Old/New Testament
Israel Will Not Return
4 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan on the Mountain of Samaria [C mocking the wealthy women of Samaria].
You ·take things from [oppress] the poor
and crush people who are in need.
Then you command your husbands,
“Bring us something to drink!”
2 The Lord God has ·promised [sworn] this:
“Just as surely as I am a holy God,
the time will come
when you will be taken away ·by hooks [or in baskets],
and what is left of you with fishhooks.
3 You will go straight out of the city
through ·holes [breaches] in the walls,
and you will be thrown ·on the garbage dump [on the dung heap; or out toward Harmon],” says the Lord.
4 “Come to the city of Bethel and ·sin [rebel; transgress];
come to Gilgal and ·sin [rebel; transgress] even more [C Bethel and Gilgal were important worship centers in Israel].
Offer your sacrifices every morning,
and bring ·one-tenth of your crops [your tithes] every three days.
5 Offer bread made with yeast as a sacrifice to show your thanks,
and ·brag about [publicly announce] the ·special [voluntary; freewill] offerings you bring,
because this is what you love to do, ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel],” says the Lord God.
6 “I ·did not give you any food [L gave you cleanness of teeth; C an idiom meaning “empty stomachs” and indicating starvation] in your cities,
and there was not enough to eat in any of your towns,
but you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
7 “I held back the rain from you
three months before harvest time.
Then I let it rain on one city
but not on another.
Rain fell on one field,
but another field got none and dried up.
8 ·People weak from thirst went from town to town [L Two or three cities wandered to one] for water,
but they could not get enough to drink.
Still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
9 “I ·made your crops die from [L struck you with] ·disease [blight] and mildew.
When your gardens and your vineyards got larger,
locusts ·ate [devoured] your fig and olive trees.
But still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
10 “I sent ·disasters [a plague/pestilence] against you,
as I did to Egypt.
I killed your young men with swords,
and your horses were taken from you.
I made ·you smell the stink from all the dead bodies [L the stench of your camp rise into your nostrils],
but still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
11 “I ·destroyed [overthrew] some of you
as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah [Gen. 19].
You were like a burning stick pulled from a fire,
but still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
12 “So this is what I will do to you, Israel;
because I will do this to you,
get ready to meet your God, Israel.”
13 [L For look/T behold] He is the one who ·makes [forms] the mountains
and creates the wind
and makes his thoughts known to people.
He changes the dawn into darkness
and ·walks [treads; marches] ·over the mountains [on the heights] of the earth.
His name is the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
Israel Needs to Repent
5 Listen to this ·funeral song [dirge; word of lamentation] that I ·sing about [or take up against] you, ·people [L house] of Israel.
2 “The ·young girl [virgin] Israel has fallen,
and she will not rise up again.
She was ·left alone [abandoned; forsaken] in her own land,
and there is no one to ·help [raise; lift] her up.”
3 This is what the Lord God says:
“If a thousand soldiers leave a city,
only a hundred will ·return [or remain];
if a hundred soldiers leave a city,
only ten will ·return [or remain].”
4 This is what the Lord says to the ·nation [L house] of Israel:
“·Come to [Seek] me and live.
5 But do not ·look in [seek] Bethel [C ironic, since Bethel means “house of God”; 4:4]
or go to Gilgal,
and do not go down to Beersheba [C important centers of worship in Israel; 4:4].
The people of Gilgal will ·be taken away as captives [surely go into exile],
and Bethel will become nothing.”
6 ·Come to [Seek] the Lord and live,
or he will ·move [sweep through; L rush] like fire against the ·descendants [L house] of Joseph.
The fire will ·burn [consume; devour] Bethel [4:4],
and there will be no one to ·put it out [quench it].
7 You turn justice ·upside down [L into bitterness/or wormwood; C a bitter plant; 6:12],
and you throw on the ground ·what is right [rightousness; justice].
8 ·God is the one [L He] who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he changes darkness into the morning light,
and the day into dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea
to pour out on the ·earth [L surface/face of the earth].
The Lord is his name.
9 He ·destroys [brings ruin upon; flashes destruction on] the protected city;
he ·ruins [destroys] the strong, walled city.
10 ·You [L They] hate those who ·speak in court against evil [L rebuke/reprove at the gate; C where court was held],
and ·you [L they] ·can’t stand [despise; detest] those who tell the truth.
11 You ·walk [trample; or levy a tax] on poor people,
·forcing them to give you [imposing a tax on their] grain.
You have built fancy houses of cut stone,
but you will not live in them.
You have planted ·beautiful [pleasant] vineyards,
but you will not drink the wine from them [Deut. 28:30].
12 I know your many ·crimes [trangressions],
your ·terrible [numerous; great] sins.
You ·hurt [oppress] ·people who do right [the righteous/innocent],
you take ·money to do wrong [bribes],
and you keep the poor from getting justice in ·court [L the gate; v. 10].
13 In such times the wise person will keep quiet,
because it is a ·bad [evil] time.
14 ·Try to do [Seek] good, not evil,
so that you will live,
and the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will be with you
just as you ·say [claim] he is.
15 Hate evil and love good;
·be fair in the courts [L establish justice in the gate; v. 10].
Maybe the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] will ·be kind to [have mercy on; be gracious to] the ·people of Joseph who are left alive [remnant of Joseph; C a reference to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph’s sons), representing the northern kingdom].
16 This is what the Lord, the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], says:
“People will be ·crying [wailing] in all the streets;
they will be saying, ‘Oh, no!’ in the public places.
They will call the farmers to ·come and weep [mourning]
and ·will pay people [L those who know lamentation; C professional mourners paid to weep] to ·cry out loud [wail] for them.
17 People will be ·crying [wailing] in all the vineyards,
because I will pass ·among you to punish you [L through your midst; C as the angel of death passed through Egypt (Ex. 12:12)],” says the Lord.
The Lord’s Day of Judging
18 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] you who want
the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] to come.
Why do you want that day to come?
It will bring darkness for you, not light.
19 It will be like someone who runs from a lion
and meets a bear,
or like someone who goes into his house
and ·puts [leans] his hand on the wall,
and then is bitten by a snake.
20 So the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] will bring darkness, not light;
it will be ·very dark [deep gloom], not ·light at all [brightness].
21 The Lord says, “I ·hate and reject [despise] your ·feasts [religious festivals];
I ·cannot stand [take no delight in] your ·religious meetings [sacred assemblies].
22 If you offer me burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] and ·grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [Lev. 2:1],
I won’t accept them.
You bring your best ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1] of fattened cattle,
but I will ·ignore [have no regard for] them [Is. 1:11].
23 Take ·the noise of your songs [or your noisy songs] away from me!
I won’t listen to the music of your ·harps [stringed instruments].
24 But let justice ·flow [roll] like a river,
and let ·goodness [righteousness; justice] flow like a ·never-ending [ever-flowing] stream.
25 “·People [L House] of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings
while you traveled in the desert for forty years.
26 You have ·carried with you [lifted up]
·your king, the god Sakkuth [or the shrine of your idol-king],
·and Kaiwan your idol [or the pedestal of your idols; C either names of Mesopotamian star gods, or general terms for idols],
the star gods you have made for yourselves.
27 So I will send you ·away as captives [into exile] beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is the God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
Israel Will Be Destroyed
6 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] those who ·have an easy life [are complacent/at ease] in Jerusalem,
for those who feel ·safe living [secure] on Mount Samaria.
You think you are ·the important people [notable/renowned men] of the ·best nation in the world [first among the nations];
the ·Israelites [L house of Israel] come to you for help.
2 Go look at the city of Calneh,
and from there go to the great city Hamath [C Aramean city-states under the control of Israel];
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
·You are no better than these kingdoms [L Are they better than your kingdoms?].
·Your land is no larger than theirs [L Is their territory greater than yours?].
3 You put off the ·day of punishment [day of disaster/doom; L evil day],
but you ·bring near [establish] ·the day when you can do evil to others [a reign of terror; L the seat of violence].
4 You lie on beds ·decorated with ivory [L of ivory]
and stretch out on your couches.
You eat ·tender lambs [L lambs from the flock]
and ·fattened calves [L calves from the midst of the stall].
5 You ·make up songs [or strum away; or sing idly] on your ·harps [stringed instruments],
and, like David, you ·compose [or improvise] songs on musical instruments.
6 You drink wine by the bowlful
and ·use [anoint yourselves with] the ·best perfumed lotions [finest oils].
But you ·are not sad [do not grieve; are unconcerned] over the ruin of Israel,
7 so you will be some of the first ones ·taken as slaves [to go into exile].
Your ·feasting and lying around [reclining at banquets] will come to an end.
8 The Lord God ·made this promise [L has sworn by himself]; the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
“I ·hate [abhor] the pride of ·the Israelites [L Jacob],
and I ·hate [detest] their ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces],
so I will ·let the enemy take [deliver up] the city
and everything in it.”
9 ·At that time there might be only [L If there are] ten people left alive in just one house, but they will also die. 10 When the relatives come to take the bodies out of the house to ·bury them [or burn them; or anoint them for burial], one of them will call to ·the other [or any survivors] and ask, “Are there any other dead bodies with you?”
That person will answer, “No.”
Then the one who asked will say, “Hush! We must not say the name of the Lord.” [C This could mean do not say the Lord’s name lest he return with more judgment, or do not pronounce a eulogy using the Lord’s name on those already judged by God, or do not acknowledge the Lord because of resentment of his judgment.]
11 The Lord has given the command;
the large house will be ·broken [smashed] into pieces,
and the small house into bits.
12 ·Horses do not [L Can horses…?] run on rocks,
and ·people do not [L can people…?] plow ·rocks [or the sea] with oxen.
But you have changed ·fairness [justice] into poison;
you have changed ·what is right [L the fruit of righteousness] into ·a bitter taste [L wormwood; 5:7].
13 You ·are happy that the town of Lo Debar was captured [L rejoiced over Lo Debar; C a town across the Jordan whose name means “nothing,” mocking Israel’s conquest of it as insignificant],
and you say, “We have taken Karnaim [C another insignificant town across the Jordan conquered by the Israelites] by our own strength.”
14 The Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says,
“·Israel [L House of Israel], I will bring a nation against you
that will ·make your people suffer [oppress you] from Lebo Hamath [C in the far north]
to the valley ·south of the Dead Sea [L of the Arabah; C in the far south; 2 Kin. 14:25; Israel had oppressed others, but would now be oppressed].”
The 144,000 People of Israel
7 After ·the vision of these things [L this] I saw four angels standing at the four corners [C from every direction] of the earth. The angels were ·holding [restraining] the four winds [Dan. 7:2; 8:8; 11:4] of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the ·east [L rising of the sun] who had the seal [5:1] of the living God. And he ·called out [cried out; shouted] in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given power to ·harm [damage] the earth and the sea. 3 He said to them, “Do not ·harm [damage] the land or the sea or the trees until we ·mark with a sign [place a seal upon] the foreheads [C to spare them from harm; Ezek. 9:4–6] of the ·people who serve [L the slaves/servants of] our God.” 4 Then I heard how many people were ·marked with the sign [sealed]. There were one hundred forty-four thousand [C the square of 12 multiplied by 1000; a symbolic number indicating completeness] from every tribe of the ·people [children; sons] of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were ·marked with the sign [sealed],
from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6 from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh [C one of the two sons of Joseph; he replaces Dan in the list, perhaps because the tribe of Dan fell into idolatry; Judg. 18] twelve thousand,
7 from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand [C in OT lists Manasseh and Ephraim are named instead of their father Joseph; here Joseph replaces Ephraim, perhaps because of Ephraim’s bad reputation],
and from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were ·marked with the sign [sealed].
The Great Crowd Worships God
9 After ·the vision of these things [L these things] I looked, and ·there was a great number of people [L behold a great crowd/multitude], so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes [C signifying high status and purity] and holding palm branches [C used to celebrate a festive occasion, specifically a victory] in their hands. 10 They were ·shouting [crying out] in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 [L And] All the angels were standing around the throne and the elders [4:4] and the four living creatures. They all ·bowed [fell] down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen [C Hebrew for “so be it”]! ·Praise [Blessing], glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and ·strength [might] belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white robes? Where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “You know, ·sir [or my lord].”
And the elder said to me, “These are the people who have come out of the great ·distress [persecution; tribulation]. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [C having believed in Jesus, their sins are forgiven through Christ’s death and resurrection]. 15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God. They worship him day and night in his temple. And the One who sits on the throne will ·be present with [dwell with; or shelter; spread his tent over] them. 16 Those people will never be hungry again, and they will never be thirsty again. The sun will not ·hurt [strike; beat on; Is. 49:10] them, and no [scorching] heat will burn them, 17 because the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd [Ps. 23; John 10]. He will ·lead [guide] them to springs of ·water that give life [living water; the water of life; John 4:14]. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes [21:4; Is. 25:8].”
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