Hosea 12-14

New King James Version

Ephraim’s Sins Rebuked by God

12 “Ephraim ^(A)feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and ^[a]desolation.
^(B)Also they make a ^[b]covenant with the Assyrians,
And ^(C)oil is carried to Egypt.

²“The^(D) Lord also brings a ^[c]charge against Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
According to his deeds He will recompense him.
³He took his brother ^(E)by the heel in the womb,
And in his strength he ^(F)struggled with God.
⁴Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
He wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in ^(G)Bethel,
And there He spoke to us—
⁵That is, the Lord God of hosts.
The Lord is His ^(H)memorable name.
⁶^(I)So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.

⁷“A cunning ^[d]Canaanite!
^(J)Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.
⁸And Ephraim said,
^(K)‘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;
^(L)I will again make you dwell in tents,
As in the days of the appointed feast.
¹⁰^(M)I have also spoken by the prophets,
And have multiplied visions;
I have given ^[e]symbols ^[f]through the witness of the prophets.”

¹¹Though ^(N)Gilead has idols—
Surely they are ^[g]vanity—
Though they sacrifice bulls in ^(O)Gilgal,
Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.

¹²Jacob ^(P)fled to the country of Syria;
^(Q)Israel served for a spouse,
And for a wife he tended sheep.
¹³^(R)By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
And by a prophet he was preserved.
¹⁴Ephraim ^(S)provoked Him to anger most bitterly;
Therefore his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him,
^(T)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 ^[h]the men who sacrifice ^[i]kiss the calves!”
³Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
^(U)Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.

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

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

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

¹²“The^(AG) iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
¹³^(AH)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 ^[p]power of ^[q]the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
^(AI)O Death, ^[r]I will be your plagues!
O ^[s]Grave, ^[t]I will be your destruction!
^(AJ)Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

¹⁵Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
^(AK)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 ^[u]is held guilty,
For she has ^(AL)rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child ^(AM)ripped open.

Israel Restored at Last

14 O Israel, ^(AN)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 ^(AO)sacrifices^[v] of our lips.
³Assyria shall ^(AP)not save us,
^(AQ)We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
^(AR)For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

⁴“I will heal their ^(AS)backsliding,
I will ^(AT)love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
⁵I will be like the ^(AU)dew to Israel;
He shall ^[w]grow like the lily,
And ^[x]lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
⁶His branches shall ^[y]spread;
^(AV)His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And ^(AW)his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷^(AX)Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And ^[z]grow like a vine.
Their ^[aa]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;
^(AY)Your fruit is found in Me.”

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

Footnotes

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

Matthew 20:1-16

New King James Version

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing ^[a]idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, ^[b]and whatever is right you will receive.’

⁸“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ ⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹And when they had received it, they ^[c]complained against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ ¹³But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵^(A)Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or ^(B)is your eye evil because I am good?’ ¹⁶^(C)So the last will be first, and the first last. ^(D)For^[d] many are called, but few chosen.”