Old/New Testament
The Word of the Lord to Hosea
1 A message from the Lord came[a] to Beeri’s son Hosea[b] during the reigns of[c] Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of[d] Joash’s son Jeroboam, who was king of Israel.
Hosea’s Wife and Family
2 When a message from the Lord came to Hosea, the Lord told him,[e] “Go marry a prostitute and have children with her,[f] because the land is prostituting itself by departing from the Lord.” 3 So he went out and married Diblaim’s daughter Gomer. She conceived with him and gave birth to a son.
Naming the Children
4 The Lord told Hosea,[g] “Name the child[h] ‘Jezreel,’[i] because in a little while I’ll avenge the blood that was shed by Jehu’s dynasty at Jezreel. I’ll put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 At that time I’ll shatter the military strength[j] of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer[k] conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, so the Lord[l] told Hosea,[m] “Name her ‘Lo-ruhamah,’[n] because I will no longer be showing mercy to the house of Israel, nor will I forgive them. 7 But I’ll have mercy on the house of Judah, and I’ll save them by the Lord their God—I will not save them by the bow, by the sword, by battle, by horses, or by cavalry.”
8 After Gomer[o] had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived again and gave birth to a son, 9 so the Lord[p] told Hosea,[q] “Name him ‘Lo-ammi,’[r] because you are not my people, and I will not be your God.[s] 10 [t]Despite this, the number of the people of Israel will be like ocean sand, which can neither be measured nor counted. And the time will come when instead of it being said,[u] ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said,[v] ‘You are children of the living God.’ 11 [w]And the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be united as one. They will appoint for themselves a single leader and will take dominion over[x] the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. 2 1 [y]So call your brothers ‘Ammi,’[z] and your sisters ‘Ruhamah.’”[aa]
Gomer is Rebuked
2 “Call your mother to account, call her—
for she is not my wife,
and I’m not her husband.
Let her do away with her seductive looks
and remove her adultery from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise, I’ll strip her naked—
as she was on the day she was born—
make her like a wilderness,
turn her into a parched land,
and cause her to die of thirst.
4 Furthermore, I’ll not show pity on her children,
since they are children of prostitution.
5 Indeed, their mother has committed prostitution—
the one who has been conceiving them has acted disgracefully—
when she said,
‘I’m going after my lovers,
who provide me food and water,
as well as my wool, my flax,
my oil, and my wine.’
6 “Look how I’m blocking her[ab] path with thorns
and building a wall to hinder[ac] her,
so she can’t find her way.
7 She will pursue her lovers,
but she won’t catch up with them.
She will seek them,
but she won’t find them.
Then she will say,
‘I’ll go back and return to my first husband,
because it was better for me then than now.’
8 She didn’t recognize
that it was I who provided her grain, wine, and oil,
and it was I who gave her silver,
while they crafted gold for Baal.
9 “Therefore I’ll return
and take back my grain at harvest time
and my new wine in its season.
I’ll take back my wool and my flax
that was to have covered her nakedness.
10 So now I’ll reveal her lewdness to the eyes of her lovers,
and no man will rescue her from my control.[ad]
11 I’ll put a stop to her mirth,
along with her celebrations, her New Moons, her Sabbaths,[ae] and all of her festive assemblies.
12 I’ll destroy her vines and her fig trees,
about which she said,
‘These are the earnings that my lovers paid me.
I’ll make them grow into a forest,
and the wild animals will eat from them.’
13 I’ll punish her for the time she has devoted to the Baals,[af]
to whom she burned incense,
and for whom she put on her earrings and jewels
so she could go after her lovers and forget me,”
declares the Lord.
Alluring a Wayward Wife
14 “Therefore, look! I will now allure her.
I will make her go out to the wilderness,
and will speak to her heart.
15 There I will restore her vineyards to her,
and the Valley of Achor will become a doorway to hope.
There she will respond as she did in her youth,
when she came up from Egypt.”
The Restoration of Israel
16 “It will come about at that time,”
declares the Lord,
“that you will address me as ‘My husband,’
and you will no longer call me ‘My master’.[ag]
17 I will remove the names of the Baals[ah] from her vocabulary[ai]—
they will not be remembered by their names anymore.
18 I will make a covenant with them at that time,
a covenant[aj] with the wild animals of the field,
with the birds of the air,
and with the creatures of the ground.
I will banish[ak] the battle bow, the sword, and war from the earth.
I will cause my people[al] to lie down where it is safe.
19 I will make you my wife forever—
I will make you my wife in a way that is righteous,
in a manner that is just,
by a love that is gracious,
and by a motive that is mercy.
20 I will make you my wife because of my[am] faithfulness,
and you will know the Lord.
21 “It will come about at that time that I will respond,”
declares the Lord,
“I will respond to the heavens,
and they will respond to the earth.
22 The earth will respond with grain, new wine, and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.[an]
23 I will plant my people[ao] in the land for myself.
I will show mercy on her who has received no mercy[ap]
I will say to those who are not my people,[aq] ‘You are my people!’
and they will say, ‘You are[ar] my God.’”
Hosea Reconciles with His Wife
3 Then the Lord told me: “Go love your wife[as] again, even though she is being loved by another and is committing adultery. Love her the same way[at] the Lord loves the people of Israel, even though they look to other gods and love raisin cakes.”[au] 2 So I bought her back for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and one and a half omers[av] of barley.
3 I told her, “You will remain with me a long time,[aw] you won’t be promiscuous, you won’t be involved with any man, and I’ll do the same.”[ax]
4 Likewise, the people of Israel will dwell a long time[ay] without a king, without a prince, without sacrifice, without sacred[az] pillars, and with neither ephod nor teraphim.[ba] 5 Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come in awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days.
God Accuses Israel
4 “Hear this message from the Lord, people of Israel.
Indeed, the Lord brings a charge
against the people who live in the land—
for there is no truth and no gracious love
or knowledge of God in the land.
2 Swearing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery are rampant,
and blood mingles with blood.
3 Therefore the land will mourn,
and all who live there will languish,
along with the wild animals of the field and the birds of the air.
Even the fish in the sea will disappear.
4 “Let no one fight or bring charges against another,
for my dispute is with you, priest.
5 So you will stumble during the day,
the prophet also will stumble with you at night,
and I will destroy your mother.[bb]
6 My people are destroyed because they lack knowledge of me.[bc]
Because you rejected that knowledge,
I will reject you as a priest for me.
Since you forget the Law of your God,
I will also forget your children.
7 “The more they increased in number,[bd]
the more they sinned against me,
so I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of my people;
they purpose in their heart to transgress.
9 So it will be: like people, like priest.
I will punish them for their lifestyles,
rewarding them according to their behavior.
10 They will eat,
but will not be satisfied.
They will engage in prostitution,
but they won’t increase,
because they have stopped listening to the Lord.
11 “Sexual immorality, wine, and fresh wine seduce the heart of my people.[be]
12 My people seek counsel from their piece of wood,
and their diviner’s rod[bf] speaks to them.
For a spirit of prostitution causes them to go astray;
in their immorality they desert their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the mountain tops,
burning offerings on the hills,
under oaks, poplars, and terebinth[bg] trees,
since their shade is very good.
Therefore your daughters are prostitutes
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 However, I’m not going to punish your daughters
when they commit prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
because their men are themselves immoral—
they offer sacrifices with prostitutes.
These people who aren’t discerning will stumble.
15 “Even though you prostitute yourself, Israel—
let not Judah incur guilt—
don’t go to Gilgal,
or visit Beth-aven,
or swear an oath using the Lord’s name.[bh]
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn mule![bi]
Nevertheless, will not the Lord feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?
17 Ephraim has become entwined with idols;
leave him alone!
18 While drinking to excess, they prostitute themselves.
They’re in love with dishonor.
19 A wind storm will carry them away in its embrace,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.”
The Revelation of Jesus the Messiah to the Seven Churches
1 This is[a] the revelation of Jesus the Messiah,[b] which God gave him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He made it known by sending his messenger[c] to his servant John, 2 who testified about this message from God and the testimony about Jesus the Messiah.[d] 3 How blessed is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and obey what is written in it, for the time is near!
4 From[e] John to the seven churches in Asia. May grace and peace be yours from the one who is, who was, and who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne, 5 and from Jesus the Messiah,[f] the witness, the faithful one,[g] the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has freed[h] us from our sins by his blood 6 and has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He is coming in the clouds.
Every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him,
and all the tribes of the earth will mourn
because of him.
So be it! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” declares the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”
John’s Vision of the Messiah
9 I am John, your brother and partner in the oppression, kingdom, and patience that comes because of Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. 10 I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord, when I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see who[i] was talking to me, and when I turned I saw seven gold lamp stands. 13 Among the lamp stands there was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash around his chest.[j] 14 His head and his hair were white like wool, in fact, as white as snow. His eyes were like flames of fire, 15 his feet were like glowing bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of raging waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword. His face was like the sun when it shines with full force.
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. But he placed his right hand on me and said, “Stop being afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 the living one. I was dead—but look!—I am alive forever and ever! I have the keys of Death and Hades.[k] 19 Therefore, write down what you have seen, what is, and what is going to happen after this. 20 The secret meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lamp stands is this: the seven stars are the messengers[l] of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.”
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