Old/New Testament
12 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and chases after the east wind all day long.
He multiplies lies and devastation.
They make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
A History of Rebellion
2 The Lord has a dispute with Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways,
and repay him according to his doings.
3 In the womb, he took his brother by the heel,
and by his strength he strove with God.
4 He struggled with the angel, and prevailed;
he wept, and sought favor from Him.
He found Him in Bethel,
and there He spoke with us.
5 As for the Lord the God of Hosts,
the Lord is the name by which He is invoked!
6 But as for you, return to your God,
hold fast to mercy and justice,
and wait on your God continually.
7 A merchant, in whose hands are deceitful balances,
he loves to oppress.
8 Ephraim said,
“Yet I am rich, I have found wealth for myself.
In all my labors, they shall find no offense in me
that would be sin.”
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt.
I will again make you to dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I have spoken by the prophets,
and I have multiplied visions,
and through the prophets I will bring destruction.[a]
11 In Gilead there is iniquity;
surely they will come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
so their altars will be like stone heaps
in the furrows of the fields.
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
and Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he kept sheep.
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was preserved.
14 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly,
so his Lord shall leave his bloodguilt on him
and repay him for his reproach.
God’s Unrelenting Judgment on Israel
13 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
he was exalted in Israel.
But he incurred guilt through Baal worship and he died.
2 And now they continue sinning
and have made a cast image for themselves,
idols of their silver, according to their understanding;
all of them the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Those who sacrifice[b]
are kissing calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud,
or like the early dew that passes away,
like chaff blown off the threshing floor,
or like the smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I am the Lord your God
ever since the land of Egypt.
You know no God but Me,
and there is no savior besides Me.
5 I knew[c] you in the wilderness,
in the land of great drought.
6 When they had pasture, they were satisfied.
They were satisfied, and their heart was exalted;
therefore they forgot Me.
7 So I will be like a lion to them,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
8 I will attack them like a bear bereaved of her cubs,
and will tear open their rib cage.
There I will devour them like a lion,
as the wild beast would tear them to pieces.
9 O Israel, you are destroyed,[d]
but in Me is your help.
10 Where now is your king
that he may save you in all your cities?
And where are your judges of whom you said,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I gave you a king in My anger,
and took him away in My wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
his sin is stored up.
13 The pains of childbirth come for him.
He is an unwise son,
for he does not present himself
at the opening of the womb.
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem them from Death.
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
15 Though he be fruitful among his brothers,
the east wind will come, a wind of the Lord,
rising from the wilderness.
And his spring shall become dry,
his fountain shall be dried up.
It shall plunder his treasury
of every desirable thing.
16 Samaria will be held guilty,
for she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
their infants will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.
A Plea for Repentance
14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity,
and accept that which is good;
and we will offer the fruit[e] of our lips!
3 Assyria will not save us,
we will not ride on horses.
We will no longer say, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In You the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will heal their backsliding;
I will love them freely,
for My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall grow like the lily
and shall strike his roots
like Lebanon.
6 His branches will spread out,
and his beauty shall be like the olive tree,
and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
7 Those that dwell under his shadow will return,
they will flourish like the grain
and grow as a vine.
Their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after him.
I am like a green fir tree;
your fruit is found in Me.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever prudent, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the just will walk in them;
but the transgressors stumble in them.
The Heavenly Worship
4 After this I looked. And there was an open door in heaven. The first voice I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit. And there was a throne set in heaven with One sitting on the throne! 3 And He who sat there appeared like a jasper and a sardius stone. There was a rainbow around the throne, appearing like an emerald. 4 Twenty-four thrones were around the throne. And I saw twenty-four elders sitting on the thrones, clothed in white garments. They had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 Lightnings and thunderings and voices proceeded from the throne. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6 Before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal.
In the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures had six wings each, and they were covered with eyes all around. All day and night, without ceasing, they were saying:
“ ‘Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,’[a]
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 When the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him, who lives forever and ever. Then they cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honor and power;
for You have created all things,
and by Your will they exist
and were created.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.