Old/New Testament
Ephraim Punished
9 (A)Do not rejoice, O Israel, [a]with exultation like the [b]nations!
For you have (B)played the harlot, [c]forsaking your God.
You have loved harlots’ earnings on [d]every threshing floor.
2 Threshing floor and wine press will (C)not feed them,
And the new wine will fail [e]them.
3 They will not remain in (D)the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim will return to (E)Egypt,
And in (F)Assyria they will eat (G)unclean food.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of (H)wine to the Lord,
(I)Their sacrifices will not please Him.
Their bread will [f]be like [g]mourners’ bread;
All who eat of it will be (J)defiled,
For their bread will be for [h]themselves alone;
It will not enter the house of the Lord.
5 (K)What will you do on the day of the appointed festival
And on the day of the (L)feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they will go because of destruction;
Egypt will gather them up, (M)Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will take over their treasures of silver;
(N)Thorns will be in their tents.
7 The days of (O)punishment have come,
The days of (P)retribution have come;
[i]Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a (Q)fool,
The [j]inspired man is (R)demented,
Because of the grossness of your (S)iniquity,
And because your hostility is so great.
8 Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;
Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,
And there is only hostility in the house of his God.
9 They have gone (T)deep [k]in depravity
As in the days of (U)Gibeah;
He will (V)remember their iniquity,
He will punish their sins.
10 I found Israel like (W)grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your forefathers as the (X)earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.
But they came to (Y)Baal-peor and devoted themselves to [l](Z)shame,
And they became as (AA)detestable as that which they loved.
11 As for Ephraim, their (AB)glory will fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy and no conception!
12 Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them [m]until not a man is left.
Yes, (AC)woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pleasant meadow like (AD)Tyre;
But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—what will You give?
Give them a (AE)miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
15 All their evil is at (AF)Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the (AG)wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will love them no more;
All their princes are (AH)rebels.
16 (AI)Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,
They will bear (AJ)no fruit.
Even though they bear children,
I will slay the (AK)precious ones of their womb.
17 My God will cast them away
Because they have (AL)not listened to Him;
And they will be (AM)wanderers among the nations.
Retribution for Israel’s Sin
10 Israel is a [n]luxuriant (AN)vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he (AO)made;
The [o]richer his land,
The better [p]he made the sacred (AP)pillars.
2 Their heart is [q](AQ)faithless;
Now they must bear their (AR)guilt.
[r]The Lord will (AS)break down their altars
And destroy their sacred pillars.
3 Surely now they will say, “We have (AT)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
4 They speak mere words,
[s]With (AU)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And (AV)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the [t](AW)calf of (AX)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its (AY)idolatrous priests [u]will cry out over it,
Over its (AZ)glory, since it has departed from it.
6 The thing itself will be carried to (BA)Assyria
As tribute to [v](BB)King Jareb;
Ephraim will [w]be (BC)seized with shame
And Israel will be ashamed of its (BD)own counsel.
7 Samaria will be (BE)cut off with her king
Like a stick on the surface of the water.
8 Also the (BF)high places of Aven, the (BG)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
(BH)Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars;
Then they will (BI)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 stand!
Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When it is My (BJ)desire, I will [x](BK)chastise them;
And (BL)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.
11 Ephraim is a trained (BM)heifer that loves to thresh,
But I will (BN)come over her fair neck with a yoke;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
12 (BO)Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with [y]kindness;
(BP)Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to (BQ)seek the Lord
Until He (BR)comes to [z](BS)rain righteousness on you.
13 You have (BT)plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of (BU)lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your (BV)numerous warriors,
14 Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,
And all your (BW)fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When (BX)mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.
God Yearns over His People
11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And (BY)out of Egypt I (BZ)called My son.
2 The more [aa](CA)they called them,
The more they went from [ab]them;
They kept (CB)sacrificing to the Baals
And (CC)burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
[ac]I (CD)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I (CE)healed them.
4 I (CF)led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,
And (CG)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and (CH)fed them.
5 [ad]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be [ae]their king
Because they (CI)refused to return to Me.
6 The (CJ)sword will whirl against [af]their cities,
And will demolish [ag]their gate bars
And (CK)consume them because of their (CL)counsels.
7 So My people are bent on (CM)turning from Me.
Though [ah]they call [ai]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8 (CN)How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I [aj]make you like (CO)Admah?
How can I treat you like (CP)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
[ak]All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will (CQ)not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim (CR)again.
For (CS)I am God and not man, the (CT)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in [al]wrath.
10 They will (CU)walk after the Lord,
He will (CV)roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar
And His sons will come (CW)trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from (CX)Egypt
And like (CY)doves from the land of (CZ)Assyria;
And I will (DA)settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
Message to Sardis
3 “To the angel of the church in (A)Sardis write:
He who has (B)the seven Spirits of God and (C)the seven stars, says this: ‘(D)I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, [a]but you are (E)dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3 So (F)remember [b]what you have received and heard; and keep it, and (G)repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, (H)I will come (I)like a thief, and you will not know at (J)what hour I will come to you. 4 But you have a few [c](K)people in (L)Sardis who have not (M)soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me (N)in white, for they are worthy. 5 (O)He who overcomes will thus be clothed in (P)white garments; and I will not (Q)erase his name from the book of life, and (R)I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 (S)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Message to Philadelphia
7 “And to the angel of the church in (T)Philadelphia write:
(U)He who is holy, (V)who is true, who has (W)the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
8 ‘(X)I know your [d]deeds. Behold, I have put before you (Y)an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and (Z)have not denied My name. 9 Behold, I [e]will cause those of (AA)the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them (AB)come and bow down [f]at your feet, and make them know that (AC)I have loved you. 10 Because you have (AD)kept the word of (AE)My [g]perseverance, (AF)I also will keep you from the hour of [h](AG)testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole [i](AH)world, to [j]test (AI)those who dwell on the earth. 11 (AJ)I am coming quickly; (AK)hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your (AL)crown. 12 (AM)He who overcomes, I will make him a (AN)pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the (AO)name of My God, and (AP)the name of the city of My God, (AQ)the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My (AR)new name. 13 (AS)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Message to Laodicea
14 “To the angel of the church in (AT)Laodicea write:
(AU)The Amen, (AV)the faithful and true Witness, (AW)the [k]Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
15 ‘(AX)I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; (AY)I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will [l]spit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, “(AZ)I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to (BA)buy from Me (BB)gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and (BC)white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that (BD)the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 (BE)Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and (BF)repent. 20 Behold, I stand (BG)at the door and (BH)knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, (BI)I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 (BJ)He who overcomes, I will grant to him (BK)to sit down with Me on My throne, as (BL)I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 (BM)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.