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Good News Translation (GNT)
Version
Hosea 10-14

10 The people of Israel were like a grapevine that was full of grapes. The more prosperous they were, the more altars they built. The more productive their land was, the more beautiful they made the sacred stone pillars they worship. The people whose hearts are deceitful must now suffer for their sins. God will break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars.

These people will soon be saying, “We have no king because we did not fear the Lord. But what could a king do for us anyway?” They utter empty words and make false promises and useless treaties. Justice has become injustice, growing like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

The people who live in the city of Samaria will be afraid and will mourn the loss of the gold bull[a] at Bethaven.[b] They and the priests who serve the idol will weep over it. They will wail when it is stripped of its golden splendor. The idol will be carried off to Assyria as tribute to the great emperor. The people of Israel will be disgraced and put to shame because of the advice they followed. Their king will be carried off, like a chip of wood on water. (A)The hilltop shrines of Aven,[c] where the people of Israel worship idols, will be destroyed. Thorns and weeds will grow up over their altars. The people will call out to the mountains, “Hide us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”

The Lord Pronounces Judgment on Israel

(B)The Lord says, “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah.[d] So at Gibeah war will catch up with them. 10 I will attack[e] this sinful people and punish them. Nations will join together against them, and they will be punished for their many sins.

11 “Israel was once like a well-trained young cow, ready and willing to thresh grain. But I decided to put a yoke[f] on her beautiful neck and to harness her for harder work. I made Judah pull the plow and Israel pull the harrow. 12 (C)I said, ‘Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord, and I will come and pour out blessings upon you.’ 13 But instead you planted evil and reaped its harvest. You have eaten the fruit produced by your lies.

“Because you trusted in your chariots[g] and in the large number of your soldiers, 14 war will come to your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed. It will be like the day when King Shalman destroyed the city of Betharbel in battle, and mothers and their children were crushed to death. 15 That is what will happen to you, people of Bethel, because of the terrible evil that you have done. As soon as the battle begins, the king of Israel will die.”

God's Love for His Rebellious People

11 (D)The Lord says,

“When Israel was a child, I loved him
    and called him out of Egypt as my son.[h]
But the more I[i] called to him,
    the more he turned away from me.[j]
My people sacrificed to Baal;
    they burned incense to idols.
Yet I was the one who taught Israel to walk.
I took my people up in my arms,[k]
    but they did not acknowledge that I took care of them.
I drew them to me with affection and love.
    I picked them up and held them to my cheek;
    I bent down to them and fed them.[l]

“They refuse to return to me, and so they must return to Egypt, and Assyria will rule them. War will sweep through their cities and break down the city gates. It will destroy my people because they do what they themselves think best. They insist on turning away from me. They will cry out because of the yoke that is on them, but no one will lift it from them.[m]

(E)“How can I give you up, Israel?
    How can I abandon you?
Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah,
    or treat you as I did Zeboiim?
My heart will not let me do it!
    My love for you is too strong.
I will not punish you in my anger;
    I will not destroy Israel again.
For I am God and not a mere human being.
    I, the Holy One, am with you.
I will not come to you in anger.

10 “My people will follow me when I roar like a lion at their enemies. They will hurry to me from the west. 11 They will come from Egypt, as swiftly as birds, and from Assyria, like doves. I will bring them to their homes again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Israel and Judah Are Condemned

12 The Lord says, “The people of Israel have surrounded me with lies and deceit, and the people of Judah are still rebelling against me, the faithful and holy God.

12 Everything that the people of Israel do from morning to night is useless and destructive. Treachery and acts of violence increase among them. They make treaties with Assyria and do business with Egypt.”

The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people of Judah; he is also going to punish Israel for the way her people act. He will pay them back for what they have done. (F)Their ancestor Jacob struggled with his twin brother Esau while the two of them were still in their mother's womb; when Jacob grew up, he fought against God— (G)he fought against an angel and won. He wept and asked for a blessing. And at Bethel God came to our ancestor Jacob and spoke with him.[n] This was the Lord God Almighty—the Lord is the name by which he is to be worshiped. So now, descendants of Jacob, trust in your God and return to him. Be loyal and just, and wait patiently for your God to act.

Further Words of Judgment

The Lord says, “The people of Israel are as dishonest as the Canaanites; they love to cheat their customers with false scales. ‘We are rich,’ they say. ‘We've made a fortune. And no one can accuse us of getting rich dishonestly.’ (H)But I, the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt, I will make you live in tents again, as you did when I came to you in the desert.

10 “I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions, and through the prophets I gave my people warnings. 11 Yet idols are worshiped in Gilead, and those who worship them will die. Bulls are sacrificed in Gilgal, and the altars there will become piles of stone in the open fields.”

12 (I)Our ancestor Jacob had to flee to Mesopotamia, where, in order to get a wife, he worked for another man and took care of his sheep. 13 (J)The Lord sent a prophet to rescue the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and to take care of them. 14 The people of Israel have made the Lord bitterly angry; they deserve death for their crimes. Their Lord will punish them for the disgrace they have brought on him.

Final Judgment on Israel

13 In the past, when the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the other tribes of Israel were afraid; they looked up to Ephraim. But the people sinned by worshiping Baal, and for this they will die. They still keep on sinning by making metal images to worship—idols of silver, designed by human minds, made by human hands. And then they say, “Offer sacrifices to them!” How can anyone kiss those idols—idols in the shape of bulls![o] And so these people will disappear like morning mist, like the dew that vanishes early in the day. They will be like chaff which the wind blows from the threshing place, like smoke from a chimney.

The Lord says, “I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt. You have no God but me. I alone am your savior. (K)I took care of you in a dry, desert land. But when you entered the good land, you became full and satisfied, and then you grew proud and forgot me. So I will attack you like a lion. Like a leopard I will lie in wait along your path. I will attack you like a bear that has lost her cubs, and I will tear you open. Like a lion I will devour you on the spot, and will tear you to pieces like a wild animal.

“I will destroy you, people of Israel! Then who can help you?[p] 10 (L)You asked for a king and for leaders, but how can they save the nation?[q] 11 (M)In my anger I have given you kings, and in my fury I have taken them away.

12 “Israel's sin and guilt are on record, and the records are safely stored away. 13 Israel has a chance to live, but is too foolish to take it—like a child about to be born, who refuses to come out of the womb. 14 (N)I will not save this people from the world of the dead or rescue them from the power of death. Bring on[r] your plagues, death! Bring on[s] your destruction, world of the dead! I will no longer have pity for this people. 15 Even though Israel flourishes like weeds,[t] I will send a hot east wind from the desert, and it will dry up their springs and wells. It will take away everything of value. 16 Samaria must be punished for rebelling against me. Her people will die in war; babies will be dashed to the ground, and pregnant women will be ripped open.”

Hosea's Plea to Israel

14 Return to the Lord your God, people of Israel. Your sin has made you stumble and fall. Return to the Lord, and let this prayer be your offering to him: “Forgive all our sins and accept our prayer, and we will praise you as we have promised. Assyria can never save us, and war horses cannot protect us. We will never again say to our idols that they are our God. O Lord, you show mercy to those who have no one else to turn to.”

The Lord Promises New Life for Israel

The Lord says,

“I will bring my people back to me.
I will love them with all my heart;
    no longer am I angry with them.
I will be to the people of Israel
    like rain in a dry land.
They will blossom like flowers;
    they will be firmly rooted
    like the trees of Lebanon.
They will be alive with new growth,
    and beautiful like olive trees.
They will be fragrant
    like the cedars of Lebanon.
Once again they will live under my protection.
They will grow crops of grain
    and be fruitful like a vineyard.
    They will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
The people of Israel[u] will have nothing more to do with idols;
    I will answer their prayers and take care of them.
Like an evergreen tree I will shelter them;
    I am the source of all their blessings.”

Conclusion

May those who are wise understand what is written here, and may they take it to heart. The Lord's ways are right, and righteous people live by following them, but sinners stumble and fall because they ignore them.

Jude

(A)From Jude, servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James—

To those who have been called by God, who live in the love of God the Father and the protection of Jesus Christ:

May mercy, peace, and love be yours in full measure.

False Teachers

My dear friends, I was doing my best to write to you about the salvation we share in common, when I felt the need of writing at once to encourage you to fight on for the faith which once and for all God has given to his people. For some godless people have slipped in unnoticed among us, persons who distort the message about the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral ways, and who reject Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord. Long ago the Scriptures predicted the condemnation they have received.

(B)For even though you know all this, I want to remind you of how the Lord[a] once rescued the people of Israel from Egypt, but afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Remember the angels who did not stay within the limits of their proper authority, but abandoned their own dwelling place: they are bound with eternal chains in the darkness below, where God is keeping them for that great Day on which they will be condemned. (C)Remember Sodom and Gomorrah, and the nearby towns, whose people acted as those angels did and indulged in sexual immorality and perversion: they suffer the punishment of eternal fire as a plain warning to all.

In the same way also, these people have visions which make them sin against their own bodies; they despise God's authority and insult the glorious beings above. (D)Not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people attack with insults anything they do not understand; and those things that they know by instinct, like wild animals, are the very things that destroy them. 11 (E)How terrible for them! They have followed the way that Cain took. For the sake of money they have given themselves over to the error that Balaam committed. They have rebelled as Korah rebelled, and like him they are destroyed. 12 With their shameless carousing they are like dirty spots in your fellowship meals. They take care only of themselves. They are like clouds carried along by the wind, but bringing no rain. They are like trees that bear no fruit, even in autumn, trees that have been pulled up by the roots and are completely dead. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, with their shameful deeds showing up like foam. They are like wandering stars, for whom God has reserved a place forever in the deepest darkness.

14 (F)It was Enoch, the seventh[b] direct descendant from Adam, who long ago prophesied this about them: “The Lord will come with many thousands of his holy angels 15 to bring judgment on all, to condemn them all for the godless deeds they have performed and for all the terrible words that godless sinners have spoken against him!”

16 These people are always grumbling and blaming others; they follow their own evil desires; they brag about themselves and flatter others in order to get their own way.

Warnings and Instructions

17 But remember, my friends, what you were told in the past by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 (G)They said to you, “When the last days come, people will appear who will make fun of you, people who follow their own godless desires.” 19 These are the people who cause divisions, who are controlled by their natural desires, who do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and keep yourselves in the love of God, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life.

22 Show mercy toward those who have doubts; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; and to others show mercy mixed with fear, but hate their very clothes, stained by their sinful lusts.

Prayer of Praise

24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence— 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, from all ages past, and now, and forever and ever! Amen.

Psalm 127

In Praise of God's Goodness[a]

127 If the Lord does not build the house,
    the work of the builders is useless;
if the Lord does not protect the city,
    it does no good for the sentries to stand guard.
It is useless to work so hard for a living,
    getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves,
    while they are asleep.

Children are a gift from the Lord;
    they are a real blessing.
The sons a man has when he is young
    are like arrows in a soldier's hand.
Happy is the man who has many such arrows.
He will never be defeated
    when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.

Proverbs 29:15-17

15 Correction and discipline are good for children. If they have their own way, they will make their mothers ashamed of them.

16 When evil people are in power, crime increases. But the righteous will live to see the downfall of such people.

17 Discipline your children and you can always be proud of them. They will never give you reason to be ashamed.

Good News Translation (GNT)

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.