Add parallel Print Page Options

Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
    he was exalted in Israel,
    but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.(A)
And now they keep on sinning
    and make a cast image for themselves,
idols of silver made according to their understanding,
    all of them the work of artisans.
“Sacrifice to these,” they say.[a]
    People are kissing calves!(B)
Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
    or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor
    or like smoke from a window.(C)

Yet I have been the Lord your God
    ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
    and besides me there is no savior.(D)
It was I who fed[b] you in the wilderness,
    in the land of drought.(E)
When I fed[c] them, they were satisfied;
    they were satisfied, and their heart was proud;
    therefore they forgot me.(F)
So I will become like a lion to them;
    like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.(G)
I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs
    and will tear open the covering of their heart;
there I will devour them like a lion,
    as a wild animal would mangle them.

I will destroy you, O Israel;
    who can help you?[d]
10 Where now is[e] your king, that he may save you?
    Where in all your cities are your rulers,
of whom you said,
    “Give me a king and rulers”?(H)
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
    and I took him away in my wrath.(I)

12 Ephraim’s iniquity is bound up;
    his sin is kept in store.(J)
13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,
    but he is an unwise son,
for at the proper time he does not present himself
    at the mouth of the womb.(K)

14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
    Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are[f] your plagues?
    O Sheol, where is[g] your destruction?
    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.(L)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 13.2 Cn Compare Gk: Heb To these they say sacrifices of people
  2. 13.5 Gk Syr: Heb knew
  3. 13.6 Cn: Heb according to their pasture
  4. 13.9 Gk Syr: Heb for in me is your help
  5. 13.10 Gk Syr Vg: Heb I will be
  6. 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be
  7. 13.14 Gk Syr: Heb I will be

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

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

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

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

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

“I will have no compassion,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 13:2 Or “Men who sacrifice / kiss

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.(A) And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.(B) If you have ears,[a] hear!”(C)

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[b] of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.(D) 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.(E) 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’(F) 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:

‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
    and you will indeed look but never perceive.(G)
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and their ears are hard of hearing,
        and they have shut their eyes,
        so that they might not look with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.’(H)

16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.(I) 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.(J)

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.(K) 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.[c](L) 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this[d] age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.(M) 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”(N)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 13.9 Other ancient authorities add to hear
  2. 13.11 Or mysteries
  3. 13.21 Or stumbles
  4. 13.22 Some ancient authorities read the

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)(C)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house(D) and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat(E) and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,(F) sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”(G)

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven(H) has been given to you,(I) but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(J) 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.(K)

14 In them is fulfilled(L) the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a](M)

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.(N) 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see(O) but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom(P) and does not understand it, the evil one(Q) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.(R) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth(S) choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”(T)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)

A Plea for Repentance

14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.(A)
Take words with you
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
    and we will offer
    the fruit[a] of our lips.(B)
Assyria shall not save us;
    we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”(C)

Assurance of Forgiveness

I will heal their disloyalty;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.(D)
I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.[b](E)
His shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive tree
    and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.(F)
They shall again live beneath my[c] shadow;
    they shall flourish as a garden;[d]
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.(G)

O Ephraim, what have I[e] to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.[f]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    your fruit comes from me.(H)
Those who are wise understand these things;
    those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.(I)

Footnotes

  1. 14.2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
  2. 14.5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
  3. 14.7 Heb his
  4. 14.7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
  5. 14.8 Or What more has Ephraim
  6. 14.8 Heb him

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 [a]Return,(A) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins(B) have been your downfall!(C)
Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive(D) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(E)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b](F)
Assyria cannot save us;(G)
    we will not mount warhorses.(H)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(I)
    to what our own hands have made,(J)
    for in you the fatherless(K) find compassion.”

“I will heal(L) their waywardness(M)
    and love them freely,(N)
    for my anger has turned away(O) from them.
I will be like the dew(P) to Israel;
    he will blossom like a lily.(Q)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(R)
    he will send down his roots;(S)
    his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(T)
    his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(U)
People will dwell again in his shade;(V)
    they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(W) like the vine—
    Israel’s fame will be like the wine(X) of Lebanon.(Y)
Ephraim, what more have I[c] to do with idols?(Z)
    I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(AA)
    your fruitfulness comes from me.”

Who is wise?(AB) Let them realize these things.
    Who is discerning? Let them understand.(AC)
The ways of the Lord are right;(AD)
    the righteous walk(AE) in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
  2. Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
  3. Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim

26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards,[a] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.(A) 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;(B) 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are, 29 so that no one[b] might boast in the presence of God.(C) 30 In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,(D) 31 in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in[c] the Lord.”(E)

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the testimony[d] of God to you with superior speech or wisdom.(F) For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom[e] but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,(G) so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

The True Wisdom of God

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are being destroyed.(H) But we speak God’s wisdom, a hidden mystery, which God decreed before the ages for our glory and which none of the rulers of this age understood, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—(I)

10 God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.(J) 11 For what human knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God.(K) 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.[f](L)

14 Those who are unspiritual[g] do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.(M) 15 Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.

16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.(N)

Footnotes

  1. 1.26 Gk according to the flesh
  2. 1.29 Gk no flesh
  3. 1.31 Or of
  4. 2.1 Other ancient authorities read mystery
  5. 2.4 Other ancient authorities read the persuasiveness of wisdom
  6. 2.13 Or interpreting spiritual things spiritually or comparing spiritual things with spiritual
  7. 2.14 Or natural

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.(A) Not many of you were wise(B) by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose(C) the foolish(D) things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not(E)—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.(F) 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,(G) who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,(H) holiness(I) and redemption.(J) 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[a](K)

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom(L) as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[b] For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.(M) I came to you(N) in weakness(O) with great fear and trembling.(P) My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,(Q) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,(R) so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.(S)

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,(T) but not the wisdom of this age(U) or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.(V) No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery(W) that has been hidden(X) and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age(Y) understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(Z) However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[c]
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—(AA)

10 these are the things God has revealed(AB) to us by his Spirit.(AC)

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts(AD) except their own spirit(AE) within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit(AF) of the world,(AG) but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom(AH) but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[d] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God(AI) but considers them foolishness,(AJ) and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit(AK) makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”[e](AL)

But we have the mind of Christ.(AM)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer. 9:24
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts proclaimed to you God’s mystery
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isaiah 64:4
  4. 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual
  5. 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13