Old/New Testament
Israel’s Sin
12 [a]“Ephraim feeds on the wind,
chasing after the eastern winds,
storing up lies and desolation day after day.
They are making a contract with the Assyrians,
and sending oil to Egypt.
2 The Lord accuses Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him for what he does.
3 He circumvented his brother[b] in the womb,
and as an adult he fought with God.
4 He even fought the angel and won;
he cried and prayed to him.
Then at Bethel he found him,
and there he spoke with us—
5 the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies—
the Lord is his name.[c]
6 So you, return to your God;
guard grace and justice,
and look to your God always.
7 “Now as for the merchant,[d]
deceitful balances remain in his hand,
and he loves to defraud.
8 Ephraim claims,
‘I have become rich,
I have made a fortune!
Because of all my wealth,
no one will find any iniquity or sin in me.’
9 “Yet I remain the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the festival of that name.[e]
10 I spoke to the prophets,
giving revelation after revelation,
and employing parables in the prophetic writings.[f]
11 “There’s iniquity in Gilead, isn’t there?
They have become truly vain.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;
their altars are like piles of stone in furrowed fields.
12 Jacob fled into the land of Aram;[g]
Israel served there to obtain his wife,
tending sheep to gain[h] his wife.
13 “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
and by a prophet he[i] was rescued.
14 Ephraim has stirred up violent anger;
therefore the guilt of his blood will remain on him,
and his Lord will repay him for his contempt.”
The Lord’s Anger against Israel
13 “When the tribe of[j] Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
and it was exalted within Israel.
But when they offended God by Baal,
they died,
2 but now they are sinning more and more,
crafting idols from melted silver.
Their idols are made with the most exacting skill,
all of it the work of craftsmen.
People[k] say about them,
‘They offer human sacrifice,
and kiss calf-shaped idols.’[l]
3 Therefore they will be like morning clouds,
like early morning dew that evaporates,
like chaff blown away from the threshing floor,
or like smoke from a chimney.”[m]
The Lord is Israel’s God
4 “I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt,
and you have known no god except for me,
because except for me there is no savior.
5 I took care of[n] you in the wilderness,
in a waterless land.
6 As their pastures flourished,
all their desires were met.[o]
As they were satiated,
they became arrogant
and therefore ignored me.
7 “So I will be like a lion to them.
Like a leopard I will stalk them along the road.
8 I will confront them like a bear deprived of her cubs;[p]
I will tear open their ribs.
I will devour them like a lion—
the wild beasts will rip them apart.
9 “You have destroyed yourself, Israel,
although I remain your help.
10 Now where is your king?
Will he save you in all your cities?
And where are[q] your judges,
about whom you demanded,
‘Give me a king and officials!’?
11 I gave you a king in my anger,
and I took him[r] away in my fury.”
12 “Ephraim’s guilt is on record;
his sin is stored away.
13 When the time of childbirth comes,
he will be so foolish
that he will refuse to be born.”
14 “From the power of Sheol I will rescue them,
from death I will redeem them.
Death, where are[s] your plagues?
Sheol, where is[t] your destruction?
My eyes will remain closed to your pleas for[u] compassion.
15 Even though he is fruitful compared to his relatives,
an east wind will come,
the Lord’s wind storm from the wilderness,
and his spring will evaporate.
His fountain will dry up,
and the Lord’s[v] wind storm will plunder
all the expensive vessels of the treasury.
16 [w]Samaria will be held guilty,
because she has rebelled against her God.
By the sword they will fall—
with their infants dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women torn open.”
A Call to Repentance
14 [x]“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have fallen due to your own iniquity.
2 Bring a prepared speech with you
as you return to the Lord. Say to him:
‘Take away all our[y] iniquity,
and accept what is good.
Then we will present the fruit[z] of our lips.
3 Assyria won’t save us;
we won’t be riding on horses,
Nor will we be saying anymore to the work of our hands,
“You are[aa] our God.”
Indeed, in you the orphan finds mercy.’
4 “I will correct their apostasy,
loving them freely,
since my anger will have turned away from them.[ab]
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
Israel[ac] will blossom like a lily,
growing roots like the cedars of[ad] Lebanon.
6 Israel’s[ae] branches will spread out,
and its beauty will be like an olive tree,
with its scent like that of Lebanon.
7 Those who live under its protection[af] will surely return.
Their grain will flourish;
they will blossom like a vine,
and Israel’s[ag] scent will be like wine from Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim, what have I in common with idols?
I have listened and will pay attention to him.
I am like a flourishing cypress;
in me will your fruit be found.”
Concluding Counsel
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things.
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right:
the righteous follow his example,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
The Vision of God’s Throne
4 After these things, I saw a door standing open in heaven. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 Instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven with a person seated on the throne. 3 The person sitting there looked like jasper and carnelian, and there was a rainbow around the throne that looked like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were 24 other thrones, and on these thrones sat 24 elders wearing white robes and gold victor’s crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning, noises, and peals of thunder came from the throne. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.
6 In front of the throne was something like a sea of glass as clear as crystal. In the center of the throne and on each side of the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature was like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a human, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying,
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders bow down and worship in front of the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. They throw their victor’s crowns in front of the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory, honor, and power,
because you created all things;
they came into existence
and were created because of your will.”
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