6 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. Their anger; LXX Ephraim
- Hosea 7:11 Lit. heart
- Hosea 7:14 So with MT, Tg.; Vg. thought upon; LXX slashed themselves for (cf. 1 Kin. 18:28)
- Hosea 7:14 So with MT, Syr., Tg.; LXX omits They rebel against Me; Vg. They departed from Me
- Hosea 7:16 Or upward
- Hosea 8:1 ram’s horn, Heb. shophar
- Hosea 8:5 Golden calf image
- Hosea 8:5 Or has rejected you
- Hosea 8:10 Or begin to diminish
- Hosea 8:10 Or oracle or proclamation
- Hosea 8:14 Or palaces
- Hosea 8:14 Or citadels
- Hosea 9:8 One who catches birds in a trap or snare
- Hosea 9:10 Or dedicated
- Hosea 10:2 Divided in loyalty
- Hosea 10:5 Lit. calves, images
- Hosea 10:5 idolatrous priests
- Hosea 10:8 Lit. Idolatry or Wickedness
- Hosea 10:9 So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Vg.; MT unruliness
- Hosea 10:9 Or overcome
- Hosea 10:10 Or in their two habitations
- Hosea 10:11 Lit. to ride
- Hosea 11:1 Or youth
- Hosea 11:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX Just as I called them; Tg. interprets as I sent prophets to a thousand of them.
- Hosea 11:2 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX from My face
- Hosea 11:3 Some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. My arms
- Hosea 11:4 Lit. cords of a man
- Hosea 11:4 Lit. jaws
- Hosea 11:7 The prophets
- Hosea 11:7 Or upward
- Hosea 11:8 Lit. turns over
- Hosea 11:9 Or enter a city
- Hosea 11:12 Or holy ones
- Hosea 12:1 ruin
- Hosea 12:1 Or treaty
- Hosea 12:2 A legal complaint
- Hosea 12:7 Or merchant
- Hosea 12:10 Or parables
- Hosea 12:10 Lit. by the hand
- Hosea 12:11 worthless
Titus 3
New King James Version
Graces of the Heirs of Grace
3 Remind them (A)to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, (B)to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For (C)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when (D)the kindness and the love of (E)God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 (F)not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through (G)the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 (H)whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace (I)we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 (J)This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
Avoid Dissension
9 But (K)avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. 10 (L)Reject a divisive man after the first and second [a]admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
Final Messages
12 When I send Artemas to you, or (M)Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Send Zenas the lawyer and (N)Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.
Farewell
15 All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
Footnotes
- Titus 3:10 warning
Philemon
New King James Version
Greeting
1 Paul, a (A)prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2 to [a]the beloved Apphia, (B)Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 (C)I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 (D)hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective (E)by the acknowledgment of (F)every good thing which is in [b]you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we [c]have great [d]joy and [e]consolation in your love, because the [f]hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.
The Plea for Onesimus
8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10 I appeal to you for my son (G)Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.
12 I am sending him [g]back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own [h]heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, (H)that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.
15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the (I)flesh and in the Lord.
Philemon’s Obedience Encouraged
17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing with my own (J)hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.
21 (K)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for (L)I trust that (M)through your prayers I shall be granted to you.
Farewell
23 (N)Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do (O)Mark, (P)Aristarchus, (Q)Demas, (R)Luke, my fellow laborers.
25 (S)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Footnotes
- Philemon 1:2 NU our sister Apphia
- Philemon 1:6 NU, M us
- Philemon 1:7 NU had
- Philemon 1:7 M thanksgiving
- Philemon 1:7 comfort
- Philemon 1:7 Lit. inward parts, heart, liver, and lungs
- Philemon 1:12 NU back to you in person, that is, my own heart,
- Philemon 1:12 See v. 7.
Hebrews 1-4
New King James Version
God’s Supreme Revelation(A)
1 God, who [a]at various times and (B)in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds; 3 (C)who being the brightness of His glory and the express (D)image of His person, and (E)upholding all things by the word of His power, (F)when He had [c]by Himself [d]purged [e]our sins, (G)sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as (H)He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
The Son Exalted Above Angels
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say:
(I)“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?
And again:
(J)“I will be to Him a Father,
And He shall be to Me a Son”?
6 But when He again brings (K)the firstborn into the world, He says:
(L)“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
7 And of the angels He says:
(M)“Who makes His angels spirits
And His ministers a flame of fire.”
8 But to the Son He says:
(N)“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A [f]scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, (O)has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
10 And:
(P)“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
11 (Q)They will perish, but You remain;
And (R)they will all grow old like a garment;
12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the (S)same,
And Your years will not fail.”
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said:
(T)“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?
14 (U)Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will (V)inherit salvation?
Do Not Neglect Salvation
2 Therefore we must give [g]the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word (W)spoken through angels proved steadfast, and (X)every transgression and disobedience received a just [h]reward, 3 (Y)how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, (Z)which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was (AA)confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 (AB)God also bearing witness (AC)both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and (AD)gifts[i] of the Holy Spirit, (AE)according to His own will?
The Son Made Lower than Angels(AF)
5 For He has not put (AG)the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying:
(AH)“What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him [j]a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
[k]And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 (AI)You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now (AJ)we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, (AK)who was made [l]a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death (AL)crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death (AM)for everyone.
Bringing Many Sons to Glory
10 For it was fitting for Him, (AN)for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation (AO)perfect through sufferings. 11 For (AP)both He who [m]sanctifies and those who are being sanctified (AQ)are all of one, for which reason (AR)He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying:
(AS)“I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
13 And again:
(AT)“I will put My trust in Him.”
And again:
(AU)“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He (AV)Himself likewise shared in the same, (AW)that through death He might destroy him who had the power of (AX)death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who (AY)through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not [n]give aid to angels, but He does [o]give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had (AZ)to be made like His brethren, that He might be (BA)a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 (BB)For in that He Himself has suffered, being [p]tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
The Son Was Faithful
3 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as (BC)Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as (BD)He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but (BE)He who built all things is God. 5 (BF)And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as (BG)a servant, (BH)for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as (BI)a Son over His own house, (BJ)whose house we are (BK)if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope [q]firm to the end.
Be Faithful(BL)
7 Therefore, as (BM)the Holy Spirit says:
(BN)“Today, if you will hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
10 Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.’
11 So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but [r]exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:
(BO)“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Failure of the Wilderness Wanderers
16 (BP)For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, (BQ)whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And (BR)to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of (BS)unbelief.
The Promise of Rest
4 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, (BT)let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, [s]not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
(BU)“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: (BV)“And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: (BW)“They shall not enter My rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
(BX)“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if [t]Joshua had (BY)given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
The Word Discovers Our Condition
11 (BZ)Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is (CA)living and powerful, and (CB)sharper than any (CC)two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is (CD)a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 (CE)And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are (CF)naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Our Compassionate High Priest
14 Seeing then that we have a great (CG)High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, (CH)let us hold fast our confession. 15 For (CI)we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but (CJ)was in all points tempted as we are, (CK)yet without sin. 16 (CL)Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Footnotes
- Hebrews 1:1 Or in many portions
- Hebrews 1:2 Or ages, Gr. aiones, aeons
- Hebrews 1:3 NU omits by Himself
- Hebrews 1:3 cleansed
- Hebrews 1:3 NU omits our
- Hebrews 1:8 A ruler’s staff
- Hebrews 2:1 all the more careful attention
- Hebrews 2:2 retribution or penalty
- Hebrews 2:4 distributions
- Hebrews 2:7 Or for a little while
- Hebrews 2:7 NU, M omit the rest of v. 7.
- Hebrews 2:9 Or for a little while
- Hebrews 2:11 sets apart
- Hebrews 2:16 Or take on the nature of
- Hebrews 2:16 Or take on
- Hebrews 2:18 tested
- Hebrews 3:6 NU omits firm to the end
- Hebrews 3:13 encourage
- Hebrews 4:2 NU, M since they were not united by faith with those who heeded it
- Hebrews 4:8 Gr. Jesus, same as Heb. Joshua
Jude
New King James Version
Greeting to the Called
1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and (A)brother of James,
To those who are (B)called, [a]sanctified by God the Father, and (C)preserved in Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, (D)peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Contend for the Faith
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you (E)concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting (F)you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord [b]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Old and New Apostates
5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that (G)the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their [c]proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as (H)Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the [d]vengeance of eternal fire.
8 (I)Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and (J)speak evil of [e]dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in [f]contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, (K)“The Lord rebuke you!” 10 (L)But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way (M)of Cain, (N)have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished (O)in the rebellion of Korah.
Apostates Depraved and Doomed
12 These are [g]spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried [h]about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 (P)raging waves of the sea, (Q)foaming up their own shame; wandering stars (R)for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the (S)harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Apostates Predicted
16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they (T)mouth great swelling words, (U)flattering people to gain advantage. 17 (V)But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that (W)there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are [i]sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
Maintain Your Life with God
20 But you, beloved, (X)building yourselves up on your most holy faith, (Y)praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, (Z)looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
22 And on some have compassion, [j]making a distinction; 23 but (AA)others save [k]with fear, (AB)pulling them out of the [l]fire, hating even (AC)the garment defiled by the flesh.
Glory to God
24 (AD)Now to Him who is able to keep [m]you from stumbling,
And (AE)to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To [n]God our Savior,
[o]Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and [p]power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.
Footnotes
- Jude 1:1 NU beloved
- Jude 1:4 NU omits God
- Jude 1:6 own
- Jude 1:7 punishment
- Jude 1:8 glorious ones, lit. glories
- Jude 1:9 arguing
- Jude 1:12 stains, or hidden reefs
- Jude 1:12 NU, M along
- Jude 1:19 soulish or worldly
- Jude 1:22 NU who are doubting (or making distinctions)
- Jude 1:23 NU omits with fear
- Jude 1:23 NU adds and on some have mercy with fear
- Jude 1:24 M them
- Jude 1:25 NU the only God our
- Jude 1:25 NU Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Be glory
- Jude 1:25 NU adds Before all time,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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