Bible in 90 Days
Daniel’s Prayer for His People
9 In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus,[a] from the offspring of the Medes, who became king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his kingship I, Daniel, observed in the scrolls the number of the years that it was that were to be fulfilled according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet for the devastation of Jerusalem—seventy years.
3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and pleas for mercy,[b] in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and have been turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors[c] and to all the people of the land.
7 “Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord,[d] and on us is open shame, just as it is this day to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far off[e] in all the lands to which you have driven them,[f] because of their infidelity which they displayed against you. 8 Yahweh, on us is open shame, on our kings, on our princes, and on our ancestors,[g] because we have sinned against you. 9 Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God,[h] for we have rebelled against him, 10 and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law which he placed before us[i] by the hand of his servants the prophets.
11 “And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 And so he has carried out his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring upon us a great calamity which was not done under all of heaven as it was done in Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and we have not implored[j] the face of Yahweh our God so as to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.[k] 14 So Yahweh has kept watch over the[l] calamity, and now he has brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God is righteous concerning all his works[m] that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.
15 “And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you have made for yourself a name until this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. 16 Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain,[n] because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestors[o] Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery among all of our neighbors.
17 “And now, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Shine[p] your face upon your desolate sanctuary for your sake, O Lord.[q] 18 Incline your ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that is called by your name, for we are not presenting our pleas for mercy before you[r] because of our righteousness, but rather because of your great compassion. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay heed and act! You must not delay for your sake,[s] my God; because your city and your people are called by your name.”[t]
Gabriel’s Announcement and Presentation of the Seventy Sets of Seven
20 Now I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before[u] Yahweh my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God.[v] 21 And I was still speaking in prayer, and the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously,[w] in my weariness touched me[x] at the time of the evening offering. 22 And he instructed me and he spoke with me and he said, “Daniel I have now come out[y] to teach you understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and now I have come to declare[z] it, for you are highly esteemed, and so consider the word and understand the vision.
The Seventy Sets of Seven Detailed
24 “Seventy weeks is decreed for your people and for your holy city,[aa] to put an end to the transgression and to seal up sin[ab] and to make atonement for guilt and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal vision and prophet and to anoint the most holy place.[ac] 25 And you must know and you must understand[ad] that from the time of the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until an anointed[ae] one—a leader—will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;[af] it will be restored and will be built with streets and a moat, but in a time of oppression.[ag]
26 “And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one[ah] shall be cut off, and he shall have nothing,[ai] and the people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary,[aj] and its end will be with the flood and on to the end there shall be war; these desolations are determined. 27 And he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week, but in half of the week he will let cease sacrifice and offering and in its place[ak] a desolating abomination comes even until the determined complete destruction[al] is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel’s Vision of a Dazzling Heavenly Messenger
10 In the third year of Cyrus the king of the Persians, a word[am] was revealed to Daniel, who was called by his name Belteshazzar, and the word[an] was reliable and it concerned a great tribulation,[ao] and he understood the word[ap] and he received understanding.[aq]
2 In those days, I, Daniel, I myself[ar] was in mourning for three whole weeks.[as] 3 I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment[at] until the end of three whole weeks.[au] 4 And then on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I myself[av] was on the bank of the great river; that is, the Tigris. 5 And I lifted up my eyes and I saw,[aw] and there was a man, and he was dressed in linen, and his waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz. 6 Now his body was like turquoise,[ax] and his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like torches of fire, and his arms and his legs were like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude. 7 And I saw, I, Daniel alone,[ay] the vision; and the people who were with me did not see[az] the vision; nevertheless, a great trembling fell upon them and they fled in order to hide themselves. 8 And I myself, Daniel, alone saw this great vision, and as a result no strength was left in me[ba] and my complexion grew deathly pale,[bb] and I did not retain any strength. 9 And I heard the sound of his words, and when I heard[bc] the sound of his words I myself began falling into a trance on my face, with my face to the ground.[bd]
10 And look, a hand touched me and it roused me to my knees[be] and the palms[bf] of my hands. 11 And he said to me, “Daniel, a man beloved, pay attention to the words that I am speaking to you and stand upright where you are,[bg] for I have now been sent to you.” And while he was speaking[bh] with me this word,[bi] I stood up trembling. 12 And he said to me, “You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before[bj] your God, your words were heard, and I myself[bk] have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood before me[bl] for twenty-one days. And look,[bm] Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist me, and I left him there beside the king of the Persians. 14 And I have come[bn] to instruct you about what[bo] will happen to your people in the future,[bp] for there is a further vision here for the future.[bq]
15 And while he was speaking with me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and I was speechless. 16 Then look, there was one in the form of a human;[br] he touched my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and I said to the one standing before me,[bs] “My lord, because of the vision my anxieties fell upon me and I have not retained my strength. 17 So how am I, a servant of my lord[bt] to speak with you, my lord,[bu] and I just now[bv] have no strength in me?”[bw]
18 And he again touched[bx] me, the one in the form of a human,[by] and he strengthened me. 19 And he said, “You must not fear, O beloved man. Peace be to you;[bz] be strong and be courageous!” And when he spoke[ca] with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself[cb] am going, and look,[cc] the prince of Javan[cd] will come. 21 However, I will tell you what is inscribed[ce] in the book of truth, and there is not one who contends with me against these beings except[cf] Michael, your prince.”
A Survey of the Kings of the North and South
11 “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood[cg] as a support and as a protection for him.
2 And now I will reveal the truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance and great wealth, even more than all of them, and when he becomes strong[ch] through his wealth, then he will stir up everyone[ci] against the kingdom of Javan.[cj] 3 And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great dominion, and he will do as he pleases.[ck] 4 But as he rises in power,[cl] his kingdom will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, and not according to his dominion by which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and be given to others besides them.[cm]
5 “Then the king of the south will grow strong and also one of his officials,[cn] and he will grow stronger than him[co] and he will rule a dominion greater than his dominion.[cp] 6 And at the end of some years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make a peace treaty, but she will not retain her position of power,[cq] and his offspring[cr] will not endure, and she will be given up, she and her attendants and her child supporting her, in those times.[cs] 7 And a branch from her roots[ct] will rise up in his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail. 8 And also their gods with their idols and with the precious vessels,[cu] silver and gold he will take to Egypt into captivity, and for years he will leave the king of the north alone.[cv] 9 And then he[cw] will come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will return to his land.
10 “But his sons will wage war and they will gather a multitude of great forces and he will advance with great force,[cx] and he will overflow like a flood and he will pass through and he will return, and they will wage war up to his fortress. 11 And the king of the south will become furious, and he will go and he will battle against him, against the king of the north; and he will muster a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand. 12 When the multitude is carried off, his heart will be exalted and he will overthrow tens of thousands,[cy] but he will not prevail. 13 And the king of the north will again raise a multitude, greater than the former, and at the end of some years[cz] he will surely come with a great army and with great supplies.[da]
14 “And in these times many will rise up against the king of the south, and the violent ones of your people[db] will lift themselves to fulfill[dc] the vision, but they will fall. 15 And the king of the north will come, and he will throw up siege ramps[dd] and capture a city of fortifications and the military forces of the south and his choice troops[de] will not stand, for[df] there is no strength left to resist. 16 And the one coming to him will act according to[dg] his pleasure, and there is no one who will stand[dh] before him,[di] and he will stand in the beautiful land[dj] and complete destruction will be in his power. 17 And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement;[dk] and he will act,[dl] and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it,[dm] but the ploy will not succeed and she will not support him.[dn] 18 And he will turn his face to the coastlands, and he will capture many, but[do] a commander will end his insults to him so that instead his insults will turn back upon him.[dp] 19 And he will turn back his face toward[dq] the strongholds of his land, but he will stumble and he will fall and will not be found.
20 “Then in his place will arise one sending an official throughout the glory[dr] of his kingdom, and in a few days[ds] he will be broken, but not in anger and not in battle. 21 And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom[dt] they have not conferred the majesty of the kingdom, and he will come in without warning[du] and he will seize the kingdom by deceit. 22 And before him[dv] mighty military forces[dw] will be utterly swept away, and they will be broken, and also the leader of the covenant. 23 And after an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully, and he will rise and he will become powerful with few people backing him. 24 In a time of ease and in the rich parts of the province, he will come and he will do what his predecessors[dx] did not do; he will distribute plunder and spoil and possessions to them, and he will devise his plans against fortifications, but only for a time.[dy] 25 And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south and with a much greater and stronger army;[dz] but he will not succeed, for they will devise plans against him. 26 And those who eat of his royal rations will break him and his army will be overwhelmed, and many will fall, slain. 27 And two of the kings[ea] will bend their hearts[eb] to evil. And at the same table[ec] they will speak lies, but what is discussed will not succeed, for still an end is coming at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with many possessions, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant,[ed] and he will take action and he will return to his land.
29 “At the appointed time he will return and he will come into the south, but it will not be as it was before.[ee] 30 And the ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged against the holy covenant,[ef] and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.[eg] 31 And military forces from him will occupy[eh] and will profane[ei] the sanctuary stronghold,[ej] and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
32 “And those who violate the covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God[ek] will stand firm and will take action. 33 And those who have insight will instruct[el] the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.[em] 34 And when they fall[en] they will receive little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. 35 And even some of those who have insight[eo] will fall[ep] in order for them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.
36 “Then the king will do as he pleases,[eq] and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things against[er] the God of gods, yet he will succeed until the period of anger is finished, for what is determined will be done. 37 He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors,[es] or to the darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all gods. 38 But instead[et] he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors[eu] did not know. He will honor him with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones[ev] and with costly gifts. 39 And he will deal with the fortified strongholds[ew] with the help of a foreign god;[ex] and he will increase wealth for whoever will acknowledge him, and he will cause them to rule[ey] over the many, and he will distribute land for a price.
40 “And at the time of the end the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots[ez] and with horsemen and with many ships, and he will advance against the countries and he will sweep through like a flood.[fa] 41 And he will come into the beautiful land[fb] and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part[fc] of the Ammonites.[fd] 42 And he will stretch out his hand against countries and the land of Egypt will not escape.[fe] 43 And he will rule over the treasures of gold and the silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Cushites will follow in his footsteps. 44 But reports will terrify him from the east and from the north, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and to exterminate many. 45 And then he will pitch the tents of his palace between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain,[ff] and he will come to his end, and there is no one[fg] helping him.”
The Time of the Judgment and the Resurrection of Two Groups
12 “Now at that time, Michael, the great prince, will arise, the protector[fh] over the sons of your people, and it will be a time of distress that has not been since your people have been[fi] a nation until that time. And at that time your people will escape, everyone who is found[fj] written in the scroll.[fk] 2 And many from those sleeping in the dusty ground[fl] will awake, some to everlasting life[fm] and some to disgrace and everlasting contempt.[fn] 3 But the ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and the ones providing justice for the many[fo] will be like the stars forever and ever.[fp] 4 But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and seal the scroll[fq] until the time of the end; many will run back and forth and knowledge will increase.”
5 Then I looked, I myself, Daniel, and look, there were two others standing: one on this bank of the stream and one on the other.[fr] 6 Then he said to the man who was clothed in linen who was above[fs] the water of the stream,[ft] “How long until[fu] the end of the wonders?” 7 And I heard the man who was clothed in linen who was above[fv] the water of the stream,[fw] and he raised his right hand and his left hand to heaven and he swore by the one who lives forever[fx] that an appointed time, appointed times, and half an appointed time would pass when the shattering of the power of the holy people[fy] would be completed;[fz] then all these things will be accomplished.
Daniel Seeks Additional Insights
8 Now I myself heard, but I did not understand, and I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?” 9 And he said, “Go, Daniel, for the words are secret and are sealed up until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified and will be cleansed and will be refined, but the wicked will act wickedly and none of the wicked will understand,[ga] but those who have insight[gb] will understand. 11 And from the time the regular burnt offering is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set up[gc] there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Happy is the one who is persevering, and attains to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. 13 But you, go on to the end and rest, and you will arise for your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”
God Commands Hosea to Start a Family
1 The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 At the beginning when Yahweh spoke[gd] through Hosea,
Yahweh said to Hosea,
“Go, take for yourself a wife and children of whoredom,
because the land commits great whoredom
forsaking Yahweh.”[ge]
3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim,
and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And Yahweh said to him,
“Name him[gf] Jezreel;[gg]
because in a little while I will punish[gh] the house of Jehu[gi]
for the blood[gj] of Jezreel,[gk]
and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.[gl]
5 On that day[gm]
I will break the bow of Israel
in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he[gn] said to him,
“Name her[go] Lo-ruhamah,[gp]
for I will no longer have pity
on the house of Israel
or forgive them.[gq]
7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah
and I will save them by Yahweh their God,
and will not deliver them
by bow, sword, war,
horses, or horsemen.
8 And when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah,[gr] she conceived and bore a son.
9 And he[gs] said, “Name him[gt] Lo-ammi,[gu]
for you are not my people
and I am not your God.[gv]
10 [gw] The number of the children of Israel
will be like the sand of the sea
that cannot be measured or counted;
and in the place where it is said to them,
“You are not my people,”
it will be said to them,
“Children of the living God.”
11 Then the children of Judah
and Israel will be gathered together,
and they will appoint for themselves
one head;
and they will take possession of[gx] the land,
for great is the day of Jezreel.[gy]
The Unfaithful Wife
2 Say to your brother,[gz] “Ammi,”[ha]
and to your sister,[hb] “Ruhamah.”[hc]
2 Plead with your mother, plead—
because she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her put away her whoring from before her,[hd]
and her adultery from between her breasts.
3 Lest I strip her naked
and expose her like the day when she was born;
I will make her like the desert
and turn her into parched land;
I will kill her with thirst.
4 And I will not have pity on her children,
because they are children of whoredom.
5 Because their mother was unfaithful;[he]
she who conceived them has acted shamefully,
for she said:
“I will go after my lovers,
the ones who give me my bread, my water,
my wool, and my flax,
my oil, and my drink.”
6 Therefore, Look!
I am going to hedge her path[hf] with thorns,[hg]
and I will build a stone wall, a stone wall against her,
and she will not find her paths.
7 Then she will pursue her lovers,[hh]
but she will not overtake them;
she will seek them and not find them;
and she will say, “I will go
and return to my first husband
because it was better for me then than now.”
8 But she did not know
that it was I who gave her
grain, new wine, and oil,
and who gave her silver in abundance,
and gold which they made into a Baal.
9 Therefore I will take again
my grain in its time,
and my wine in its season;
and I will take away my wool and my flax,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10 And now I will uncover her nakedness
before the eyes of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from my hand.
11 And I will put an end to all her mirth,
her festivals,[hi] her new moons,[hj] and her Sabbaths,[hk]
and all her appointed festivals;[hl]
12 and I will lay waste to her vines[hm] and her fig trees,[hn]
of which she said,
“They are my payment for prostitution,
which my lovers gave to me.”
I will make them a forest,
and the wild animals[ho] of the field will devour them.
13 I will punish her[hp] for the days of the Baals,
to whom she burns incense,
and she decked herself with her ornamental ring and jewelry,
and she went after her lovers, and forgot me
—a declaration of Yahweh.
14 Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her
and bring her into the desert,
and I will speak tenderly to her.[hq]
15 From there I will give her
her vineyards,
and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope.
And there she will respond,
as in the days of her youth,
just as in the day of her coming out of
the land of Egypt.
16 And on that day—[hr]
a declaration of Yahweh—
you will call me, “My husband;”[hs]
you will no longer call me, “My Baal.”[ht]
17 I will remove the names
of the Baals from her mouth,
and they will no longer be mentioned by their name.
18 I will make a covenant for them on that day,
with the animals[hu] of the field,
with the birds[hv] of the heaven, and
with the creeping things[hw] of the ground;
the bow, the sword, and the war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety.
19 And I will take you as my wife forever;
I will take you as a wife for myself in righteousness and in justice,
in steadfast love and in mercy.
20 I will take you as my wife[hx] in faithfulness,
and you will know Yahweh.
21 On that day I will answer, declares Yahweh,[hy]
I will answer the heavens,
and they will answer the earth.
22 And the earth will answer
the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and they will answer Jezreel.[hz]
23 I will sow her for myself in the land;
I will have pity on Lo-ruhama;[ia]
I will say to Lo-ammi,[ib]
“You are my people,”
and he himself will say, “you are my God.”
Another Symbolic Marriage
3 And Yahweh said to me again,
“Go, love a woman
who has a lover[ic] and is committing adultery,
just like the love of Yahweh for the children of Israel,
but they are turning to other gods
and love raisin cakes.”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver
and a homer of barely and a measure of wine.[id]
3 And I said to her,
“You must remain as mine[ie] for many days,
and you will not play the whore;
you will not belong[if] to a man,
and I will belong to you.”
4 The children of Israel will remain for many days
without a king and prince,
without sacrifice and stone pillar, ephod and teraphim.
5 Afterward the children of Israel will return
and seek Yahweh their God and David their king.
They will come in fear to Yahweh
and to his goodness at the end of days.
Yahweh Has an Indictment
4 Hear the word of Yahweh, O children of Israel,
for Yahweh has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or loyalty,
there is no knowledge of God in the land.
2 Swearing and lying,
murdering and stealing,
and adultery break out,[ig]
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
and all those living in it languish
with the animals of the field,
and the birds of the heaven,
and even the fish of the sea
are being swept away.
4 Yet, let no one contend,
and let no one accuse,
for with you, O priest, is my contention.[ih]
5 You will stumble by day,
and the priest also will stumble
with you at night.
And I will destroy your mother;
6 My people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,
I reject you from acting as a priest for me.[ii]
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I will also forget your children.[ij]
7 When they became many, their sin increased against me;
they changed[ik] their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of my people,[il]
they are greedy[im] for their iniquity.
9 And it will be like people, like priest;
I will punish them[in] for their[io] ways,
and I will requite them[ip] for their[iq] deeds.
10 They will eat and not be satisfied;
they will play the whore and not multiply,
because they have forsaken Yahweh to devote themselves to
11 whoredom.[ir]
Wine and new wine take away the understanding.[is]
12 My people,
consult their wooden idols,[it]
and their divining rod gives them oracles;
because a spirit of whoredom led them astray,
and they played the whore from under their God.[iu]
13 On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice,
and on the hills they make offerings,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their[iv] shade is good.
Therefore your daughters play the whore,
and all your daughters-in-law[iw] commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters[ix] when they play the whore,
or your daughters-in-law[iy] when they commit adultery;
because they go aside with whores,
and they sacrifice with temple prostitutes,
a people that does not understand comes to ruin.
15 Even though you, O Israel, are playing the whore,
do not let Judah become guilty;
do not enter Gilgal,
or go up to Beth-aven;
and do not swear,
“As Yahweh lives!”[iz]
16 Indeed, like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
Now Yahweh will feed them,
like a lamb in broad pasture.[ja]
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
let him alone.
18 When their drinking has ended,
they surely indulge in sexual orgies.
They love lewdness more than their[jb] glory.
19 A wind has wrapped them[jc] in its wings,
and they will be ashamed because of their altars.
The Priests Are a Snare
5 Hear this, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
Because the judgment applies to you;
because you have been a snare for Mizpah,
and a net spread out on Tabor;
2 they dug a deep pit[jd] in Shittim,
but I am a punishment for all of them.
3 I myself know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
because now you have played the whore, O Ephraim—
Israel is defiled.
4 Their deeds do not permit them
to return them to God.
Because a spirit of whoredom is in their midst,
they do not know Yahweh.
5 The pride of Israel testifies against him,[je]
and Israel and Ephraim stumble in their guilt,
and Judah stumbles with them.
6 With their flocks[jf] and herds[jg] they will go
to seek Yahweh, but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt faithlessly with Yahweh
because they have borne illegitimate children.
Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
8 Blow the horn[jh] in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm in Beth-aven;
look behind you, Benjamin.
9 Ephraim will be a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I will reveal what is true.
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who remove a landmark;
on them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
crushed in judgment,
because he was determined
to go after filth.[ji]
12 But I am like a maggot to Ephraim
and like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 And when Ephraim saw his illness,
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria,
he sent to the great king.[jj]
But he was unable to cure you
and heal your wound.
14 Because I will be like a lion to Ephraim
and like a fierce strong lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear and I will go;
I will carry off, and there is no one who delivers.
15 I will return again[jk] to my place
until they acknowledge their guilt
and seek my face;
in their distress they will search[jl] me.
A Call to Yahweh
6 Come, let us return to Yahweh;
because it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
he has struck us down and will bind us up.
2 He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live in his presence.[jm]
3 Let us know, let us press on to know Yahweh;
his rising is sure like the dawn.
He will come like the showers to us,
like the spring rain that waters the earth.
4 What will I do with you, O Ephraim?
What will I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early in the morning.
5 Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment[jn] goes forth like the light.
6 Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 Gilead is a city of evil,
a cunning city because of blood.[jo]
9 Like bandits lying in wait,
so is a band of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem;
indeed, they commit a monstrous crime.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible;
Ephraim’s unfaithfulness is there.
Israel is defiled.
Ephraim’s Guilt
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed,
when I restore the fortunes of my people,
7 when I would heal Israel,
and the corruption of Ephraim is revealed,
and the wicked deeds of Samaria;
because they deal in falsehood,
the thief breaks in,[jp]
and the bandit raids the outside.
2 But they did not consider[jq]
that I remember all their wickedness.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
3 By their wickedness they make the king glad,
and the officials by their treacheries.
4 All of them commit adultery,
like a burning oven
whose baker has stopped from stirring the fire,
and from kneading the dough until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king, the princes
became sick with the heat of wine;[jr]
he stretched out his hand with mockers.
6 Because they are kindled[js] like an oven,
their heart burns within them;
all night their anger smolders,[jt]
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour[ju] their rulers.
All their kings have fallen;
there is none who calls to me amongst them.
8 Ephraim mixes himself
with the nations;
Ephraim is a bread cake
not turned over.
9 Foreigners devour[jv] his strength,
and he does not know it;
mold[jw] is also sprinkled upon him,
and he does not know it.
10 The pride of Israel testifies against him[jx]—
they do not return to Yahweh their God;
they do not seek him for all of this.[jy]
11 Ephraim was like a dove,
silly, without sense;[jz]
they call to Egypt,
they go to Assyria.
12 Just as they go, I will cast my net
over them;
I will bring them down
like the birds[ka] of the heavens;[kb]
I will discipline them
according to a report to their assembly.[kc]
13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me!
I myself would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry out to me from their heart,
but they wail on their beds;
because of grain and new wine they lacerate[kd] themselves;
they depart from me.
15 And I myself trained
and strengthened their arms;
but they plan evil against me.
16 They turn, not to the Most High,[ke]
like a slack bow;
their officials will fall by the sword
because of the anger of their tongue.
This is their scorn[kf]
in the land of Egypt.
Israel Rejects the Good
8 Put to your lips the trumpet
like a vulture over the house of Yahweh,
because they have broken my covenant[kg]
and rebelled against my law.
2 They cry out to me,
“My God! We, Israel, know you!”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy will pursue him.
4 They appointed kings, but not through me;
they made officials, but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold
they made idols for themselves
for their[kh] own destruction.[ki]
5 Your calf is rejected,[kj] O Samaria;
my anger burns against them.
How long[kk] will they be incapable of innocence?
6 Because it is from Israel,
an artisan made it,
it is not a god;
for the calf of Samaria
will be broken to pieces.
7 Because they sow the wind,
they will reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain does not have heads;[kl]
it will not yield flour.
And if it would yield,
strangers would devour it.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now they are among the nations,
like an object that no one desires.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild donkey alone to itself;
Ephraim has sold itself for lovers.
10 Even though they have sold themselves to the nations,
now I will gather them.
They will soon writhe
from the burden of kings[km] and princes.
11 When Ephraim multiplied altars
to expiate sins,
they became to him altars to sin on.
12 I write for him myriads of my instruction;[kn]
they are regarded as a strange thing.
13 They offer sacrifices of my choice[ko]
and they eat flesh;
Yahweh does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten his maker and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
but I will send fire on his cities
and it will devour her strongholds.
Ephraim Faces Punishment
9 Do not rejoice, O Israel,
do not exult like the nations!
For you played the whore, departing from your God;
you loved a harlot’s wage
on all the threshing floors of grain.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat will not feed them,
and new wine will fail her.[kp]
3 They will not remain
in the land of Yahweh.
But Ephraim will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
4 They will not pour drink offerings of wine to Yahweh,
and their sacrifices will not please him.
They are like mourners’ bread for them;
all those who eat it will be defiled.
For their bread will be for their hunger;[kq]
it will not come to the house of Yahweh.
5 What will you do on the day of the appointed time,
and on the day of the festival of Yahweh?
6 For look! If they flee from the destruction,
Egypt will gather them;
Memphis[kr] will bury them.
Nettles will possess
their precious things of silver;
thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of retribution have come;
Israel knows!
The prophet is a fool,
the man of the spirit is acting like a madman.
Because of the greatness of your sin,
your hostility is great.
8 The prophet keeps watch over Ephraim for my God;
the snare of a fowler is on all his ways,
and hostility in the house of his God.
9 They deeply corrupted themselves[ks]
as in the days of Gibeah;
he will remember their sin,
he will punish their sins.
10 Like the grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like early ripened fruit on the fig tree in the first season,[kt]
I saw your ancestors.[ku]
They themselves came to Baal Peor,
and they consecrated themselves to shame.
And they became detestable things,
like the thing they love.[kv]
11 Ephraim’s glory is like a bird;
it will fly away—
no birth, no pregnancy, and no conception.
12 Even though they bring up their children,
I will bereave them before maturity.[kw]
Woe to them indeed,
when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I see it,
is like a palm in a meadow;
but Ephraim must bring out
his children to the slayer.
14 Give them, O Yahweh—
what will you give them?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal,
so I began to hate them there;
because of the evil of their deeds
I will drive them out from my house.
I will love them no more;
all their officials are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken,
their root is dried up,
they shall not bear fruit.
Even if they give birth,
I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.
17 My God will reject them
because they did not listen to him,
and they will be wanderers among the nations.
Israel Is Punished
10 Israel is a luxuriant vine;[kx]
he yields fruit for himself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he made numerous altars.
The more his land prospered,
the more he[ky] improved[kz] his stone pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
He himself[la] will break down their altars;
he will destroy their stone pillars.
3 For now they will say,
“We have no king;
indeed, we did not fear Yahweh,
and what can a king do for us?”
4 They utter words of vain oaths
when making covenants,[lb]
and judgment blossoms like a poisonous plant
on the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants[lc] of Samaria tremble
for the calf[ld] of Beth-aven.
Indeed, his people will mourn for it,
and his idolatrous priests will wail[le] over it—
over its glory because it has departed from it.
6 It will also be brought to Assyria,
as tribute to the great king.[lf]
Ephraim will obtain disgrace
and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.[lg]
7 Samaria will be destroyed;
her king is like a chip on the surface of the water.
8 The high places of Aven,
the sin of Israel, will be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle will grow
on their altars.
They will say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have remained.[lh]
Will not war in Gibeah overtake them
against the children of evil?
10 In my desire[li] I will punish them;
nations will be gathered against them
when they are punished for their double iniquities.[lj]
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer,
that loved to thresh grain,
and I myself spared[lk]
the fairness of her neck;
I will make Ephraim break the ground,
Judah will plow,
Jacob must till for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap loyal love.[ll]
Break up for yourself fallow ground;
it is time to seek Yahweh
so he will come and rain
righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed wickedness,
you have reaped injustice,
you have eaten the fruit of lies,[lm]
because you have trusted in your strength,
in the multitude of your warriors.
14 The tumult of war will rise up against your people,
and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel;
on the day of war
mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.[ln]
15 So it will be done to you, O Bethel,
because of the evil of your wickedness;
at dawn, the king of Israel
will be utterly destroyed.
God Will Have Compassion
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 When I called[lo] them, they went from my face.[lp]
They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.
3 And I myself taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them[lq] in my[lr] arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I drew them with human ties,[ls]
with the bands of love.
I was to them like one who lifted up[lt] a yoke on their jaws,[lu]
though I bent down to them[lv] and let them[lw] eat.
5 He will return[lx] to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria will be his king,[ly]
because they refused to return.
6 The sword rages in his cities;
it consumes his false prophets
and devours because of their plans.
7 My people are bent on backsliding from me.
To the Most High they call,
he does not raise them at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart is disturbed[lz] within me;
all[ma] my compassions are aroused.
9 I will not execute[mb] my fierce anger,[mc]
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
because I am God
and not a mortal,[md]
the Holy One in your midst;
and I will not come in wrath.
10 They will go after Yahweh;
he roars like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling
from the sea.[me]
11 They will tremble like birds[mf] from Egypt,
and like doves[mg] from the land of Assyria;
and I will let them return[mh] to their homes—
a declaration of Yahweh.
Israel’s History
12 [mi] Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,[mj]
and the house of Israel with deceit;
and Judah is still wandering with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.
12 Ephraim herds the wind[mk]
and is pursuing the east wind all day long;
he multiplies deception and violence
and he[ml] makes a treaty with Assyria,[mm]
and oil is brought to Egypt.
2 Yahweh has a quarrel[mn] with Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he deceived his brother,
and in his manhood he struggled with God.
4 He struggled with the angel and prevailed;
he pleaded for his mercy.
He met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.[mo]
5 Yahweh the God of hosts,
Yahweh is his renowned name!
6 But you, you must return to your God;
keep love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.
7 The trader, in his hand are scales of deceit;[mp]
he loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich,
I gained[mq] wealth for myself;
in all my toil they have not found guilt in me
that is sin.
9 But I am Yahweh your God
since[mr] the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
like the days of the appointed festival.
10 I spoke to the prophets;
I myself multiplied revelations[ms]
and through the hand of the prophets I will destroy.
11 If in Gilead there is evil,
surely they will come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
also their altars will be like stone heaps
on furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled to the open field of Aram,[mt]
and Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he watched over sheep.
13 And by a prophet Yahweh brought
Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet
he[mu] was watched over.
14 Ephraim has caused bitter provocation,
and his Lord will hold him responsible for his crimes[mv]
and pay back to him his insults.
Yahweh’s Judgment on Idolatrous Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke,[mw] there was terror;
he was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
2 And now they sin again,
and they make for themselves a molten idol,
idols from their silver metal according to their understanding,
all of them the work of skilled craftsmen.
To these they say, “Sacrifice!”
People are kissing bull calves.
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning cloud,
and like the dew of early morning going away,
like chaff swirling from the threshing floor,
or like smoke from a window.
4 I am Yahweh your God
since[mx] the land of Egypt;
you know no god except me,
and no one saves besides me.
5 I fed you[my] in the desert,
in the land of drought.
6 When I fed them,[mz] they were satisfied;
they were satisfied and their heart was lifted up;
therefore they forgot me.
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