Revelation 4

New American Standard Bible

Scene in Heaven

4 After ^(A)these things I looked, and behold, ^(B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, ^(C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “^(D)Come up here, and I will ^(E)show you what must take place after these things.” ²Immediately I was ^(F)in the ^[a]Spirit; and behold, ^(G)a throne was standing in heaven, and ^(H)someone was sitting on the throne. ³And He who was sitting was like a ^(I)jasper stone and a ^(J)sardius in appearance; and there was a ^[b]^(K)rainbow around the throne, like an ^(L)emerald in appearance. ⁴^(M)Around the throne were ^(N)twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw ^(O)twenty-four elders ^(P)sitting, clothed in ^(Q)white garments, and ^(R)golden crowns on their heads.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

⁵Out from the throne *came ^(S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were ^(T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are ^[c]^(U)the seven spirits of God; ⁶and before the throne there was something like a ^(V)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the ^[d]center and ^(W)around the throne, ^(X)four living creatures ^(Y)full of eyes in front and behind. ⁷^(Z)The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸And the ^(AA)four living creatures, each one of them having ^(AB)six wings, are ^(AC)full of eyes around and within; and ^(AD)day and night ^[e]they do not cease to say,

“^(AE)Holy, holy, holy is the ^(AF)Lord God, the Almighty, ^(AG)who was and who is and who ^[f]is to come.”

⁹And when the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who ^(AH)sits on the throne, to ^(AI)Him who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the ^(AJ)twenty-four elders will ^(AK)fall down before Him who ^(AL)sits on the throne, and they will worship ^(AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ^(AN)crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹“^(AO)Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You ^(AP)created all things, and because of Your will they ^[g]existed, and were created.”

Footnotes

Revelation 4:2 Or spirit
Revelation 4:3 Or halo
Revelation 4:5 Possibly a symbolic reference to the Holy Spirit in His fullness, or to seven key angels
Revelation 4:6 Lit middle of the throne and around
Revelation 4:8 Lit they have no rest, saying,
Revelation 4:8 Or is coming
Revelation 4:11 Lit were

Hosea 13-14

New American Standard Bible

Ephraim’s Idolatry

13 ^(A)When Ephraim ^[a]spoke, there was trembling.
He ^(B)exalted himself in Israel,
But through ^(C)Baal he incurred guilt and died.
²And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves ^(D)cast metal images,
Idols ^[b]^(E)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the ^(F)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the ^[c]people who sacrifice kiss the ^(G)calves!”
³Therefore they will be like the ^(H)morning cloud
And like dew which ^[d]soon disappears,
Like ^(I)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor,
And like ^(J)smoke from a chimney.

⁴Yet I have been the ^(K)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know ^(L)any god except Me,
For there is no savior ^(M)besides Me.
⁵I ^[e]^(N)cared for you in the wilderness,
^(O)In the land of drought.
⁶As they had their pasture, they became ^(P)satisfied,
And as they became satisfied, their ^(Q)heart became proud;
Therefore they ^(R)forgot Me.
⁷So I will be ^(S)like a lion to them;
Like a ^(T)leopard I will ^[f]lie in wait by the wayside.
⁸I will confront them ^(U)like a bear deprived of her cubs,
And I will tear open ^[g]their chests;
I will also ^(V)devour them there like a lioness,
As a wild animal would tear them to pieces.

⁹^[h]It is to your own destruction, Israel,
That you are ^(W)against Me, against your ^(X)help.
¹⁰Where then is your ^(Y)king,
That he might save you in all your cities;
And your ^(Z)judges, to whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
¹¹I ^(AA)gave you a king in My anger,
And ^(AB)took him away in My wrath.

¹²The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up;
His sin is ^(AC)stored up.
¹³The pains of ^(AD)childbirth come on him;
He is ^(AE)not a wise son,
For ^[i]it is not the time that he should ^(AF)delay at the opening of the womb.
¹⁴Shall I ^(AG)ransom them from the ^[j]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
^(AH)Death, where are your ^[k]thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?
^(AI)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

¹⁵Though he ^(AJ)flourishes among the ^[l]reeds,
An ^(AK)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will ^(AL)become dry
And his spring will dry up;
It will ^(AM)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
¹⁶^[m]Samaria will pay the penalty for her ^(AN)guilt,
Because she has ^(AO)rebelled against her God.
^(AP)They will fall by the ^(AQ)sword,
Their children will be ^[n]^(AR)slaughtered,
And their pregnant ^(AS)women will be ripped open.

Israel’s Future Blessing

14 ^[o]^(AT)Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled ^[p]because of your ^(AU)wrongdoing.
²Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “^(AV)Take away all guilt
And ^[q]receive us graciously,
So that we may ^(AW)present ^[r]the fruit of our lips.
³Assyria will not save us,
We will ^(AX)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘^(AY)Our god’
To the ^(AZ)work of our hands;
For in ^(BA)You the ^[s]orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I will ^(BB)heal their apostasy,
I will ^(BC)love them freely,
Because My anger has ^(BD)turned away from them.
⁵I will be like the ^(BE)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the ^(BF)lily,
And he will ^[t]take root like the cedars of ^(BG)Lebanon.
⁶His shoots will ^[u]sprout,
His ^[v]majesty will be like the ^(BH)olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of ^(BI)Lebanon.
⁷Those who ^(BJ)live in his shadow
Will ^[w]again raise ^(BK)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Ephraim, what more have I to do with ^(BL)idols?
It is I who answer and look after ^[x]you.
I am like a luxuriant ^(BM)juniper;
From ^(BN)Me ^[y]comes your fruit.

⁹^(BO)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ^(BP)ways of the Lord are right,
And the ^(BQ)righteous will walk in them,
But ^(BR)wrongdoers will stumble in them.

Footnotes

Hosea 13:1 Or spoke with trembling, he exalted
Hosea 13:2 Or according to their skill
Hosea 13:2 Lit sacrificers of; or among mankind
Hosea 13:3 Lit goes away early
Hosea 13:5 Or knew
Hosea 13:7 Or watch
Hosea 13:8 Lit the enclosure of their heart
Hosea 13:9 Lit It has destroyed you
Hosea 13:13 Lit it is the time that he should not remain at the opening of children
Hosea 13:14 Lit hand
Hosea 13:14 Or stings
Hosea 13:15 Another reading is brothers
Hosea 13:16 Ch 14:1 in Heb
Hosea 13:16 Lit shattered
Hosea 14:1 Ch 14:2 in Heb
Hosea 14:1 Or in
Hosea 14:2 Or accept that which is good
Hosea 14:2 As in ancient versions; MT our lips as bulls
Hosea 14:3 Or fatherless
Hosea 14:5 Lit strike his roots
Hosea 14:6 Lit go
Hosea 14:6 Lit splendor
Hosea 14:7 Or return, they will raise grain
Hosea 14:8 Lit him
Hosea 14:8 Lit is found

Joel 1

New American Standard Bible

The Devastation by Locusts

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

²^(C)Hear this, you ^(D)elders,
And listen, all inhabitants of the land.
^(E)Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or in your fathers’ days?
³^(F)Tell your sons about it,
And have your sons tell their sons,
And their sons the next generation.

⁴What the ^(G)gnawing locust has left, the ^[a]swarming locust has eaten;
And what the ^(H)swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;
And what the creeping locust has left, the ^(I)stripping locust has eaten.
⁵Awake, ^(J)you heavy drinkers, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
Because of the sweet wine,
For it has been ^(K)eliminated from your mouth.
⁶For a ^(L)nation has ^[b]invaded my land,
Mighty and without number;
^(M)Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the jaws of a lioness.
⁷It has ^(N)made my vine a waste
And my fig tree a stump.
It has stripped them bare and hurled them away;
Their branches have become white.

⁸^(O)Wail like a virgin ^(P)clothed with sackcloth
For the groom of her youth.
⁹The ^(Q)grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off
From the house of the Lord.
The ^(R)priests mourn,
The ministers of the Lord.
¹⁰The field is ^(S)ruined,
^(T)The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine has dried up,
Fresh oil has ^[c]failed.
¹¹^(U)Be ashamed, you farm workers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the ^(V)harvest of the field is destroyed.
¹²The ^(W)vine has dried up
And the fig tree has withered;
The ^(X)pomegranate, the ^(Y)palm also, and the ^(Z)apple tree,
All the trees of the field have dried up.
Indeed, ^(AA)joy has dried up
From the sons of mankind.

¹³^(AB)Put on sackcloth
And mourn, you priests;
^(AC)Wail, you ministers of the altar!
Come, ^(AD)spend the night in sackcloth,
You ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Have been withheld from the house of your God.

Starvation and Drought

¹⁴^(AE)Consecrate a fast,
Proclaim a ^(AF)solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of the Lord your God,
And ^(AG)cry out to the Lord.
¹⁵^(AH)Woe for the day!
For the ^(AI)day of the Lord is near,
And it will come as ^(AJ)destruction from the ^[d]Almighty.
¹⁶Has ^(AK)food not been cut off before our eyes, and
Joy and ^(AL)rejoicing from the house of our God?
¹⁷The ^[e]^(AM)seeds have dried up under their shovels;
The storehouses have become desolate,
The grain silos are ruined,
Because the grain has dried up.
¹⁸How ^(AN)the animals have groaned!
The herds of cattle have wandered aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep have ^[f]suffered.
¹⁹^(AO)To You, Lord, I cry out;
For ^(AP)fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
²⁰Even the animals of the field ^[g]^(AQ)pant for You;
For the ^(AR)stream beds of water are dried up,
And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.