Old/New Testament
Chapter 12
Infidelity of Israel[a]
1 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
the house of Israel, with deceit;
Judah still wanders about with gods,
and is faithful to holy ones.[b]
2 [c]Ephraim shepherds the wind,
and pursues the east wind all day long.
He multiplies lies and violence:
They make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
3 The Lord has a dispute with Judah,
and will punish Jacob[d] for his conduct,
and repay him for his deeds.
4 In the womb he supplanted his brother,(A)
and in his vigor he contended with a divine being;
5 He contended with an angel and prevailed,(B)
he wept and entreated him.
At Bethel he met with him,
and there he spoke with him.(C)
6 The Lord is the God of hosts,
the Lord is his name!(D)
7 You must return to your God.
Maintain loyalty and justice
and always hope in your God.
8 A merchant who holds a false balance,
he loves to extort!
9 Ephraim has said,
“How rich I have become;
I have made a fortune!”(E)
All his gain will not suffice
for the guilt of his sin.
10 I the Lord have been your God,
since the land of Egypt;(F)
I will again have you live in tents,
as on feast days.
11 I spoke to the prophets,
I granted many visions,(G)
and through the prophets I told parables.
12 In Gilead is falsehood, they have come to nothing;
in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
But their altars are like heaps of stones(H)
in the furrows of the field.
13 Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
and Israel served for a wife;
for a wife he tended sheep.(I)
14 But by a prophet[e] the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
and by a prophet Israel was tended.(J)
15 Ephraim has aroused bitter anger,
so his Lord shall cast his bloodguilt upon him
and repay him for his scorn.
Chapter 13
The Death of Ephraim
1 When Ephraim spoke there was terror;
he was exalted in Israel;[f]
but he became guilty through Baal and died.
2 Now they continue to sin,
making for themselves molten images,
Silver idols according to their skill,(K)
all of them the work of artisans.
“To these, offer sacrifice,” they say.
People kiss calves
3 Therefore, they will be like a morning cloud
or like the dew that vanishes with the dawn,
Like chaff storm-driven from the threshing floor(M)
or like smoke out of the window.
4 I, the Lord, am your God,
since the land of Egypt;[h](N)
Gods apart from me you do not know;
there is no savior but me.(O)
5 I fed you in the wilderness,
in the parched land.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when satisfied, they became proud,
therefore they forgot me.
7 So, I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard by the road I will keep watch.
8 (P)I will attack them like a bear robbed of its young,
and tear their hearts from their breasts;
I will devour them on the spot like a lion,
as a wild animal would rip them open.
9 [i]I destroy you, Israel!
who is there to help you?
10 Where now is your king,
that he may rescue you?
And all your princes,
that they may defend you?
Of whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?(Q)
11 I give you a king in my anger,
and I take him away in my wrath.[j]
12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up,
his sin is stored away.
13 [k]The birth pangs will come for him,(R)
but this is an unwise child,
Who, when it is time, does not present himself
at the mouth of the womb.(S)
14 [l]Shall I deliver them from the power of Sheol?
shall I redeem them from death?
Where are your plagues, O death!
where is your sting, Sheol!(T)
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
15 Though Ephraim[m] may flourish among his brothers,
an east wind(U) will come, a wind from the Lord,
rising from the wilderness,
That will dry up his spring,
and leave his fountain dry.
It will loot his treasury
of every precious thing.
Chapter 14
1 Samaria[n] has become guilty,
for she has rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
their infants shall be dashed to pieces,(V)
their pregnant women shall be ripped open.(W)
Sincere Conversion and New Life
2 Return, Israel, to the Lord, your God;
you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
3 Take with you words,
and return to the Lord;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and take what is good.
Let us offer the fruit of our lips.(X)
4 [o]Assyria will not save us,
nor will we mount horses;(Y)
We will never again say, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”(Z)
5 I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely;
for my anger is turned away from them.
6 I will be like the dew for Israel:(AA)
he will blossom like the lily;
He will strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
7 and his shoots will go forth.(AB)
His splendor will be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like Lebanon cedar.(AC)
8 Again they will live in his shade;
they will raise grain,
They will blossom like the vine,
and his renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
9 Ephraim! What more have I to do with idols?(AD)
I have humbled him, but I will take note of him.
I am like a verdant cypress tree.[p]
From me fruit will be found for you!
Epilogue
III. God and the Lamb in Heaven
Chapter 4
Vision of Heavenly Worship.[a] 1 After this I had a vision of an open door[b] to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, “Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards.” 2 [c]At once I was caught up in spirit.(A) A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat 3 one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald. 4 Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders[d] sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.(B) 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder.[e] Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. 6 (C)In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal.[f]
In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a human being, and the fourth looked like an eagle[g] in flight. 8 The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,[h] were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”(D)
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:
11 “Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created.”(E)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.