Hosea 12

New International Version

12 ^[a]¹Ephraim^(A) feeds on the wind;^(B)
    he pursues the east wind all day
    and multiplies lies and violence.^(C)
He makes a treaty with Assyria^(D)
    and sends olive oil to Egypt.^(E)
²The Lord has a charge^(F) to bring against Judah;^(G)
    he will punish^(H) Jacob^[b] according to his ways
    and repay him according to his deeds.^(I)
³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;^(J)
    as a man he struggled^(K) with God.
⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;
    he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel^(L)
    and talked with him there—
⁵the Lord God Almighty,
    the Lord is his name!^(M)
⁶But you must return^(N) to your God;
    maintain love and justice,^(O)
    and wait for your God always.^(P)

⁷The merchant uses dishonest scales^(Q)
    and loves to defraud.
⁸Ephraim boasts,^(R)
    “I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^(S)
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;^(T)
I will make you live in tents^(U) again,
    as in the days of your appointed festivals.
¹⁰I spoke to the prophets,
    gave them many visions
    and told parables^(V) through them.”^(W)

¹¹Is Gilead wicked?^(X)
    Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^(Y)
    Their altars will be like piles of stones
    on a plowed field.^(Z)
¹²Jacob fled to the country of Aram^[c];^(AA)
    Israel served to get a wife,
    and to pay for her he tended sheep.^(AB)
¹³The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,^(AC)
    by a prophet he cared for him.^(AD)
¹⁴But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;
    his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed^(AE)
    and will repay him for his contempt.^(AF)

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Footnotes

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

Acts 22:1-16

New International Version

22 ¹“Brothers and fathers,^(A) listen now to my defense.”

²When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,^(B) they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³“I am a Jew,^(C) born in Tarsus^(D) of Cilicia,^(E) but brought up in this city. I studied under^(F) Gamaliel^(G) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.^(H) I was just as zealous^(I) for God as any of you are today. ⁴I persecuted^(J) the followers of this Way^(K) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,^(L) ⁵as the high priest and all the Council^(M) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates^(N) in Damascus,^(O) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.^(P) ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,^(Q) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹My companions saw the light,^(R) but they did not understand the voice^(S) of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰“‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’^(T) ¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.^(U)

¹²“A man named Ananias came to see me.^(V) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.^(W) ¹³He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors^(X) has chosen you to know his will and to see^(Y) the Righteous One^(Z) and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵You will be his witness^(AA) to all people of what you have seen^(AB) and heard. ¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized^(AC) and wash your sins away,^(AD) calling on his name.’^(AE)