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13 “But you have cultivated wickedness
    and harvested a thriving crop of sins.
You have eaten the fruit of lies—
    trusting in your military might,
believing that great armies
    could make your nation safe.

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13 But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,(A)
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.(B)
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,(C)

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My experience shows that those who plant trouble
    and cultivate evil will harvest the same.

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As I have observed,(A) those who plow evil(B)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.(C)

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Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

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Do not be deceived:(A) God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.(B) Whoever sows to please their flesh,(C) from the flesh will reap destruction;(D) whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.(E)

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“They have planted the wind
    and will harvest the whirlwind.
The stalks of grain wither
    and produce nothing to eat.
And even if there is any grain,
    foreigners will eat it.

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“They sow the wind
    and reap the whirlwind.(A)
The stalk has no head;
    it will produce no flour.(B)
Were it to yield grain,
    foreigners would swallow it up.(C)

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Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster,
    and their reign of terror will come to an end.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 22:8 The Greek version includes an additional proverb: God blesses a man who gives cheerfully, / but his worthless deeds will come to an end. Compare 2 Cor 9:7.

Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,(A)
    and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.(B)

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31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
    choking on their own schemes.

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31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
    and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.(A)

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16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
    nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.

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16 No king is saved by the size of his army;(A)
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.

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Charges against Israel and Judah

12 [a]Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit,
    but Judah still obeys God
    and is faithful to the Holy One.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 11:12a Verse 11:12 is numbered 12:1 in Hebrew text.
  2. 11:12b Or and Judah is unruly against God, the faithful Holy One. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Israel’s Sin

12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,(A)
    Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
    even against the faithful(B) Holy One.[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.

20 Wise words satisfy like a good meal;
    the right words bring satisfaction.

21 The tongue can bring death or life;
    those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

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20 From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
    with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.(A)

21 The tongue has the power of life and death,(B)
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.(C)

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10 Don’t make your living by extortion
    or put your hope in stealing.
And if your wealth increases,
    don’t make it the center of your life.

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10 Do not trust in extortion(A)
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;(B)
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.(C)

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“Look what happens to mighty warriors
    who do not trust in God.
They trust their wealth instead
    and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

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“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold(A)
but trusted in his great wealth(B)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

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“The people entertain the king with their wickedness,
    and the princes laugh at their lies.

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“They delight the king with their wickedness,
    the princes with their lies.(A)

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11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

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11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(A)
nor does food come to the wise(B)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(C) happen to them all.(D)

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