Hosea 1-14

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

²When 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.”

³So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. ⁴Then 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.”

⁶And 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.”

⁸Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹Then 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

2 Say to your brethren, ^[f]‘My people,’
And to your sisters, ^[g]‘Mercy is shown.’

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;
³Lest ^(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.
⁵For 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.
⁷She 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.’
⁸For 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.
¹⁰Now ^(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.
¹³I 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.
¹⁵I 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,’
¹⁷For ^(AI)I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
¹⁸In 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;
²⁰I 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.
²²The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer ^[o]Jezreel.
²³Then ^(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.”

²So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. ³And 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.”

⁴For the children of Israel shall abide many days ^(AT)without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ^(AU)ephod or ^(AV)teraphim. ⁵Afterward 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.
²By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed ^[u]upon bloodshed.
³Therefore ^(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.
⁵Therefore 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.
⁸They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their ^[x]heart on their iniquity.
⁹And it shall be: ^(BI)like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And ^[y]reward them for their deeds.
¹⁰For ^(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.
¹²My 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.
¹⁸Their 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.
²The 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.
⁵The ^(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.
⁷They 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!’
⁹Ephraim 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.
¹¹Ephraim is ^(CK)oppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by ^(CL)human precept.
¹²Therefore 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.
¹⁴For ^(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.
¹⁵I 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.
⁵Therefore 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.
⁶For 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.
⁹As 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.
¹⁰I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
There is the ^[ao]harlotry of Ephraim;
Israel is defiled.
¹¹Also, 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.
²They ^[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.
³They 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.
⁵In the day of our king
Princes have made him sick, ^[ar]inflamed with ^(DM)wine;
He stretched out his hand with scoffers.
⁶They 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.
⁷They 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.
¹⁰And 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.
¹²Wherever 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;
¹⁵Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me;
¹⁶They 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!’
³Israel 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.
⁵Your ^[ay]calf ^[az]is rejected, O Samaria!
My anger is aroused against them—
^(EH)How long until they attain to innocence?
⁶For 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.
⁹For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like ^(EN)a wild donkey alone by itself;
Ephraim ^(EO)has hired lovers.
¹⁰Yes, 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.
¹²I have written for him ^(ER)the great things of My law,
But they were considered a strange thing.
¹³For 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.
²The threshing floor and the winepress
Shall not feed them,
And the new wine shall fail in her.

³They shall not dwell in ^(FB)the Lord’s land,
^(FC)But Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
And ^(FD)shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
⁴They 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.

⁵What will you do in the appointed day,
And in the day of the feast of the Lord?
⁶For 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.

⁷The ^(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.
⁸The ^(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.
¹¹As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
¹²Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them to the last man.
Yes, ^(FR)woe to them when I depart from them!
¹³Just ^(FS)as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place,
So Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.”

¹⁴Give 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.
¹⁶Ephraim 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.”

¹⁷My 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.
²Their heart is ^(GB)divided;^[bg]
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.

³For 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?”
⁴They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up ^(GC)like hemlock in the furrows of the field.

⁵The 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.
⁶The 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.

⁷As for Samaria, her king is cut off
Like a twig on the water.
⁸Also 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.
¹⁰When it is My desire, I will chasten them.
^(GL)Peoples shall be gathered against them
When I bind them ^[bm]for their two transgressions.
¹¹Ephraim 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.”

¹²Sow 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.
¹⁴Therefore 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.
¹⁵Thus 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.
⁴I 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.
⁶And the sword shall slash in his cities,
Devour his districts,
And consume them,
Because of their own counsels.
⁷My 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.
⁹I 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;
¹¹They 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.
³He took his brother ^(HI)by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he ^(HJ)struggled with God.
⁴Yes, 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—
⁵That 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.
⁸And 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.”

¹¹Though ^(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.

¹²Jacob ^(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.
¹⁴Ephraim ^(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.

Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
²Now they sin more and more,
And have made for themselves molded images,
Idols of their silver, according to their skill;
All of it is the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Let ^[cg]the men who sacrifice ^[ch]kiss the calves!”
³Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
^(HY)Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.

⁴“Yet ^(HZ)I am the Lord your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For ^(IA)there is no savior besides Me.
⁵^(IB)I ^[ci]knew you in the wilderness,
^(IC)In the land of ^[cj]great drought.
⁶^(ID)When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.

⁷“So ^(IE)I will be to them like a lion;
Like ^(IF)a leopard by the road I will lurk;
⁸I will meet them ^(IG)like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The ^[ck]wild beast shall tear them.

⁹“O Israel, ^[cl]you are destroyed,
But ^[cm]your help is from Me.
¹⁰^[cn]I will be your King;
^(IH)Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom ^(II)you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
¹¹^(IJ)I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.

¹²“The^(IK) iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
¹³^(IL)The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.

¹⁴“I will ransom them from the ^[co]power of ^[cp]the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
^(IM)O Death, ^[cq]I will be your plagues!
O ^[cr]Grave, ^[cs]I will be your destruction!
^(IN)Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

¹⁵Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
^(IO)An east wind shall come;
The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
¹⁶Samaria ^[ct]is held guilty,
For she has ^(IP)rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child ^(IQ)ripped open.

Israel Restored at Last

14 O Israel, ^(IR)return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
²Take words with you,
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the ^(IS)sacrifices^[cu] of our lips.
³Assyria shall ^(IT)not save us,
^(IU)We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
^(IV)For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

⁴“I will heal their ^(IW)backsliding,
I will ^(IX)love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
⁵I will be like the ^(IY)dew to Israel;
He shall ^[cv]grow like the lily,
And ^[cw]lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
⁶His branches shall ^[cx]spread;
^(IZ)His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And ^(JA)his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷^(JB)Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And ^[cy]grow like a vine.
Their ^[cz]scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸“Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
^(JC)Your fruit is found in Me.”

⁹Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For ^(JD)the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.

Notas al pie

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
Hosea 13:2 Or those who offer human sacrifice
Hosea 13:2 Worship with kisses
Hosea 13:5 Cared for you
Hosea 13:5 Lit. droughts
Hosea 13:8 Lit. beast of the field
Hosea 13:9 Lit. it or he destroyed you
Hosea 13:9 Lit. in your help
Hosea 13:10 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Where is your king?
Hosea 13:14 Lit. hand
Hosea 13:14 Or Sheol
Hosea 13:14 LXX where is your punishment?
Hosea 13:14 Or Sheol
Hosea 13:14 LXX where is your sting?
Hosea 13:16 LXX shall be disfigured
Hosea 14:2 Lit. bull calves; LXX fruit
Hosea 14:5 Lit. bud or sprout
Hosea 14:5 Lit. strike
Hosea 14:6 Lit. go
Hosea 14:7 Lit. bud or sprout
Hosea 14:7 Lit. remembrance

Hosea 1-14

New International Version

1 The word of the Lord that came^(A) to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah,^(B) Jotham,^(C) Ahaz^(D) and Hezekiah,^(E) kings of Judah,^(F) and during the reign of Jeroboam^(G) son of Jehoash^[a] king of Israel:^(H)

Hosea’s Wife and Children

²When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous^(I) woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness^(J) to the Lord.” ³So he married Gomer^(K) daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel,^(L) because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.^(M)”

⁶Gomer^(N) conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”),^(O) for I will no longer show love to Israel,^(P) that I should at all forgive them. ⁷Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow,^(Q) sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God,^(R) will save them.”

⁸After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah,^(S) Gomer had another son. ⁹Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.^[b]^(T)

¹⁰“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.^(U) In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’^(V) ¹¹The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together;^(W) they will appoint one leader^(X) and will come up out of the land,^(Y) for great will be the day of Jezreel.^[c]^(Z)

2 ^[d]“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’^(AA)

Israel Punished and Restored

²“Rebuke your mother,^(AB) rebuke her,
    for she is not my wife,
    and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous^(AC) look from her face
    and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
³Otherwise I will strip^(AD) her naked
    and make her as bare as on the day she was born;^(AE)
I will make her like a desert,^(AF)
    turn her into a parched land,
    and slay her with thirst.
⁴I will not show my love to her children,^(AG)
    because they are the children of adultery.^(AH)
⁵Their mother has been unfaithful
    and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,^(AI)
    who give me my food and my water,
    my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’^(AJ)
⁶Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
    I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.^(AK)
⁷She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
    she will look for them but not find them.^(AL)
Then she will say,
    ‘I will go back to my husband^(AM) as at first,^(AN)
    for then I was better off^(AO) than now.’
⁸She has not acknowledged^(AP) that I was the one
    who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,^(AQ)
who lavished on her the silver and gold^(AR)—
    which they used for Baal.^(AS)

⁹“Therefore I will take away my grain^(AT) when it ripens,
    and my new wine^(AU) when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
    intended to cover her naked body.
¹⁰So now I will expose^(AV) her lewdness
    before the eyes of her lovers;^(AW)
    no one will take her out of my hands.^(AX)
¹¹I will stop^(AY) all her celebrations:^(AZ)
    her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
    her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.^(BA)
¹²I will ruin her vines^(BB) and her fig trees,^(BC)
    which she said were her pay from her lovers;^(BD)
I will make them a thicket,^(BE)
    and wild animals will devour them.^(BF)
¹³I will punish her for the days
    she burned incense^(BG) to the Baals;^(BH)
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,^(BI)
    and went after her lovers,^(BJ)
    but me she forgot,^(BK)”
declares the Lord.^(BL)

¹⁴“Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness^(BM)
    and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor^[e]^(BN) a door of hope.
There she will respond^[f]^(BO) as in the days of her youth,^(BP)
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.^(BQ)

¹⁶“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;^(BR)
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.^[g]’
¹⁷I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;^(BS)
    no longer will their names be invoked.^(BT)
¹⁸In that day I will make a covenant for them
    with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the creatures that move along the ground.^(BU)
Bow and sword and battle
    I will abolish^(BV) from the land,
    so that all may lie down in safety.^(BW)
¹⁹I will betroth^(BX) you to me forever;
    I will betroth you in^[h] righteousness and justice,^(BY)
    in^[i] love and compassion.^(BZ)
²⁰I will betroth you in^[j] faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge^(CA) the Lord.^(CB)

²¹“In that day I will respond,”
    declares the Lord—
“I will respond^(CC) to the skies,
    and they will respond to the earth;
²²and the earth will respond to the grain,
    the new wine and the olive oil,^(CD)
    and they will respond to Jezreel.^[k]^(CE)
²³I will plant^(CF) her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.^[l]^(CG)’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,^[m]’ ‘You are my people’;^(CH)
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.^(CI)’”

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.^(CJ) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.^(CK)”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels^[n] of silver and about a homer and a lethek^[o] of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

⁴For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,^(CL) without sacrifice^(CM) or sacred stones,^(CN) without ephod^(CO) or household gods.^(CP) ⁵Afterward the Israelites will return and seek^(CQ) the Lord their God and David their king.^(CR) They will come trembling^(CS) to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.^(CT)

The Charge Against Israel

4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
    because the Lord has a charge^(CU) to bring
    against you who live in the land:^(CV)
“There is no faithfulness,^(CW) no love,
    no acknowledgment^(CX) of God in the land.^(CY)
²There is only cursing,^[p] lying^(CZ) and murder,^(DA)
    stealing^(DB) and adultery;^(DC)
they break all bounds,
    and bloodshed follows bloodshed.^(DD)
³Because of this the land dries up,^(DE)
    and all who live in it waste away;^(DF)
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the fish in the sea are swept away.^(DG)

⁴“But let no one bring a charge,
    let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
    who bring charges against a priest.^(DH)
⁵You stumble^(DI) day and night,
    and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother^(DJ)—
⁶    my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^(DK)

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law^(DL) of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.
⁷The more priests there were,
    the more they sinned against me;
    they exchanged their glorious God^[q]^(DM) for something disgraceful.^(DN)
⁸They feed on the sins of my people
    and relish their wickedness.^(DO)
⁹And it will be: Like people, like priests.^(DP)
    I will punish both of them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.^(DQ)

¹⁰“They will eat but not have enough;^(DR)
    they will engage in prostitution^(DS) but not flourish,
because they have deserted^(DT) the Lord
    to give themselves ¹¹to prostitution;^(DU)
old wine^(DV) and new wine
    take away their understanding.^(DW)
¹²My people consult a wooden idol,^(DX)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.^(DY)
A spirit of prostitution^(DZ) leads them astray;^(EA)
    they are unfaithful^(EB) to their God.
¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,^(EC) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.^(ED)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^(EE)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^(EF)

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters
    when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots^(EG)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes^(EH)—
    a people without understanding^(EI) will come to ruin!^(EJ)

¹⁵“Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^(EK)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.^[r]^(EL)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’^(EM)
¹⁶The Israelites are stubborn,^(EN)
    like a stubborn heifer.^(EO)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs^(EP) in a meadow?
¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone!
¹⁸Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
¹⁹A whirlwind^(EQ) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^(ER)

Judgment Against Israel

5 “Hear this, you priests!
    Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
    This judgment^(ES) is against you:
You have been a snare^(ET) at Mizpah,
    a net^(EU) spread out on Tabor.
²The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.^(EV)
    I will discipline all of them.^(EW)
³I know all about Ephraim;
    Israel is not hidden^(EX) from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
    Israel is corrupt.^(EY)

⁴“Their deeds do not permit them
    to return^(EZ) to their God.
A spirit of prostitution^(FA) is in their heart;
    they do not acknowledge^(FB) the Lord.
⁵Israel’s arrogance testifies^(FC) against them;
    the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble^(FD) in their sin;
    Judah also stumbles with them.^(FE)
⁶When they go with their flocks and herds
    to seek the Lord,^(FF)
they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn^(FG) himself from them.
⁷They are unfaithful^(FH) to the Lord;
    they give birth to illegitimate^(FI) children.
When they celebrate their New Moon feasts,^(FJ)
    he will devour^[s]^(FK) their fields.

⁸“Sound the trumpet^(FL) in Gibeah,^(FM)
    the horn in Ramah.^(FN)
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven^[t];^(FO)
    lead on, Benjamin.
⁹Ephraim will be laid waste^(FP)
    on the day of reckoning.^(FQ)
Among the tribes of Israel
    I proclaim what is certain.^(FR)
¹⁰Judah’s leaders are like those
    who move boundary stones.^(FS)
I will pour out my wrath^(FT) on them
    like a flood of water.
¹¹Ephraim is oppressed,
    trampled in judgment,
    intent on pursuing idols.^[u]^(FU)
¹²I am like a moth^(FV) to Ephraim,
    like rot^(FW) to the people of Judah.

¹³“When Ephraim^(FX) saw his sickness,
    and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria,^(FY)
    and sent to the great king for help.^(FZ)
But he is not able to cure^(GA) you,
    not able to heal your sores.^(GB)
¹⁴For I will be like a lion^(GC) to Ephraim,
    like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces^(GD) and go away;
    I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.^(GE)
¹⁵Then I will return to my lair^(GF)
    until they have borne their guilt^(GG)
    and seek my face^(GH)—
in their misery^(GI)
    they will earnestly seek me.^(GJ)”

Israel Unrepentant

6 “Come, let us return^(GK) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces^(GL)
    but he will heal us;^(GM)
he has injured us
    but he will bind up our wounds.^(GN)
²After two days he will revive us;^(GO)
    on the third day^(GP) he will restore^(GQ) us,
    that we may live in his presence.
³Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,^(GR)
    like the spring rains that water the earth.^(GS)”

⁴“What can I do with you, Ephraim?^(GT)
    What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears.^(GU)
⁵Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
    I killed you with the words of my mouth^(GV)—
    then my judgments go forth like the sun.^[v]^(GW)
⁶For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,^(GX)
    and acknowledgment^(GY) of God rather than burnt offerings.^(GZ)
⁷As at Adam,^[w] they have broken the covenant;^(HA)
    they were unfaithful^(HB) to me there.
⁸Gilead is a city of evildoers,^(HC)
    stained with footprints of blood.
⁹As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,^(HD)
    so do bands of priests;
they murder^(HE) on the road to Shechem,
    carrying out their wicked schemes.^(HF)
¹⁰I have seen a horrible^(HG) thing in Israel:
    There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
    Israel is defiled.^(HH)

¹¹“Also for you, Judah,
a harvest^(HI) is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes^(HJ) of my people,

7 ¹whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
    and the crimes of Samaria revealed.^(HK)
They practice deceit,^(HL)
    thieves break into houses,^(HM)
    bandits rob in the streets;^(HN)
²but they do not realize
    that I remember^(HO) all their evil deeds.^(HP)
Their sins engulf them;^(HQ)
    they are always before me.

³“They delight the king with their wickedness,
    the princes with their lies.^(HR)
⁴They are all adulterers,^(HS)
    burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
    from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
⁵On the day of the festival of our king
    the princes become inflamed with wine,^(HT)
    and he joins hands with the mockers.^(HU)
⁶Their hearts are like an oven;^(HV)
    they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
⁷All of them are hot as an oven;
    they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,^(HW)
    and none of them calls^(HX) on me.

⁸“Ephraim mixes^(HY) with the nations;
    Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
⁹Foreigners sap his strength,^(HZ)
    but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
    but he does not notice.
¹⁰Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,^(IA)
    but despite all this
he does not return^(IB) to the Lord his God
    or search^(IC) for him.

¹¹“Ephraim is like a dove,^(ID)
    easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,^(IE)
    now turning to Assyria.^(IF)
¹²When they go, I will throw my net^(IG) over them;
    I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
    I will catch them.
¹³Woe^(IH) to them,
    because they have strayed^(II) from me!
Destruction to them,
    because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
    but they speak about me^(IJ) falsely.^(IK)
¹⁴They do not cry out to me from their hearts^(IL)
    but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,^[x] appealing to their gods
    for grain and new wine,^(IM)
    but they turn away from me.^(IN)
¹⁵I trained^(IO) them and strengthened their arms,
    but they plot evil^(IP) against me.
¹⁶They do not turn to the Most High;^(IQ)
    they are like a faulty bow.^(IR)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
    because of their insolent^(IS) words.
For this they will be ridiculed^(IT)
    in the land of Egypt.^(IU)

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

8 “Put the trumpet^(IV) to your lips!
    An eagle^(IW) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant^(IX)
    and rebelled against my law.^(IY)
²Israel cries out to me,
    ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’
³But Israel has rejected what is good;
    an enemy will pursue him.^(IZ)
⁴They set up kings without my consent;
    they choose princes without my approval.^(JA)
With their silver and gold
    they make idols^(JB) for themselves
    to their own destruction.
⁵Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!^(JC)
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?^(JD)
⁶    They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
    it is not God.^(JE)
It will be broken in pieces,
    that calf^(JF) of Samaria.^(JG)

⁷“They sow the wind
    and reap the whirlwind.^(JH)
The stalk has no head;
    it will produce no flour.^(JI)
Were it to yield grain,
    foreigners would swallow it up.^(JJ)
⁸Israel is swallowed up;^(JK)
    now she is among the nations
    like something no one wants.^(JL)
⁹For they have gone up to Assyria^(JM)
    like a wild donkey^(JN) wandering alone.
    Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.^(JO)
¹⁰Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
    I will now gather them together.^(JP)
They will begin to waste away^(JQ)
    under the oppression of the mighty king.

¹¹“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
    these have become altars for sinning.^(JR)
¹²I wrote for them the many things of my law,
    but they regarded them as something foreign.^(JS)
¹³Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to me,
    and though they eat^(JT) the meat,
    the Lord is not pleased with them.^(JU)
Now he will remember^(JV) their wickedness
    and punish their sins:^(JW)
    They will return to Egypt.^(JX)
¹⁴Israel has forgotten^(JY) their Maker^(JZ)
    and built palaces;
    Judah has fortified many towns.
But I will send fire on their cities
    that will consume their fortresses.”^(KA)

Punishment for Israel

9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
    do not be jubilant^(KB) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful^(KC) to your God;
    you love the wages of a prostitute^(KD)
    at every threshing floor.
²Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
    the new wine^(KE) will fail them.
³They will not remain^(KF) in the Lord’s land;
    Ephraim will return to Egypt^(KG)
    and eat unclean food in Assyria.^(KH)
⁴They will not pour out wine offerings^(KI) to the Lord,
    nor will their sacrifices please^(KJ) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;^(KK)
    all who eat them will be unclean.^(KL)
This food will be for themselves;
    it will not come into the temple of the Lord.^(KM)

⁵What will you do^(KN) on the day of your appointed festivals,^(KO)
    on the feast days of the Lord?
⁶Even if they escape from destruction,
    Egypt will gather them,^(KP)
    and Memphis^(KQ) will bury them.^(KR)
Their treasures of silver^(KS) will be taken over by briers,
    and thorns^(KT) will overrun their tents.
⁷The days of punishment^(KU) are coming,
    the days of reckoning^(KV) are at hand.
    Let Israel know this.
Because your sins^(KW) are so many
    and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,^(KX)
    the inspired person a maniac.^(KY)
⁸The prophet, along with my God,
    is the watchman over Ephraim,^[y]
yet snares^(KZ) await him on all his paths,
    and hostility in the house of his God.^(LA)
⁹They have sunk deep into corruption,^(LB)
    as in the days of Gibeah.^(LC)
God will remember^(LD) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.^(LE)

¹⁰“When I found Israel,
    it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
    it was like seeing the early fruit^(LF) on the fig^(LG) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,^(LH)
    they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol^(LI)
    and became as vile as the thing they loved.
¹¹Ephraim’s glory^(LJ) will fly away like a bird^(LK)—
    no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.^(LL)
¹²Even if they rear children,
    I will bereave^(LM) them of every one.
Woe^(LN) to them
    when I turn away from them!^(LO)
¹³I have seen Ephraim,^(LP) like Tyre,
    planted in a pleasant place.^(LQ)
But Ephraim will bring out
    their children to the slayer.”^(LR)

¹⁴Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.^(LS)

¹⁵“Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,^(LT)
    I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,^(LU)
    I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;^(LV)
    all their leaders are rebellious.^(LW)
¹⁶Ephraim^(LX) is blighted,
    their root is withered,
    they yield no fruit.^(LY)
Even if they bear children,
    I will slay^(LZ) their cherished offspring.”

¹⁷My God will reject^(MA) them
because they have not obeyed^(MB) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.^(MC)

10 Israel was a spreading vine;^(MD)
    he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
    he built more altars;^(ME)
as his land prospered,^(MF)
    he adorned his sacred stones.^(MG)
²Their heart is deceitful,^(MH)
    and now they must bear their guilt.^(MI)
The Lord will demolish their altars^(MJ)
    and destroy their sacred stones.^(MK)

³Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us?”
⁴They make many promises,
    take false oaths^(ML)
    and make agreements;^(MM)
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds^(MN) in a plowed field.
⁵The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol^(MO) of Beth Aven.^[z]^(MP)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,^(MQ)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.^(MR)
⁶It will be carried to Assyria^(MS)
    as tribute^(MT) for the great king.^(MU)
Ephraim will be disgraced;^(MV)
    Israel will be ashamed^(MW) of its foreign alliances.
⁷Samaria’s king will be destroyed,^(MX)
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
⁸The high places^(MY) of wickedness^[aa]^(MZ) will be destroyed—
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns^(NA) and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.^(NB)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”^(NC)
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”^(ND)

⁹“Since the days of Gibeah,^(NE) you have sinned,^(NF) Israel,
    and there you have remained.^[ab]
Will not war again overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰When I please, I will punish^(NG) them;
    nations will be gathered against them
    to put them in bonds for their double sin.
¹¹Ephraim is a trained heifer
    that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke^(NH)
    on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
    Judah must plow,
    and Jacob must break up the ground.
¹²Sow^(NI) righteousness^(NJ) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;^(NK)
    for it is time to seek^(NL) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness^(NM) on you.
¹³But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,^(NN)
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.^(NO)
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,^(NP)
¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated^(NQ)—
as Shalman^(NR) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^(NS)
¹⁵So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^(NT)

God’s Love for Israel

11 “When Israel was a child,^(NU) I loved^(NV) him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.^(NW)
²But the more they were called,
    the more they went away from me.^[ac]^(NX)
They sacrificed to the Baals^(NY)
    and they burned incense to images.^(NZ)
³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
    taking them by the arms;^(OA)
but they did not realize
    it was I who healed^(OB) them.
⁴I led them with cords of human kindness,
    with ties of love.^(OC)
To them I was like one who lifts
    a little child to the cheek,
    and I bent down to feed^(OD) them.^(OE)

⁵“Will they not return to Egypt^(OF)
    and will not Assyria^(OG) rule over them
    because they refuse to repent?^(OH)
⁶A sword^(OI) will flash in their cities;
    it will devour^(OJ) their false prophets
    and put an end to their plans.
⁷My people are determined to turn^(OK) from me.^(OL)
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

⁸“How can I give you up,^(OM) Ephraim?^(ON)
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboyim?^(OO)
My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion^(OP) is aroused.^(OQ)
⁹I will not carry out my fierce anger,^(OR)
    nor will I devastate^(OS) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man^(OT)—
    the Holy One^(OU) among you.
    I will not come against their cities.
¹⁰They will follow the Lord;
    he will roar^(OV) like a lion.^(OW)
When he roars,
    his children will come trembling^(OX) from the west.^(OY)
¹¹They will come from Egypt,
    trembling like sparrows,
    from Assyria,^(OZ) fluttering like doves.^(PA)
I will settle them in their homes,”^(PB)
    declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

¹²Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,^(PC)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful^(PD) Holy One.^[ad]^(PE)

12 ^[ae]¹Ephraim^(PF) feeds on the wind;^(PG)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.^(PH)
He makes a treaty with Assyria^(PI)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.^(PJ)
²The Lord has a charge^(PK) to bring against Judah;^(PL)
    he will punish^(PM) Jacob^[af] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.^(PN)
³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;^(PO)
    as a man he struggled^(PP) with God.
⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel^(PQ)
    and talked with him there—
⁵the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!^(PR)
⁶But you must return^(PS) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,^(PT)
    and wait for your God always.^(PU)

⁷The merchant uses dishonest scales^(PV)
    and loves to defraud.
⁸Ephraim boasts,^(PW)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^(PX)
With all my wealth they will not find in me
    any iniquity or sin.”

⁹“I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt;^(PY)
I will make you live in tents^(PZ) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
¹⁰I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables^(QA) through them.”^(QB)

¹¹Is Gilead wicked?^(QC)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^(QD)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.^(QE)
¹²Jacob fled to the country of Aram^[ag];^(QF)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.^(QG)
¹³The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,^(QH)
    by a prophet he cared for him.^(QI)
¹⁴But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
    his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed^(QJ)
    and will repay him for his contempt.^(QK)

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;^(QL)
    he was exalted^(QM) in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship^(QN) and died.
²Now they sin more and more;
    they make^(QO) idols for themselves from their silver,^(QP)
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.^(QQ)
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss^[ah]^(QR) calf-idols!^(QS)”
³Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears,^(QT)
    like chaff^(QU) swirling from a threshing floor,^(QV)
    like smoke^(QW) escaping through a window.

⁴“But I have been the Lord your God
    ever since you came out of Egypt.^(QX)
You shall acknowledge^(QY) no God but me,^(QZ)
    no Savior^(RA) except me.
⁵I cared for you in the wilderness,^(RB)
    in the land of burning heat.
⁶When I fed them, they were satisfied;
    when they were satisfied, they became proud;^(RC)
    then they forgot^(RD) me.^(RE)
⁷So I will be like a lion^(RF) to them,
    like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
⁸Like a bear robbed of her cubs,^(RG)
    I will attack them and rip them open;
like a lion^(RH) I will devour them—
    a wild animal will tear them apart.^(RI)

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

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

“I will have no compassion,
¹⁵    even though he thrives^(RW) among his brothers.
An east wind^(RX) from the Lord will come,
    blowing in from the desert;
his spring will fail
    and his well dry up.^(RY)
His storehouse will be plundered^(RZ)
    of all its treasures.
¹⁶The people of Samaria^(SA) must bear their guilt,^(SB)
    because they have rebelled^(SC) against their God.
They will fall by the sword;^(SD)
    their little ones will be dashed^(SE) to the ground,
    their pregnant women^(SF) ripped open.”^[ai]

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 ^[aj]Return,^(SG) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins^(SH) have been your downfall!^(SI)
²Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive^(SJ) all our sins
and receive us graciously,^(SK)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.^[ak]^(SL)
³Assyria cannot save us;^(SM)
    we will not mount warhorses.^(SN)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’^(SO)
    to what our own hands have made,^(SP)
    for in you the fatherless^(SQ) find compassion.”

⁴“I will heal^(SR) their waywardness^(SS)
    and love them freely,^(ST)
    for my anger has turned away^(SU) from them.
⁵I will be like the dew^(SV) to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.^(SW)
Like a cedar of Lebanon^(SX)
    he will send down his roots;^(SY)
⁶    his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,^(SZ)
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.^(TA)
⁷People will dwell again in his shade;^(TB)
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom^(TC) like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine^(TD) of Lebanon.^(TE)
⁸Ephraim, what more have I^[al] to do with idols?^(TF)
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;^(TG)
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

⁹Who is wise?^(TH) Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.^(TI)
The ways of the Lord are right;^(TJ)
    the righteous walk^(TK) in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

Notas al pie

Hosea 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
Hosea 1:9 Or your I am
Hosea 1:11 In Hebrew texts 1:10,11 is numbered 2:1,2.
Hosea 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1-23 is numbered 2:3-25.
Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
Hosea 2:15 Or sing
Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
Hosea 2:19 Or with
Hosea 2:19 Or with
Hosea 2:20 Or with
Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)
Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces or about 170 grams
Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek possibly weighed about 430 pounds or about 195 kilograms.
Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse on
Hosea 4:7 Syriac (see also an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition); Masoretic Text me; / I will exchange their glory
Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Hosea 5:7 Or Now their New Moon feasts / will devour them and
Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings
Hosea 7:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts They gather together
Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.
Hosea 12:1 In Hebrew texts 12:1-14 is numbered 12:2-15.
Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss
Hosea 13:16 In Hebrew texts this verse (13:16) is numbered 14:1.
Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim

Joel 1-3

New King James Version

The Locust Plague in Judah

1 The word of the Lord that came to ^(A)Joel the son of Pethuel.

The Land Laid Waste^(B)

²Hear this, you elders,
And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
^(C)Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?
³^(D)Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.

⁴^(E)What the chewing ^[a]locust left, the ^(F)swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

⁵Awake, you ^(G)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
Because of the new wine,
^(H)For it has been cut off from your mouth.
⁶For ^(I)a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
^(J)His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a ^[b]fierce lion.
⁷He has ^(K)laid waste My vine,
And ^[c]ruined My fig tree;
He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
Its branches are made white.

⁸^(L)Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For ^(M)the husband of her youth.
⁹^(N)The grain offering and the drink offering
Have been cut off from the house of the Lord;
The priests ^(O)mourn, who minister to the Lord.
¹⁰The field is wasted,
^(P)The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
^(Q)The new wine is dried up,
The oil fails.

¹¹^(R)Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
¹²^(S)The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree—
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely ^(T)joy has withered away from the sons of men.

Mourning for the Land

¹³^(U)Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;
Wail, you who minister before the altar;
Come, lie all night in sackcloth,
You who minister to my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
¹⁴^(V)Consecrate a fast,
Call ^(W)a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And ^(X)all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.

¹⁵^(Y)Alas for the day!
For ^(Z)the day of the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
¹⁶Is not the food ^(AA)cut off before our eyes,
^(AB)Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
¹⁷The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
¹⁸How ^(AC)the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep ^[d]suffer punishment.

¹⁹O Lord, ^(AD)to You I cry out;
For ^(AE)fire has devoured the ^[e]open pastures,
And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
²⁰The beasts of the field also ^(AF)cry out to You,
For ^(AG)the water brooks are dried up,
And fire has devoured the ^[f]open pastures.

The Day of the Lord

2 Blow ^(AH)the ^[g]trumpet in Zion,
And ^(AI)sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For ^(AJ)the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
²^(AK)A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
^(AL)A people come, great and strong,
^(AM)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.

³A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like ^(AN)the Garden of Eden before them,
^(AO)And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
⁴^(AP)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like ^[h]swift steeds, so they run.
⁵^(AQ)With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.

⁶Before them the people writhe in pain;
^(AR)All faces ^[i]are drained of color.
⁷They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break ^(AS)ranks.
⁸They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own ^[j]column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not ^[k]cut down.
⁹They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They ^(AT)enter at the windows ^(AU)like a thief.

¹⁰^(AV)The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
^(AW)The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
¹¹^(AX)The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
^(AY)For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the ^(AZ)day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
^(BA)Who can endure it?

A Call to Repentance

¹²“Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
^(BB)“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
¹³So ^(BC)rend your heart, and not ^(BD)your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is ^(BE)gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
¹⁴^(BF)Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave ^(BG)a blessing behind Him—
^(BH)A grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?

¹⁵^(BI)Blow the ^[l]trumpet in Zion,
^(BJ)Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
¹⁶Gather the people,
^(BK)Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
^(BL)Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
¹⁷Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep ^(BM)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, ^(BN)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should ^[m]rule over them.
^(BO)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”

The Land Refreshed^(BP)

¹⁸Then the Lord will ^(BQ)be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
¹⁹The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you ^(BR)grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

²⁰“But ^(BS)I will remove far from you ^(BT)the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back ^(BU)toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done ^[n]monstrous things.”

²¹Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done ^[o]marvelous things!
²²Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For ^(BV)the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
²³Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And ^(BW)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the ^[p]former rain faithfully,
And He ^(BX)will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
²⁴The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

²⁵“So I will restore to you the years ^(BY)that the swarming ^[q]locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
²⁶You shall ^(BZ)eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to ^(CA)shame.
²⁷Then you shall know that I am ^(CB)in the midst of Israel:
^(CC)I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.

God’s Spirit Poured Out

²⁸“And^(CD) it shall come to pass afterward
That ^(CE)I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
^(CF)Your sons and your ^(CG)daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
²⁹And also on My ^(CH)menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

³⁰“And ^(CI)I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
³¹^(CJ)The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
^(CK)Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
³²And it shall come to pass
That ^(CL)whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be ^[r]saved.
For ^(CM)in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be ^[s]deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among ^(CN)the remnant whom the Lord calls.

God Judges the Nations

3 “For behold, ^(CO)in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
²^(CP)I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I ^(CQ)will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
³They have ^(CR)cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

⁴“Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
^(CS)O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
Will you ^[t]retaliate against Me?
But if you ^[u]retaliate against Me,
Swiftly and speedily I will return your ^[v]retaliation upon your own head;
⁵Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My ^[w]prized possessions.
⁶Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.

⁷“Behold, ^(CT)I will raise them
Out of the place to which you have sold them,
And will return your ^[x]retaliation upon your own head.
⁸I will sell your sons and your daughters
Into the hand of the people of Judah,
And they will sell them to the ^(CU)Sabeans,^[y]
To a people ^(CV)far off;
For the Lord has spoken.”

⁹^(CW)Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
¹⁰^(CX)Beat your plowshares into swords
And your ^[z]pruning hooks into spears;
^(CY)Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
¹¹Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause ^(CZ)Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.

¹²“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to ^(DA)judge all the surrounding nations.
¹³^(DB)Put in the sickle, for ^(DC)the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the ^(DD)winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For ^(DE)the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
¹⁵The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
¹⁶The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
^(DF)But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.

¹⁷“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion My ^(DG)holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

God Blesses His People

¹⁸And it will come to pass in that day
That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A ^(DH)fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord
And water the Valley of ^[aa]Acacias.

¹⁹“Egypt shall be a desolation,
And Edom a desolate wilderness,
Because of violence against the people of Judah,
For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
²⁰But Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
²¹For I will ^(DI)acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the Lord dwells in Zion.”

Notas al pie

Joel 1:4 Exact identity of these locusts unknown
Joel 1:6 Or lioness
Joel 1:7 Or splintered
Joel 1:18 LXX, Vg. are made desolate
Joel 1:19 Lit. pastures of the wilderness
Joel 1:20 Lit. pastures of the wilderness
Joel 2:1 ram’s horn
Joel 2:4 Or horsemen
Joel 2:6 LXX, Tg., Vg. gather blackness
Joel 2:8 Lit. highway
Joel 2:8 Halted by losses
Joel 2:15 ram’s horn
Joel 2:17 Or speak a proverb against them
Joel 2:20 Lit. great
Joel 2:21 Lit. great
Joel 2:23 Or teacher of righteousness
Joel 2:25 Exact identity of these locusts unknown
Joel 2:32 Or delivered
Joel 2:32 Or salvation
Joel 3:4 Or render Me repayment
Joel 3:4 Or repay Me
Joel 3:4 Or repayment
Joel 3:5 Lit. precious good things
Joel 3:7 Or repayment
Joel 3:8 Lit. Shebaites, Is. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22
Joel 3:10 pruning knives
Joel 3:18 Heb. Shittim

Joel 1-3

New International Version

1 The word of the Lord that came^(A) to Joel^(B) son of Pethuel.

An Invasion of Locusts

²Hear this,^(C) you elders;^(D)
    listen, all who live in the land.^(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
    or in the days of your ancestors?^(F)
³Tell it to your children,^(G)
    and let your children tell it to their children,
    and their children to the next generation.^(H)
⁴What the locust^(I) swarm has left
    the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
    the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left^(J)
    other locusts^[a] have eaten.^(K)

⁵Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, all you drinkers of wine;^(L)
wail because of the new wine,
    for it has been snatched^(M) from your lips.
⁶A nation has invaded my land,
    a mighty army without number;^(N)
it has the teeth^(O) of a lion,
    the fangs of a lioness.
⁷It has laid waste^(P) my vines
    and ruined my fig trees.^(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
    and thrown it away,
    leaving their branches white.

⁸Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth^(R)
    grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
⁹Grain offerings and drink offerings^(S)
    are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,^(T)
    those who minister before the Lord.
¹⁰The fields are ruined,
    the ground is dried up;^(U)
the grain is destroyed,
    the new wine^(V) is dried up,
    the olive oil fails.^(W)

¹¹Despair, you farmers,^(X)
    wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,^(Y)
    because the harvest of the field is destroyed.^(Z)
¹²The vine is dried up
    and the fig tree is withered;^(AA)
the pomegranate,^(AB) the palm and the apple^[b] tree—
    all the trees of the field—are dried up.^(AC)
Surely the people’s joy
    is withered away.

A Call to Lamentation

¹³Put on sackcloth,^(AD) you priests, and mourn;
    wail, you who minister^(AE) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings^(AF)
    are withheld from the house of your God.
¹⁴Declare a holy fast;^(AG)
    call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
    and all who live in the land^(AH)
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out^(AI) to the Lord.^(AJ)

¹⁵Alas for that^(AK) day!
For the day of the Lord^(AL) is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.^[c]^(AM)

¹⁶Has not the food been cut off^(AN)
    before our very eyes—
joy and gladness^(AO)
    from the house of our God?^(AP)
¹⁷The seeds are shriveled
    beneath the clods.^[d]^(AQ)
The storehouses are in ruins,
    the granaries have been broken down,
    for the grain has dried up.
¹⁸How the cattle moan!
    The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;^(AR)
    even the flocks of sheep are suffering.^(AS)

¹⁹To you, Lord, I call,^(AT)
    for fire^(AU) has devoured the pastures^(AV) in the wilderness
    and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
²⁰Even the wild animals pant for you;^(AW)
    the streams of water have dried up^(AX)
    and fire has devoured the pastures^(AY) in the wilderness.

An Army of Locusts

2 Blow the trumpet^(AZ) in Zion;^(BA)
sound the alarm on my holy hill.^(BB)

Let all who live in the land tremble,
    for the day of the Lord^(BC) is coming.
It is close at hand^(BD)—
²    a day of darkness^(BE) and gloom,^(BF)
    a day of clouds^(BG) and blackness.^(BH)
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
    a large and mighty army^(BI) comes,
such as never was in ancient times^(BJ)
    nor ever will be in ages to come.

³Before them fire^(BK) devours,
    behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,^(BL)
    behind them, a desert waste^(BM)—
    nothing escapes them.
⁴They have the appearance of horses;^(BN)
    they gallop along like cavalry.
⁵With a noise like that of chariots^(BO)
    they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire^(BP) consuming stubble,
    like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

⁶At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;^(BQ)
    every face turns pale.^(BR)
⁷They charge like warriors;^(BS)
    they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,^(BT)
    not swerving^(BU) from their course.
⁸They do not jostle each other;
    each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
    without breaking ranks.
⁹They rush upon the city;
    they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;^(BV)
    like thieves they enter through the windows.^(BW)

¹⁰Before them the earth shakes,^(BX)
    the heavens tremble,^(BY)
the sun and moon are darkened,^(BZ)
    and the stars no longer shine.^(CA)
¹¹The Lord^(CB) thunders^(CC)
    at the head of his army;^(CD)
his forces are beyond number,
    and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;^(CE)
    it is dreadful.
    Who can endure it?^(CF)

Rend Your Heart

¹²“Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return^(CG) to me with all your heart,^(CH)
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

¹³Rend your heart^(CI)
    and not your garments.^(CJ)
Return^(CK) to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,^(CL)
slow to anger and abounding in love,^(CM)
    and he relents from sending calamity.^(CN)
¹⁴Who knows? He may turn^(CO) and relent^(CP)
    and leave behind a blessing^(CQ)—
grain offerings and drink offerings^(CR)
    for the Lord your God.

¹⁵Blow the trumpet^(CS) in Zion,^(CT)
    declare a holy fast,^(CU)
    call a sacred assembly.^(CV)
¹⁶Gather the people,
    consecrate^(CW) the assembly;
bring together the elders,^(CX)
    gather the children,
    those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom^(CY) leave his room
    and the bride her chamber.
¹⁷Let the priests, who minister^(CZ) before the Lord,
    weep^(DA) between the portico and the altar.^(DB)
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
    Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,^(DC)
    a byword^(DD) among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?^(DE)’”

The Lord’s Answer

¹⁸Then the Lord was jealous^(DF) for his land
and took pity^(DG) on his people.

¹⁹The Lord replied^[e] to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine^(DH) and olive oil,^(DI)
enough to satisfy you fully;^(DJ)
never again will I make you
an object of scorn^(DK) to the nations.

²⁰“I will drive the northern horde^(DL) far from you,
    pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
    and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench^(DM) will go up;
    its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things!
²¹    Do not be afraid,^(DN) land of Judah;
    be glad and rejoice.^(DO)
Surely the Lord has done great things!^(DP)
²²    Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.^(DQ)
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig tree^(DR) and the vine^(DS) yield their riches.^(DT)
²³Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice^(DU) in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.^(DV)
He sends you abundant showers,^(DW)
    both autumn^(DX) and spring rains,^(DY) as before.
²⁴The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow^(DZ) with new wine^(EA) and oil.

²⁵“I will repay you for the years the locusts^(EB) have eaten^(EC)—
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm^[f]—
my great army^(ED) that I sent among you.
²⁶You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,^(EE)
    and you will praise^(EF) the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders^(EG) for you;
never again will my people be shamed.^(EH)
²⁷Then you will know^(EI) that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord^(EJ) your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.^(EK)

The Day of the Lord

²⁸“And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit^(EL) on all people.^(EM)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,^(EN)
    your old men will dream dreams,^(EO)
    your young men will see visions.
²⁹Even on my servants,^(EP) both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.^(EQ)
³⁰I will show wonders in the heavens^(ER)
    and on the earth,^(ES)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
³¹The sun will be turned to darkness^(ET)
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.^(EU)
³²And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord^(EV) will be saved;^(EW)
for on Mount Zion^(EX) and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,^(EY)
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors^(EZ)
    whom the Lord calls.^[g]^(FA)

The Nations Judged

3 ^[h]“In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes^(FB) of Judah^(FC) and Jerusalem,

Notas al pie

Joel 1:4 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.
Joel 1:12 Or possibly apricot
Joel 1:15 Hebrew Shaddai
Joel 1:17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Joel 2:19 Or Lord will be jealous … / and take pity … / ¹⁹The Lord will reply
Joel 2:25 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.
Joel 2:32 In Hebrew texts 2:28-32 is numbered 3:1-5.
Joel 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-21 is numbered 4:1-21.

Amos 1-5

New King James Version

Judgments on Israel’s Neighbors

1 The words of Amos, who was among the ^(A)sheepbreeders of ^(B)Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of ^(C)Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of ^(D)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the ^(E)earthquake.

²And he said:

“The Lord ^(F)roars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of ^(G)Carmel withers.”

Judgment on the Nations

³Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(H)Damascus, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have ^(I)threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
⁴^(J)But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,
Which shall devour the palaces of ^(K)Ben-Hadad.
⁵I will also break the gate ^(L)bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
And the one who ^[a]holds the scepter from ^[b]Beth Eden.
The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,”
Says the Lord.

⁶Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(M)Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole captivity
To deliver them up to Edom.
⁷^(N)But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
Which shall devour its palaces.
⁸I will cut off the inhabitant ^(O)from Ashdod,
And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will ^(P)turn My hand against Ekron,
And ^(Q)the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
Says the Lord God.

⁹Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(R)Tyre, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom,
And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
¹⁰But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,
Which shall devour its palaces.”

¹¹Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(S)Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his ^(T)brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
¹²But ^(U)I will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”

¹³Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(V)the people of Ammon, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead,
That they might enlarge their territory.
¹⁴But I will kindle a fire in the wall of ^(W)Rabbah,
And it shall devour its palaces,
^(X)Amid shouting in the day of battle,
And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
¹⁵^(Y)Their king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,”
Says the Lord.

Judgment on Israel

2 Thus says the Lord:

^(Z)“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he ^(AA)burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
²But I will send a fire upon Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of ^(AB)Kerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shouting and trumpet sound.
³And I will cut off ^(AC)the judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

⁴Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(AD)Judah, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
^(AE)Because they have despised the law of the Lord,
And have not kept His commandments.
^(AF)Their lies lead them astray,
Lies ^(AG)which their fathers followed.
⁵^(AH)But I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

⁶Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(AI)Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because ^(AJ)they sell the righteous for silver,
And the ^(AK)poor for a pair of sandals.
⁷They ^[c]pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And ^(AL)pervert the way of the humble.
^(AM)A man and his father go in to the same girl,
^(AN)To defile My holy name.
⁸They lie down ^(AO)by every altar on clothes ^(AP)taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of ^[d]the condemned in the house of their god.

⁹“Yet it was I who destroyed the ^(AQ)Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the ^(AR)height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I ^(AS)destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
¹⁰Also it was ^(AT)I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And ^(AU)led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹I raised up some of your sons as ^(AV)prophets,
And some of your young men as ^(AW)Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
¹²“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets ^(AX)saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’

¹³“Behold,^(AY) I am ^[e]weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves ^[f]is weighed down.
¹⁴^(AZ)Therefore ^[g]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
^(BA)Nor shall the mighty ^[h]deliver himself;
¹⁵He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not ^[i]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
¹⁶The most ^[j]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.

Authority of the Prophet’s Message

3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

²“You^(BB) only have I known of all the families of the earth;
^(BC)Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

³Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
⁴Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion ^[k]cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
⁵Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no ^[l]trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
⁶If a ^[m]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
^(BD)If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?

⁷Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless ^(BE)He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
⁸A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
^(BF)Who can but prophesy?

Punishment of Israel’s Sins

⁹“Proclaim in the palaces at ^[n]Ashdod,
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;
See great tumults in her midst,
And the ^[o]oppressed within her.
¹⁰For they ^(BG)do not know to do right,’
Says the Lord,
‘Who store up violence and ^[p]robbery in their palaces.’ ”

¹¹Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”

¹²Thus says the Lord:

“As a shepherd ^[q]takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and ^[r]on the edge of a couch!
¹³Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
¹⁴“That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of ^(BH)Bethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
¹⁵I will ^[s]destroy ^(BI)the winter house along with ^(BJ)the summer house;
The ^(BK)houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord.

God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel

4 Hear this word, you ^(BL)cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the ^(BM)poor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to ^[t]your husbands, “Bring wine, let us ^(BN)drink!”
²^(BO)The Lord God has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away ^(BP)with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
³^(BQ)You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will ^[u]be cast into Harmon,”
Says the Lord.

⁴“Come^(BR) to Bethel and transgress,
At ^(BS)Gilgal multiply transgression;
^(BT)Bring your sacrifices every morning,
^(BU)Your tithes every three ^[v]days.
⁵^(BV)Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce ^(BW)the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.

Israel Did Not Accept Correction

⁶“Also I gave you ^[w]cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
^(BX)Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

⁷“I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
⁸So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

⁹“I^(BY) blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
^(BZ)The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

¹⁰“I sent among you a plague ^(CA)after the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

¹¹“I overthrew some of you,
As God overthrew ^(CB)Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

¹²“Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
^(CC)Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

¹³For behold,
He who forms mountains,
And creates the ^[x]wind,
^(CD)Who declares to man what ^[y]his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
^(CE)Who treads the high places of the earth—
^(CF)The Lord God of hosts is His name.

A Lament for Israel

5 Hear this word which I ^(CG)take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

²The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.

³For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

A Call to Repentance

⁴For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

^(CH)“Seek Me ^(CI)and live;
⁵But do not seek ^(CJ)Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to ^(CK)Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And ^(CL)Bethel shall come to nothing.
⁶^(CM)Seek the Lord and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
⁷You who ^(CN)turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

⁸He made the ^(CO)Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
^(CP)And makes the day dark as night;
He ^(CQ)calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
^(CR)The Lord is His name.
⁹He ^[z]rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.

¹⁰^(CS)They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they ^(CT)abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
¹¹^(CU)Therefore, because you ^[aa]tread down the poor
And take grain ^[ab]taxes from him,
Though ^(CV)you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted ^[ac]pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
¹²For I ^(CW)know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
^(CX)Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
^(CY)Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
¹³Therefore ^(CZ)the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.

¹⁴Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,
^(DA)As you have spoken.
¹⁵^(DB)Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
^(DC)It may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

The Day of the Lord

¹⁶Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:

“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
^(DD)And skillful lamenters to wailing.
¹⁷In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For ^(DE)I will pass through you,”
Says the Lord.

¹⁸^(DF)Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is ^(DG)the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
¹⁹It will be ^(DH)as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
²⁰Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

²¹“I^(DI) hate, I despise your feast days,
And ^(DJ)I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
²²^(DK)Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
²³Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
²⁴^(DL)But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.

²⁵“Did^(DM) you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
²⁶You also carried ^[ad]Sikkuth^[ae] ^(DN)your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
²⁷Therefore I will send you into captivity ^(DO)beyond Damascus,”
Says the Lord, ^(DP)whose name is the God of hosts.

Notas al pie

Amos 1:5 Rules
Amos 1:5 Lit. House of Eden
Amos 2:7 Or trample on
Amos 2:8 Or those punished by fines
Amos 2:13 Or tottering under
Amos 2:13 Or totters
Amos 2:14 Or the place of refuge
Amos 2:14 Lit. save his soul or life
Amos 2:15 Or save
Amos 2:16 Lit. strong of his heart among the mighty
Amos 3:4 Lit. give his voice
Amos 3:5 Or bait or lure
Amos 3:6 ram’s horn
Amos 3:9 So with MT; LXX Assyria
Amos 3:9 Or oppression
Amos 3:10 Or devastation
Amos 3:12 Or snatches
Amos 3:12 Heb. uncertain, possibly on the cover
Amos 3:15 Lit. strike
Amos 4:1 Lit. their masters or lords
Amos 4:3 Or cast them
Amos 4:4 Or years, Deut. 14:28
Amos 4:6 Hunger
Amos 4:13 Or spirit
Amos 4:13 Or His
Amos 5:9 Or flashes forth destruction
Amos 5:11 trample
Amos 5:11 Or tribute
Amos 5:11 desirable
Amos 5:26 LXX, Vg. tabernacle of Moloch
Amos 5:26 A pagan deity

'Amos 1-5' No se encontraron resultados para la versión: New International Version.

New King James Version (NKJV)

New International Version (NIV)

Hosea 1-14 New King James Version

Hosea’s Unfaithful Wife

The Family of Hosea

The Restoration of Israel

The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People

God’s Unfaithful People

God’s Mercy on His People

Israel Will Return to God

God’s Charge Against Israel

The Idolatry of Israel

Impending Judgment on Israel and Judah

A Call to Repentance

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

Israel Has Rebelled Against God

Futile Reliance on the Nations

The Apostasy of Israel

Judgment of Israel’s Sin

Israel’s Sin and Captivity

God’s Continuing Love for Israel

God’s Charge Against Ephraim

Ephraim’s Sins Rebuked by God

Relentless Judgment on Israel

Israel Restored at Last

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Hosea 1-14 New International Version

Hosea’s Wife and Children

Israel Punished and Restored

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

The Charge Against Israel

Judgment Against Israel

Israel Unrepentant

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

Punishment for Israel

God’s Love for Israel

Israel’s Sin

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

Repentance to Bring Blessing

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Joel 1-3 New King James Version

The Locust Plague in Judah

The Land Laid Waste(B)

Mourning for the Land

The Day of the Lord

A Call to Repentance

The Land Refreshed(BP)

God’s Spirit Poured Out

God Judges the Nations

God Blesses His People

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Referencia cruzada

Joel 1-3 New International Version

An Invasion of Locusts

A Call to Lamentation

An Army of Locusts

Rend Your Heart

The Lord’s Answer

The Day of the Lord

The Nations Judged

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Amos 1-5 New King James Version

Judgments on Israel’s Neighbors

Judgment on the Nations

Judgment on Israel

Judgment on Judah

Judgment on Israel

Authority of the Prophet’s Message

Punishment of Israel’s Sins

God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel

Israel Did Not Accept Correction

A Lament for Israel

A Call to Repentance

The Day of the Lord

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Referencia cruzada

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