Old/New Testament
Ephraim Reminded
12 [a]Ephraim feeds on (A)wind,
And pursues the (B)east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, [b]he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is carried to Egypt.
2 The Lord also has a (C)dispute with Judah,
And will punish Jacob (D)according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he (E)took his brother by the heel,
And in his maturity he (F)contended with God.
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and (G)sought His favor.
He found Him at (H)Bethel
And there He spoke with us,
5 Even the Lord, the God of hosts,
The Lord is His [c](I)name.
6 Therefore, (J)return to your God,
(K)Observe [d]kindness and justice,
And (L)wait for your God continually.
7 A [e]merchant, in whose hands are false (M)balances,
He loves to oppress.
8 And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become (N)rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
(O)No iniquity, which would be sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you (P)live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival.
10 I have also spoken to the (Q)prophets,
And I [f]gave numerous visions,
And through the prophets I gave (R)parables.
11 Is there iniquity in Gilead?
Surely they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, (S)their altars are like the stone heaps
Beside the furrows of the field.
12 Now (T)Jacob fled to the [g]land of Aram,
And (U)Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept sheep.
13 But by a (V)prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was kept.
14 (W)Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his (X)bloodguilt on him
And bring back his (Y)reproach to him.
Ephraim’s Idolatry
13 (Z)When Ephraim [h]spoke, there was trembling.
He (AA)exalted himself in Israel,
But through (AB)Baal he [i]did wrong and died.
2 And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves (AC)molten images,
Idols [j](AD)skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the (AE)work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the [k]men who sacrifice kiss the (AF)calves!”
3 Therefore they will be like the (AG)morning cloud
And like dew which [l]soon disappears,
Like (AH)chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor
And like (AI)smoke from a [m]chimney.
4 Yet I have been the (AJ)Lord your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know (AK)any god except Me,
For there is no savior (AL)besides Me.
5 I [n](AM)cared for you in the wilderness,
(AN)In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became (AO)satisfied,
And being satisfied, their (AP)heart became proud;
Therefore they (AQ)forgot Me.
7 So I will be (AR)like a lion to them;
Like a (AS)leopard I will [o]lie in wait by the wayside.
8 I will encounter them (AT)like a bear robbed of her cubs,
And I will tear open [p]their chests;
There I will also (AU)devour them like a lioness,
As a wild beast would tear them.
9 It is your destruction, O Israel,
[q]That you are (AV)against Me, against your (AW)help.
10 Where now is your (AX)king
That he may save you in all your cities,
And your (AY)judges of whom you [r]requested,
“Give me a king and princes”?
11 I (AZ)gave you a king in My anger
And (BA)took him away in My wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is (BB)stored up.
13 The pains of (BC)childbirth come upon him;
He is (BD)not a wise son,
For [s]it is not the time that he should (BE)delay at the opening of the womb.
14 Shall I (BF)ransom them from the [t]power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
(BG)O Death, where are your thorns?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
(BH)Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
15 Though he (BI)flourishes among the [u]reeds,
An (BJ)east wind will come,
The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will (BK)become dry
And his spring will be dried up;
It will (BL)plunder his treasury of every precious article.
16 [v]Samaria will be held (BM)guilty,
For she has (BN)rebelled against her God.
(BO)They will fall by the (BP)sword,
Their little ones will be (BQ)dashed in pieces,
And their pregnant (BR)women will be ripped open.
Israel’s Future Blessing
14 [w](BS)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled [x]because of your (BT)iniquity.
2 Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “(BU)Take away all iniquity
And [y]receive us graciously,
That we may (BV)present [z]the fruit of our lips.
3 “Assyria will not save us,
We will (BW)not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘(BX)Our god,’
To the (BY)work of our hands;
For in (BZ)You the [aa]orphan finds mercy.”
4 I will (CA)heal their apostasy,
I will (CB)love them freely,
For My anger has (CC)turned away from them.
5 I will be like the (CD)dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the (CE)lily,
And he will [ab]take root like the cedars of (CF)Lebanon.
6 His shoots will [ac]sprout,
And his [ad]beauty will be like the (CG)olive tree
And his fragrance like the cedars of (CH)Lebanon.
7 Those who (CI)live in his shadow
Will [ae]again raise (CJ)grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
Scene in Heaven
4 After (A)these things I looked, and behold, (B)a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, (C)like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “(D)Come up here, and I will (E)show you what must take place after these things.” 2 Immediately I was [a](F)in the Spirit; and behold, (G)a throne was standing in heaven, and (H)One sitting on the throne. 3 And He who was sitting was like a (I)jasper stone and a (J)sardius in appearance; and there was a [b](K)rainbow around the throne, like an (L)emerald in appearance. 4 (M)Around the throne were (N)twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw (O)twenty-four elders (P)sitting, clothed in (Q)white garments, and (R)golden crowns on their heads.
The Throne and Worship of the Creator
5 Out from the throne come (S)flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were (T)seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are (U)the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a (V)sea of glass, like crystal; and in the [c]center and (W)around the throne, (X)four living creatures (Y)full of eyes in front and behind. 7 (Z)The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the (AA)four living creatures, each one of them having (AB)six wings, are (AC)full of eyes around and within; and (AD)day and night [d]they do not cease to say,
“(AE)Holy, holy, holy is the (AF)Lord God, the Almighty, (AG)who was and who is and who [e]is to come.”
9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who (AH)sits on the throne, to (AI)Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the (AJ)twenty-four elders will (AK)fall down before Him who (AL)sits on the throne, and will worship (AM)Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their (AN)crowns before the throne, saying,
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