Bible in 90 Days
9 Daniel: 1-2 In the first year that Darius the Mede (Ahasuerus’ son) ruled over the Babylonians, I, Daniel, was studying the word of the Eternal One according to the prophet Jeremiah and discovered in the scrolls the number of years that Jerusalem must lie desolate before it is restored, that is, seventy years.
Darius is a title and may refer to Cyrus about 539 b.c. or Artaxerxes I (Ahasuerus’ son) in 465 b.c.
3 After learning this, I turned to the Lord God, praying diligently, begging for His mercy, grieving and fasting in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Eternal One my God, praising His greatness and confessing our sins: Lord God, You are great and awesome! You are always faithful to the covenant You made with us. Your unfailing love extends to all who love You and keep Your commandments. 5 But we have sinned and wronged You. We have acted wickedly in our rebellion, going so far as to disregard Your commandments and regulations. 6 We have ignored the message given through Your servants, the prophets, who spoke on Your behalf to our kings, princes, ancestors, indeed every last person of the land. 7 O Lord, You always do what is right. It is Your due, but we deserve nothing this day but public and open shame. The people of Judah, Jerusalem—indeed of all Israel, those who are in neighboring regions and those who are in the farthest reaches, driven into exile by You for all the treacherous acts they committed against You—we all deserve nothing but shame. 8 Eternal One, public and open shame is our due, for we have sinned against You, all of us, our kings, princes, and ancestors. 9 But You, O Lord our God, still show us compassion and forgiveness even though we have openly rebelled against You. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Eternal our God, for we have failed to live by the teachings You gave us directly through Your servants, the prophets. 11 All the people of Israel have abandoned Your teachings, deserted Your covenant, and refused to obey Your voice. This is why the curse and the oath inscribed in the law of Moses,[a] the servant of God, has been poured out on us—for we have sinned against You. 12 By unleashing on us this great calamity, You have carried out Your solemn words warning us and our leaders who led us astray. Under all of heaven, nothing like what happened to Jerusalem has ever happened before. 13 All the calamity that has befallen us fulfills the warnings written in Moses’ law; but despite our adversity, we have not sought the favor of the Eternal our God by walking away from our sins and pursuing insight into Your truth. 14 And now we have earned the misery that the Eternal has stored up for us. Truly, the Eternal our God was right to do all He has done, for we refused to obey His voice.
Daniel is just one man, yet he carries the sins of his nation to God and pleads with the Almighty to forgive and rescue His people. Their collective failures to live up to the covenant they made with God has scattered the chosen people to the four corners of the earth and have brought ruin to Jerusalem. After reading the prophet Jeremiah, Daniel knows that the calamity will not be over until God’s people come back to Him. With fasting and prayer, Daniel hopes to begin the process of restoration.
God’s covenant with Israel includes provisions for both blessings and curses. When the people follow God and keep His teaching, they can expect to live peacefully in the land God promised. But when the covenant people rebel against God and ignore His teaching, their actions—or lack of actions—bring into effect the curses. Daniel appeals to God’s own interest as the One who cares about His name and His reputation. The fate of Jerusalem and His people reflects on Him.
15 Now, Lord our God, You have made Your name great among the nations to this day by liberating Your enslaved people from the land of Egypt with powerful deeds; yet we have sinned against You, our Liberator, and we have acted wickedly. 16 Lord, the reputation of Your city Jerusalem has suffered, and Your people are mocked by those around us because we and our ancestors have done wrong. I beg You to spare Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; turn away Your burning anger and fiery wrath from Your people according to all Your covenant mercies. 17 Now, God, please hear the prayers and petitions voiced today by your servant. Shine Your face on Your destroyed and desolate sanctuary for the sake of Your name, my Lord. 18 Lend an ear, my God, and hear this prayer. Open Your eyes and see our deserted streets and witness the devastation across the city that bears Your name. We are crying to You and asking for mercy, not because we are righteous and deserve it. No, we bring these petitions to you because we know of Your great mercy. 19 Lord, hear our prayer! Lord, forgive our sins! Lord, pay attention to our plight and act without delay, not for our sake, my God, but for Yours because these people and this city bear Your name.
20 For much of the day I was pleading and praying, confessing my sin and the sins of my people Israel, presenting my case to the Eternal One my God on behalf of Jerusalem, His holy mountain. 21 About the time of the evening sacrifice, while I was still pleading and praying and almost completely exhausted, the man Gabriel, who had appeared to me in an earlier vision, appeared again and reached out to me.
Gabriel (to me): 22 Daniel, I have come for one purpose: to offer you insight and understanding into these matters. 23 When you began your pleading earlier today, a word was issued. I was instructed to come and tell you about it, for you are highly regarded by God. So pay close attention so you can understand the vision.
24 The decree has been issued: your people and your holy city have 70 sevens of time[b] to bring rebellion to a close, to put an end to sin, to wipe away guilt, to bring in a righteousness that endures, to seal up the prophet’s vision, and to anoint the most sacred place. 25 Know and understand this: from the proclamation of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the arrival of the Anointed Ruler, there will be 7 weeks of time. For 62 weeks of time the community will be restored, the city rebuilt with broad streets and deep defenses, even through times of trouble. 26 After those 62 weeks of time the Anointed One will be cut down and have nothing; then the warriors[c] of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and defile the sanctuary. Its end will come swiftly as in a flood and to the end there will be war. The decree has been issued: Desolation.
27 And that prince will make a binding treaty with many people for a one-week period of time. In the middle of that one period he will put a stop to all sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. And at the height[d] of his atrocities he will set up an abominable idol that desecrates the most holy place, until the desolation decreed is finally poured out on the defiler.[e]
Although God has countless heavenly messengers, only two are named in the Bible: Gabriel and Michael. These heavenly messengers fill many functions in the Bible; for example, they are members of God’s divine council, they lead the heavenly army, and they deliver the words of God. In Daniel, Gabriel is a messenger in the most literal sense, bringing a revelation to Daniel through the explanations of a dream and of Scripture. Gabriel’s announcements about the coming Liberator do not end with Daniel. In the New Testament book of Luke, he is the one who announces the impending births of John the Baptist and Jesus to Zechariah and Mary, respectively.
10 1-2 In the third year of King Cyrus’ reign over the Persian Empire, Daniel, who had been named Belteshazzar by his Babylonian captors, received a word from God through another vision. The message proved reliable, and it had to do with a great war. Daniel understood the word and gained insight into the future through this vision. Here is his account.
These events happen around 535 b.c., when Babylonia is part of Persia.
Daniel: When I received this vision, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three weeks. 3 I had eaten very little, no meat and no rich foods at all. I had not enjoyed the taste of wine, nor had I used any oils to bathe or groom myself. I continued this way throughout the three full weeks. 4 The vision came to me on the 24th day of the 1st month. As I was on the bank of the great Tigris River, 5 I lifted my eyes and saw what seemed at first to be a man dressed in linen clothing. Around his waist was a belt made of the purest gold. 6 His body had the appearance of yellow topaz; his face was bright like flashes of lightning; his eyes flamed like torches; his arms and legs sparkled like polished bronze; his voice sounded like thunder. 7 I, Daniel, alone saw this man and heard his voice. Though there were others around me who did not see this sight, they were still overcome with fear and ran to hide. I did not. 8 I was left all alone to witness this glorious sight. My strength soon left me. My face was drained of its natural color, and I was confused. I had no energy at all. 9 Then I heard his voice and caught the sound of his words. As I did, I fell into a deep sleep—my face pressed to the ground. 10 Just then, a mighty hand touched me and lifted my trembling body onto my hands and knees.
Messenger: 11 Daniel, you are highly regarded by God. I have been sent to help you understand the destiny of your people. Stand up and listen carefully to what I have to tell you.
As he spoke, I slowly rose to my feet, though I was still shaking.
Messenger: 12 Do not be afraid, Daniel. From the very first day that you began to pursue understanding and humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard. I have been sent in response to what you’ve said. 13 I would have been here sooner; however, for the past 21 days the spirit prince of Persia opposed me and prevented my coming to you. Then Michael, one of the chief princes of heaven, came to my aid because I alone was busy dealing with the kings of Persia. 14 I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days,[f] for this vision is about a time yet to come.
15 As he was saying all this to me, I dropped my head and looked at the ground, completely quiet, unable to respond. 16 Then one who looked like the sons of men approached and touched my lips. After that I was able to open my mouth and speak again. I turned to the one standing before me.
Daniel: My lord, what I have seen has left me utterly depressed. I have no strength left. 17 How can I, your humble servant, even begin to address someone like you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly catch my breath.
18 Again the one who looked like a man reached out and touched me. With that I felt my strength begin to return.
Messenger: 19 Do not be afraid, you who are highly regarded by God. May peace rest on you and make you whole; be strong; be brave.
At his words, I grew even stronger.
Daniel: Please continue, my lord, for your words have given me strength.
Messenger: 20 Do you realize, now, the reason I have come to you? Soon I must return to continue the fight with the spirit prince of Persia. When I do go, the spirit prince of Greece will come to do battle. 21 Nevertheless, I will tell you what is inscribed in the scroll of truth. No one stands with me against the guardians except for Michael, your heavenly prince.
11 Messenger: Darius the Mede had been on the throne less than one year when I came forward to back him and strengthen him.
2 Now I am here to reveal to you the truth: Three more kings will rule in Persia. After them, a fourth will arise who will be much richer than all the others. He will use his wealth to build his power and extend his influence; then he will incite the nations to fight against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Meanwhile in Greece, a warrior king will come to power.
The Greek warrior king is Alexander the Great in the late fourth century b.c.
With great authority he will rule his lands and do as he desires. 4 But no sooner than he rises, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven. None of his own offspring will receive any portion, nor will these kingdoms exercise the great authority he once did, for his empire will be ripped from its foundation and given to others.
A series of powerful Persian kings arises after Cyrus. Over the next century, Persian power wanes until Alexander the Great brings down the Persian Empire.
5 The king of the south will then grow in power and prosper. Yet in time one of his own officers will become more powerful than he and rule over an even greater empire. 6 Several years later, the king of the north and the king of the south will form an alliance. That alliance will be established by the marriage of the daughter of the king of the south to the king of the north; however, this union will not last. The princess will not hold onto power, and the king, too, will lose his throne. She will be given up along with her royal court, her father, and those who backed her. 7 In response, one of her relatives, a branch from her roots, will rise to take his place and become king in the south. He will take up the sword and lead an army into the fortress of the northern king. He will fight against them and in the end be victorious. 8 He will sack their temples and carry back to Egypt their gods, cast in metal images, and take their precious vessels crafted of fine gold and silver; for several years the king of the south will resist going to war against the king of the north. 9 But then, in later times, the king of the north will invade the provinces of the king of the south, but soon will be forced to withdraw to his own northern lands. 10 His sons will commit to war and assemble a powerful army, a force that will flood over the land, pass through the territories, and take the battle as far as the southern king’s fortress. 11 At this provocation, the enraged king of the south will rally a large force to repel the northern invaders. And though the king of the north had assembled a powerful army, it will go down in defeat. 12 When the invading army is repelled, the heart of the king of the south will be caught up in pride, and so he will execute tens of thousands of his enemies; still he will not prove to be strong. 13 For the king of the north will return after a few years, having raised a fighting force far larger and better equipped than before. 14 When this happens many people will rebel against the king of the south. Violent people from your own people, Daniel, will join the fray in order to fulfill the vision, but none will succeed. All will fall. 15 Then the king of the north will come and build a siege ramp against a fortified city and eventually take it; for the south, even with their very best warriors, will have no strength left to fight. 16 The king of the north will go where he pleases, and his army will march on unmatched and undeterred. None can resist him. One day he will stand in the beautiful lands of promise with the power to destroy it or let it be. 17 Using the might of his kingdom, the king of the north will decide to force an alliance. He will give the king of the south his daughter for a wife with the hope that she might help conquer the kingdom from within; but his plans will not succeed. 18 Afterward, the king of the north will turn his attention to the coastlands, attacking the cities there, claiming many. Eventually a commander will put a stop to the violent attacks and turn the aggression back on the invader and his army. 19 The king of the north will flee to his own land and seek the protection of his own strongholds, but he will trip and fall, never to be seen or heard of again.
After his death Alexander’s kingdom is partitioned among his four generals, two of whom figure prominently in Daniel’s prophecy. Alexander’s generals continue to fight over Israel and its citizens. Seleucus Nicator rules in the north (Syria). Ptolemy Soter rules in the south (Egypt).
Messenger: 20 Another northern king will rise to take his place. He will send out an official to exact taxes from the most glorious jewel of the kingdom, namely Jerusalem, but his tyranny will not last long. He will be cut down, though not in the heat of battle or in an angry loss of control.
21 Yet another will rise to take his place: a truly despicable person. Though royal honors were not his by right, he will come in quietly and take over with cunning and clever promises. 22 Armies will be overwhelmed and crushed before him, and the prince of the covenant will be cut down as well. 23 Though his supporters are few in number, he will grow strong by deceiving those who have made alliances with him. 24 In a time of ease and great wealth he will quietly invade the wealthiest parts of the region and do what none of his royal predecessors had ever done before; instead of hoarding the treasure, he will distribute the plunder, possessions, and property among those loyal to him. And though he will make plans to attack fortresses, these plans will not last for long.
25 But the king of the north is not finished. Once again he inspires courage and gathers a large and powerful fighting force to attack the south; but the king of the south takes notice and gathers his own large, powerful army to wage war. But he will not be able to resist the northern invader because treacherous plans will be devised against him. 26 His closest advisors, those who eat from the royal table, will betray him and bring about his downfall even as his army is swept away. Many will die in battle. 27 Both kings will sit at the same table and lie to each other, their only interest in deceiving and harming the other. But none of this will matter, for the end is yet to come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the north will eventually return to his own land with riches won from conquered peoples. With his heart set against the holy covenant, he will do whatever his evil will desires and then return to his own land.
29 At the chosen time, he will once again attempt to invade the south, but this time will be different from any time before. 30 For warships will arrive from the west[g] and confront him. Fearful of their power, he will withdraw. On his way north, he will unleash his violent fury against the holy covenant and those loyal to it. At the same time he will look with favor on those who turn their backs on it. 31 The king will command his forces to take over the city and pollute the temple fortress. After they outlaw the daily sacrifices to the one True God, they will set up the disgusting idol that will desecrate the most holy place.[h] 32 With smooth talk, he will entice people who act wickedly and break the covenant. But those who truly know their God will remain strong and work against him. 33 The truly wise among God’s people will help the many understand the need to resist; yet for quite some time they will be killed by sword and fire, or they will be imprisoned and their property taken. 34 Those who fall victim to this persecution will receive only a little help, and many will join their cause out of smooth, deceptive speech. 35 Some of the wise will fall victim and be martyred in order to be refined, purified, and made clean until the end, for the appointed time is still to come.
Ironically, God’s people have been at their best, not when they are moving with culture, but when they are moving against culture. The most extreme examples are in times of persecution when culture is actively hostile to faith. Persecution does not destroy true faith; it refines it.
Messenger: 36 The king of the north will do as he desires. He will elevate himself and make the audacious claim that he is greater than all the gods. He will say horrendous things about the One who truly is God of gods. He will be successful in his exploits—but not forever—for the time of wrath must be fulfilled and what is decreed must be accomplished. 37 He will have no respect for the gods worshiped by his ancestors or the one loved by women or any other god for that matter! For he will make himself greater than all gods. 38 Instead of these, he will honor only the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—with gold and silver, with costly stones and other precious gifts. 39 When he attacks the strongest fortresses, he will call upon this foreign god for help. He will bestow great honor on those who are loyal to him, and for any who acknowledge him, he will grant power and authority over many people and divide up the land as their reward.
40 Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will make war against the king of the north. The king of the north will storm through the troops with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, overwhelming the people 41 and advancing to the south. The northern king will enter the beautiful lands of promise and take control of many nations along the way. Yet other peoples will be rescued from his tyrannical hand: Edom, Moab, and the best of Ammon. 42 He will extend his reach over many other nations, and even the land of Egypt will not elude his wrath. 43 He will seize control over the treasures of Egypt, all of its precious items skillfully crafted of gold and silver. The Libyans and the Ethiopians will follow in his steps and do his bidding. 44 But various reports from the east and the north will eat away at the tyrant. Distressed and furious, he will send his forces to destroy and annihilate many nations. 45 One day he will pitch his palatial, royal tents between the Great Sea and the holy mountain of beauty, namely Mount Zion. Then and there his end will come, and no one will stand with him.
12 Messenger (to Daniel): At that time, Michael, the great heavenly prince, the grand defender and guardian of your people, will arise. Then the world will enter a time of distress unlike any in history, an hour of anguish greater than any nation has ever known. But during this time your people, those whose names have been written in the scroll, will be liberated. 2 And many who sleep the sleep of death in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life with the Lord and others to utter shame and eternal disgrace far from Him. 3 Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky at midday, and those who make the many righteous will shine as the stars forever and ever. 4 As for you, Daniel, keep these visions and their meaning a secret. Write down what you have seen and heard, then seal the scroll until the time of the end. Many will wander here and there, and knowledge will expand.
5 Then I, Daniel, stood on the bank of the Tigris River and looked as two others appeared, one on my side of the river and the other on the far side. 6 One of them spoke to the man dressed in linen clothing, who was upstream.
Heavenly Being: How long will it be until these disturbing events come to an end?
7 I watched and listened carefully. The man dressed in linen clothing who was upstream raised both of his hands into the sky toward heaven. He swore an oath by Him who lives eternally that these disturbing events would last for a time, times, and half a time; and that when the shattering of the power of God’s holy people comes to an end, then all of this will be over. 8 I heard what he said but could not understand its meaning.
Daniel: My lord, how will all of this come out in the end?
Man in Linen: 9 It is time for you to go on your way, Daniel, for the words must be kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will keep themselves pure and clean and refined despite the pressures of these times, but those who are wicked will continue their wicked ways and none of them will ever understand. But those who are wise will. 11 From the time when the daily sacrifice is prohibited and the disgusting idol that desecrates the most holy place[i] is put in its place, there will be 1,290 days.[j] 12 Those who remain true to God and reach the end of the 1,335 days are sure to experience God’s blessing. 13 As for you, Daniel, go and be faithful to the end of your life. You will surely rest, but when the end of days arrives, you will rise again to receive the inheritance allotted for you.
1 The words in this book are the words of the Eternal One, which were told to Hosea (Beeri’s son) when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah; and when Jeroboam (Joash’s son) was king of Israel.
2 This is the word the Eternal spoke through Hosea first.
Eternal One (to Hosea): Go and marry a woman who is a prostitute and have children who come from this unfaithfulness. This will represent how the land of Israel has abandoned Me and become a prostitute to other masters!
3 So Hosea married a woman named Gomer (Diblaim’s daughter). She became pregnant and gave birth to his son.
Eternal One: 4 I want you to name this boy Jezreel because I’m just about to punish Jehu’s dynasty for all the blood Jehu shed at the city of Jezreel.[k] I will bring an end to the monarchy in Israel. 5 Here’s how I’m going to do it: I’ll destroy their army and break their bow when they fight the Assyrians in the valley of Jezreel.
This judgment is for the crime of slaughtering Ahab’s family at the city of Jezreel by Jehu when he made himself king, and the punish ment includes Jehu’s great-grandson, King Jeroboam.
6 Gomer became pregnant again, and this time she had a girl.
Eternal One: I want you to name her Shown No Mercy,[l] because I’m not going to show any more mercy to the people of Israel. I won’t forgive them anymore. 7 But I will have mercy on the people of Judah. Even though they could never win in battle with their own weapons—bows and swords, horses and cavalry—I’m going to save them personally.
8 After Gomer finished nursing Shown No Mercy, she became pregnant again and had another boy.
Eternal One: 9 I want you to name him Not My People,[m] because these people aren’t Mine anymore, and I am not their God.
10 But things won’t always be this way. Someday there’ll be so many people in Israel that they’ll be like the grains of sand at the seashore—too many to count! It shall turn out that in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” they will be called “Children of the living God.”[n] 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will return from exile and gather together as one nation again, and they’ll agree on only one leader for all of them. It will be a great day when they go up from the land and “Jezreel” is a reality.
Jezreel means “God sows [seed].” He will bring the people back to their land, and they’ll never be uprooted again.
2 Eternal One (to the future reunited people): Give your brothers a new name: My People;
and give your sisters a new name too: Shown Mercy.
2 I’m going to publicly charge your mother, Israel, with being unfaithful to Me.
But you must bring the accusation against her—you bring it—
Because she’s not My wife anymore and I’m not her husband.
Israel was unfaithful to God by worshiping the fertility gods of her neighbors and forging diplomatic and military alliances with these foreign nations.
Look at her! She must cease from her whoring ways,
even her adulteries from her breasts; she must remove her lovers.
3 If she doesn’t stop, I’ll take away all her clothes and jewels
and leave her as naked as the day she was born.
I’ll make her like the bare rocks and soil of the desert
where nothing grows because there’s no rain:
I’ll kill her with thirst.
4 When I divorce her, I won’t take care of her children
because they are children of wickedness, tainted by that very prostitution.
Whenever God’s children abandon proper worship of Him in favor of any earthly thing—be it worship of another god, dependence on themselves, or trust in foreign leaders—they break their covenant with Him. Breaking that promise is like committing adultery, which is literally the destruction of a marriage covenant. Here, God is furious with Israel because they have chosen to serve the gods of other nations in addition to Him; they are committing adultery against Him.
Under the rule of King Jeroboam II in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, worship of a Canaanite deity named Baal is common. Many people believe he is the god of weather and therefore the one who makes the earth fertile and produces crops. Like God, he is worshiped through the donation of gifts and sacrificing of animals, but Baal is also honored by the activities of prostitutes at shrines dedicated to him. The men and women who are employed at those shrines are paid for their fertility rituals by customers (worshipers) not only with money but also with the produce of the land their sexual activities supposedly fertilized: bread and water, wool and flax, oil and wine.
5 Their mother was a prostitute;
she brought shame on herself when she had these children.
She chased her customers, saying, “I’m going to go looking for my lovers.
They’re the ones who give me my bread and water,
my wool and flax, my oil and wine.”
6 But I’ll block her way with a thorn hedge;
I’ll put a wall up around her, blocking her usual paths,
7 and she will wander after her lovers like a dumb sheep.
She’ll chase after them, but she won’t catch them.
She’ll look for them, but she won’t find them.
Then she’ll say, “I’m going to go back to my original husband
because I was better off then than I am now!”
8 She didn’t know I was the One who gave her the grain and wine and oil—
not those fertility gods she was worshiping.
I made her rich with silver and gold,
but she devoted it to another divine master![o]
9 So when harvest time comes, I’ll take back My grain,
and when the grapes ripen, I’ll take back My wine.
I’ll take away the wool and flax I gave her to make clothes
so she wouldn’t be naked.
10 The land will be stripped bare,
and this unfaithful wife of Mine will be walking around
Embarrassingly naked in the sight of her lovers,
and none of them will be able to rescue her from Me.
11 So I’m going to end all of her celebrations
now that she uses them to honor other masters—
Her pilgrimage festivals, her new moon celebrations, her Sabbath feasts,
and all her other gatherings.
12 She says she’s entitled to her vines and fig trees
because they’re her wages from prostitution; they’re gifts from her lovers.
But I’m going to destroy them all. I’ll turn them into a tangle of brush,
and wild animals will eat up the fruit.
13 I swear that I’ll punish her for honoring other masters[p] on My special days,
even her burning incense to those false gods.
She got dressed up in her rings and jewelry;
she went after her lovers, and she forgot about Me.
14 But once she has nothing, I’ll be able to get through to her.
I’ll entice her and lead her out into the wilderness where we can be alone,
and I’ll speak right to her heart and try to win her back.
15 And then I’ll give her back her vineyards;
I’ll turn the valley of Achor, that “Valley of Trouble,”[q]
into a gateway of hope.
This is where Achan was judged for keeping forbidden spoils of war when Israel first entered into the land after the exodus.
In the wilderness of exile she’ll learn to respond to Me
the way she did when she was young, when I brought her out of Egypt.
16 And I swear when that day comes, she’ll call Me “my husband” and never address Me again as “my master” as she did those other gods. 17 She’ll never invoke the name of any other master again.
Everyone will forget that gods by that name ever existed. 18 When that day comes, this is what I’ll do for My people: I’ll make a covenant for them with the wild animals and flying birds and crawling insects, and they’ll agree never to devour her crops again. I’ll smash all the bows and swords and weapons that could be used to invade their land, and they’ll live in security.
(to His reclaimed bride) 19 I’m going to marry you, and this time it’ll be forever in righteousness and justice. Our covenant will reflect a loyal love and great mercy; 20 our marriage will be honest and truthful, and you’ll understand who I really am—the Eternal One.
21 And I swear that when that day comes
I’ll answer the sky and prayers for rain,
and the sky will give the land the water it’s asking for.
22 And the land will give the grain and wine and oil the fertile soil they need to develop,
and the crops will shout back to Me, “God sows!”[r]
23 I won’t just restore the agricultural abundance;
I’ll sow into My beloved land and plant the people in the land and make them My own.
To the one who has not been shown mercy,[s]
I’ll rename her Mercy.
I’ll tell Not My People,[t] “You are now My People!”
and he’ll respond, “You’re my God!”[u]
3 The Eternal spoke with me again.
Eternal One: Go and love a woman who is loved by someone else and is adulterous. Care for her and protect her, just as I love the people of Israel even though they’re unfaithfully turning to other gods and selfishly eating sacred raisin cakes in their honor.
2 So I paid the bride-price for this woman, less than I would pay to own a slave: six ounces of silver, about ten bushels of barley.
Hosea (to the woman): 3 You’re going to live with me for a long time. I didn’t buy you just for my own pleasure, and I’m not going to cast you aside. But I’m not going to let you commit adultery again—in fact, you’re not going to have sexual relations with anyone, not even me.
4 In the same way, the people of Israel will go for a long time without having a king or prince of their own, without having any altars or sacred pillars, and without having any way of divining answers through a vestment[v] or images. 5 And afterward, once their devotion is renewed, they’ll return and genuinely worship the Eternal their God, and they’ll end their rebellion against the royal house of David. In those days they’ll come trembling to the Eternal One and rediscover His goodness.
4 Listen to what the Eternal says, you people of Israel!
Eternal One: I am bringing charges against everyone who lives in your land
because there’s no truth and no faithfulness and no knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing and lying and killing and stealing and adultery—
so that one act of bloodshed follows right after another.
3 It’s because you’re breaking My most basic directives
that the land will mourn with grief and even dry up like a desert plant.
Those dwelling in it waste away,
As the wild animals, the flying birds, and the swimming fish are all dying.
4 Be careful in bringing these charges and contending with one another,
for this is My charge against you,
you priests—I have a divine contention against you!
5 You stumble around during the day, and the prophets stumble with you at night.
And so I will destroy your mother, the land where you live.
6 You’ve forgotten the law of your God: you’ve rejected My judgments.
I’ll reject you because of your lack of knowledge—reject you as My priests;
I’ll even forget your children!
7 The more powerful the priests grew, the more they sinned against Me.
So I’ll turn their honor[w] into shame.
8 Because these priests are allowed to eat the sin offerings,
they actually want the people to sin so they’ll have more meat to eat!
9 And so it’s “like priest, like people”: a low standard for living.
I’ll punish them for this and repay them for what they’ve done:
10 They’ll eat, but they won’t be satisfied; they’ll be active like whores, but have no children
because they’ve rebelled in guarding Me and My ways.
11 Through prostitution, wine, and new wine,
My people have lost their senses;
12 They expect to hear oracles from a wooden idol,
to get guidance from a diviner’s wand!
For a spirit of prostitution is leading them astray—
that’s why they’re so unfaithful to their God and are becoming prostitutes.
13 They offer sacrifices on the mountain tops
and burn incense on the hills,
Gathering under sacred trees like oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
relaxing in their comforting shade.
This is why your own daughters become prostitutes
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!
14 I won’t punish your daughters for their prostitution
or your daughters-in-law for their adultery,
Because you men are visiting common prostitutes yourselves
and offering sacrifices with cultic prostitutes.
My people have no understanding, and they’re being ruined!
15 But even though Israel is being so unfaithful,
don’t you become guilty, too, Judah!
Don’t go to Gilgal, and don’t go to that “house of wickedness,” Beth-aven.
Don’t swear by My name while you’re worshiping other gods!
16 The people of Israel are stubborn, just like heifers,
so how can I shepherd them like lambs in a pasture?
17 Ephraim is allied with idols;
don’t have anything to do with him![x]
18 When they’ve finished drinking, they turn to prostitution to sate their thirst.
Their rulers love shame rather than living decently.[y]
19 They’ll be swept away by the wind,
and they’ll be ashamed of the way they sacrificed to idols.
5 Eternal One: Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you leaders of Israel!
Hear all of you in the royal court, My judgment is against you!
You’ve been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Mount Tabor;
you’ve led the people astray:
2 Those who have revolted against Me have dug a deep pit of slaughter,
so I’m going to punish all of you.
God is describing the fate of those rebellious leaders who have dug a deep hole: because of their depravity, they will be led to slavery in shackles.
Hosea’s prophecy is fulfilled in 722 b.c., when Shalmaneser V leads his Assyrian army to conquer Samaria, the capital city of Israel. But leveling the city and slaughtering countless citizens isn’t what ends Israel’s legacy. In the years following the war, Sargon II systematically deports the remaining Israelites to cities in the Assyrian Empire and repopulates Samaria with foreigners to suppress future rebellions. This policy decimates the cultures of the ten tribes who inhabited the Northern Kingdom and leads to the fabled “Lost Tribes of Israel.”
It may be assumed that the members of the ten tribes assimilate into their new cultures and abandon their history and religion; they simply blend into their surroundings to survive. However, in the third century a.d., Christian poet Commodian compiles the writings of several early rabbis and weaves the story of the ten tribes’ post-deportation lives. These ten tribes reside in a sort of paradise beyond a river, where everyone lives long lives, experiences no pain, and follows God’s laws. One day, the story goes, these tribes will return to Jerusalem, recapture her, and dwell in her.
3 I know Ephraim; Israel isn’t hiding from Me.
Even now Ephraim plays the part of a whore;
Israel is covering herself in impurity.
4 They’re so caught up in their way of life
that they can’t return to their God.
They have a spirit of prostitution within them,
so they don’t know Me; I am the Eternal One.
5 The pride of Israel testifies against her to her very face.
Israel (which is called Ephraim) will stagger because of its guilt.
Judah, too, will stagger with them.
6 They’ll go with their flocks and their herds to seek Me,
offering a multitude of sacrifices, but they won’t find Me because they are abandoned.
7 They’ve been unfaithful to Me, the Eternal,
and produced defiled, illegitimate children.
Now at a new moon, a foreign nation will devour them and their fields.
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
sound the trumpet in Ramah, and raise a war cry in Beth-aven.
Even as your cities fall, Benjamin, more armies are behind you!
9 Ephraim will be devastated when they are punished with this invasion from the south.
(This is sure to happen, and I’m announcing it to all the tribes of Israel!)
10 But I’ll also punish the leaders of Judah—
I’ll pour out My wrath on them like water—
Because they’re trying to snatch this territory of Benjamin’s.
They’ve become like the dishonest people who move boundary-stones.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed by punishment,
because he insists on pursuing empty ways and trusting others to save him.
12 In My judgments I’m like a disease that devours Ephraim as a moth eats wool,
like an infected wound to the people of Judah.
13 But when Ephraim saw how sick he was
and Judah saw his open sore,
Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king for relief.
But a foreign ruler can’t cure you; he can’t heal your sore.
The great king is the king of Assyria from whom both Israel and Judah eventually seek help.
14 I’ll be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the people of Judah.
I’ll tear them to pieces myself and make off with My kill.
I’ll carry it away, and no one will be able to take it from Me.
15 I’ll go back to My lair and stay there until they admit their guilt and come looking for Me.
In their distress, they’ll desperately try to find Me.
6 Come on, let’s renew our loyalty to the Eternal One!
He tore us like a lion, but He’ll heal us;
He wounded us, but He’ll bandage us.
2 He’ll bring us back to life after two days;
He’ll raise us up on the third day, and we’ll live with Him.
While not clearly a reference to the Anointed One, this is a remarkable prefiguring of the time and consequence of His death and resurrection.
3 So let’s know Him; let’s strive to know the Eternal.
As surely as the sun rises, He’ll come out from His lair.
As surely as the rains come each year—
those spring rains that drench the earth—He’ll come back to us.
4 Eternal One: What am I supposed to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I supposed to do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty to Me is like fog in the morning,
like dew that evaporates at sunrise.
5 This is why I cut them with the words of the prophets
and destroyed them with the words of My mouth.
My judgment went forth like the light of the rising sun.
6 For I want not animal sacrifices, but mercy.[z]
I don’t want burnt offerings; I want people to know Me as God!
7 They broke their covenant with Me, treated it as just a common human affair;
they were unfaithful to Me there.
8 The city of Gilead is full of evil, murderous people.
Their footprints are bloody.
This may be a reference to Jephthah’s return from the slaughter of the Ephraimites (Judges 11).
9 As the priests travel together down the road,
they’re like a band of robbers setting an ambush.
They are like their ancestor Levi who committed murder at Shechem,[aa]
deceiving the people by their treachery.
10 I’ve seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
Ephraim engages in prostitution there by worshiping at other shrines.
Israel pollutes itself through violence and idol worship.
11 But a harvest is set for you, too, Judah
when I restore my people’s fortunes and return them from captivity.
7 Eternal One: I will heal Israel of her exposed sins:
Ephraim’s wickedness will be laid open;
Also Samaria’s evil will be revealed:
dishonesty is tolerated, thieves break in and bandits rob in the open.
2 They don’t realize I’m aware of all of the evil they’re doing.
Even now their sins are all around them—I can see them clearly.
3 The king celebrates their evil deeds,
and princes enjoy their deceptions.
4 All of them are adulterers with unquenchable lust.
They are like an oven overheated by a baker,
An oven so hot it doesn’t need to be stoked for several hours
from the time the dough is kneaded until it finishes rising.
5 Eternal One: When the king was celebrating[ab] and the princes were sick with drunkenness,
his conscience was dulled and he joined forces with rebels.
6 Their hearts are like a heated oven as they plot their schemes.
All night their anger smolders, but at dawn it blazes into a flaming fire.
7 All of them are as hot as an oven,
and they consume their own judges.
All of their kings have fallen; none of them calls on Me.
Two types of ovens are used in ancient Israel: tabuns and tannurs. Both are beehive-shaped structures molded of clay, broken potsherds, and chopped straw, and are commonly found in a house’s courtyard. At the top is a capped opening, which regulates the inside heat and allows the baker access to the oven’s interior. Tabuns are fueled with cakes of dried manure and straw (Ezekiel 4:12-15), while tannurs are fueled by wood fires. Once a tannur’s wood fire burns down to the embers, the oven is ready for baking.
Each day, women mix flour and water, knead the dough, and add a small amount of salt and fermented dough (from the previous day’s work) to the mixture. After balls of dough have risen, they are flattened and shaped into discs. These discs are then easily tossed inside the oven’s opening, where they stick to the walls and cook in just minutes.
8 Ephraim is mixed up with all the other nations.
Ephraim is like a cake that hasn’t been turned over.
9 Foreigners are devouring his strength, taking territory and tribute,
but he doesn’t realize how weak he’s grown.
Gray hair is sprouting on his head,
but he doesn’t see what others observe.
10 Israel’s stubborn pride will testify against him.
The people haven’t come back to Me, their True God;
they haven’t asked Me for help despite all their troubles.
11 Ephraim is like a dove caught in foreign intrigues, silly and without sense:
they call to Egypt; they go to Assyria.
12 But as they fly to others for help, I’ll throw My net over them.
I’ll bring them down like birds out of the sky and punish them,
as their congregation knows full well.
13 May they experience sorrow for wandering away from Me!
May they be destroyed for the way they’ve rebelled against Me!
I would like to buy them back from death,
but they would just keep lying to Me and against Me.
14 They’re not sincere when they cry out to Me for help.
They howl on their couches;
Hoping a god will send grain to gather and wine to enjoy.
They turn away from Me.
15 I trained them, I made their arms strong, I could have protected them,
but they devised evil schemes against Me.
16 They turn for help, but not to the Most High;
they’ve become as weak and ineffective as a loosely-strung bow.
Because of their defiant words, their leaders will be killed in battle,
and they’ll be the laughingstock of everyone in Egypt.
8 Eternal One: Blow the ram’s horn to sound the alarm!
The eagle of Assyria is hovering above My house,[ac]
Waiting for My instruction to snatch its prey,
because they’ve broken My covenant and rebelled against My law.
2 Still Israel calls out to Me, “Our God, we know you!”
But even with your words of worship, you abandon our agreement.
3 Israel has rejected what is good; that is why an enemy will pursue him.
4 They’ve overstepped their rights by changing leadership, but not by My authority;
they’ve anointed kings and appointed princes without consulting Me.
They’ve made idols out of their silver and gold,
so Israel will be destroyed.
5 I reject your calf, Samaria! My anger is kindled against them.
How long will they be unable to do what’s right?
6 This idol is from Israel.
A craftsman made it; it’s not God!
Samaria’s calf will be smashed to pieces.
Israel’s harlotry is practiced not only by diplomatic accords with other nations but also by worship of their gods who serve as witnesses to these alliances. Here an idol is fabricated and worshiped by God’s own people. As their ancestors did in the wilderness while Moses was on the mountain with God, they make an image of a calf. They turn from the True God to worship their own creation, a crude imitation of God’s creation. The anger of the Lord is again aroused as it was in the wilderness, and He will crush both the idol and the idol worshipers.
7 Eternal One: Then these proverbs will come true:
“Because they sow the wind, they’ll reap the whirlwind.”
“A shoot without a grain head doesn’t make any flour.”
“If the shoot does produce, foreigners will devour it!”
8 Israel has been devoured by that eagle and strewn among the nations.
Now it’s like a discarded pot, valuable to no one.
9 All alone like a wild donkey, Ephraim went up to Assyria
and had to hire her own lovers!
10 But because they paid tribute money to other nations instead of depending on Me,
I’m going to gather them up and send them into exile,
And they will struggle for a time
beneath the burden imposed by the great king of princes.[ad]
11 Even though Ephraim built many altars to cover sin,
they’ve all become places where he commits sin!
12 It wouldn’t matter how many copies of My law I wrote for him;
he’d treat them all as something strange and foreign.
13 No matter how many sacrifices they offer,
no matter how many sacred meals they eat,
I am not pleased with them.
I’ll remember their guilt and punish their sins:
they’ll return to slavery in Egypt!
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
Judah has built many walled cities.
But I’ll send fire on those cities,
and My righteous wrath will burn up those citadels.
9 Don’t rejoice, Israel! Don’t shriek in ecstatic joy like the other nations!
You’ve prostituted yourself and been unfaithful to your God.
You eagerly expect that you’ll get your prostitute’s pay at the threshing floors with a rich harvest.
2 Neither the threshing floor nor the oil or winepresses will feed you;
you won’t have any new wine this year.
3 You won’t remain in the Eternal’s land,
and you can count on this:
Ephraim will go back to slavery in Egypt,
but this unclean food he’ll eat in Assyria.
4 Separated from Jerusalem, they won’t be pouring out any libations of wine to the Eternal,
and the sacrifices they make will not please Him.
Whatever they offer will be like mourner’s bread:
whoever eats it will be impure.
Hebrew law prohibits any contact with the dead. In this case the bread is polluted by its proximity to death.
Besides, they’ll need all the bread they’ve got just to stay alive;
they won’t have anything worthy to bring to the Eternal’s temple.
5 What will you do on the appointed day
when you’re supposed to celebrate a feast in honor of the Eternal One?
In Israel’s final years before conquest, the political atmosphere is in turmoil. Kings Zechariah, Shallum, and Pekahiah have been assassinated in political coups, and ambitious men are making alliances with foreign enemies hoping to gain international support for their own factions and solidify their own powers. These attempts at ascension and stability with the help of international alliances voids the one thing that can bring peace to Israel—the people’s covenant with God.
Instead of relying on God, all of Israel’s leaders allow themselves to be consumed in the regional politics. In the early eighth century b.c., Egypt’s power is waning and Assyria is gaining momentum. Israel is the battleground between the empires, so Israel’s kings think they can leverage the nation’s geographical position and gain protection from one empire or the other by paying tributes. Instead, the cities are trampled in successive wars, and Israel’s borders continue to shrink until Samaria is finally overrun by the Assyrians in 722 b.c.
6 Even if they escape destruction, Egypt will be ready to gather them up,
and Memphis will be set to bury them in the city’s massive cemeteries.
All their valuables will be choked out by weeds,
and thornbushes will live in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come!
The time of retribution is here! Israel will know this!
But because you are so hostile and sinful, you say about me,
“The prophet is a fool! The man of the Spirit is raving mad!”
8 The prophet stands watch over Ephraim along with God,[ae]
but birds’ traps are set all along his paths;
Even in the temple of his God they show their hostility.
9 They’ve become deeply depraved, as in the days of Gibeah.
God won’t overlook their wickedness; He’ll punish them for their sins.
10 Eternal One: When I discovered Israel, he was a rare find,
like grapes in the wilderness, like early figs on a young fig tree.
I met your ancestors;
when they came to Baal-peor,
They dedicated themselves through their worship to an object of shame,
and they became as detestable as the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird:
no offspring, no gestation, no conception!
12 And even if they do have children,
I’ll take every single one of them away.
It will be sorrowful for them when I abandon them!
13 There was a time when I saw Ephraim like Tyre,
a pleasant palm planted in a lovely meadow,
But now Ephraim must bring out her children to be slaughtered.[af]
14 Give them, Eternal One—what should I ask You to give them?
Give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts!
15 Eternal One: In Gilgal My hatred grew for them
because of all their evil that was there.
I will force them out of My temple because of the depths of their wickedness.
I won’t love them anymore; all of their leaders have rebelled against Me!
16 Ephraim has been cut down; their root has dried up,
and they won’t bear any fruit.
And even if they do bear children,
I’ll kill those precious ones they carried.
17 My God will reject them because they haven’t listened to Him.
They’ll be drifters and fugitives among the nations.
10 Israel, once a vibrant vine that bore adequate fruit, is now barren.
The more fruit he bore, the more altars he made;
the more his fertile soil produced, the more he made the sacred pillars.
2 But they aren’t loyal to God in their hearts, and now they’ll pay the penalty:
the Eternal will break apart their altars and smash their sacred pillars.
3 Then they’ll say, “We don’t have our own king anymore
because we didn’t fear the Eternal One.
But even if we still had a king, what could he do for us?”
A nation without a functioning king is no nation at all.
4 They speak a lot of sensible words,
but their oaths are insincere, and their covenant promises are empty.
This is why the king’s judgment sprouts up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5 The people of Samaria are afraid of what will happen to the calf-idol of Beth-aven;
the people will mourn for it, and its pagan priests will join in lament.
They’ll wail when its glory departs.
6 The wretched idol will be taken to Assyria and given to the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced;
Israel will be ashamed because of this king’s counsel.
7 Samaria and her king will be cut off,
carried away like a twig on the swirling waters.
8 The wicked high places where Israel’s people sinned will be destroyed;
thorns and thistles will cover their once-proud altars.
People will beg the mountains, “Surround us!”
They’ll plead with the hills, “Cover us!”[ag]
9 Eternal One: From the days of Gibeah you, Israel, have sinned![ah]
And they’re still the same today. Nothing has changed.
Will war overtake these people of wickedness in Gibeah?
10 At the time I choose, I’ll punish them:
nations will gather against them
because they have compounded their own guilt.
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer who loved to tread on the threshing floor.
Now I have lashed a yoke to her fair neck.
Judah will plow, and Jacob will break up the hard, compacted soil.
12 Plant a crop of righteousness for yourselves,
harvest the fruit of unfailing love,
And break up your hard soil,
because it’s time to seek the Eternal
until He comes and waters your fields with justice.
13 You’ve plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;
you’ve eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you’ve trusted in your own might,
in the size and skill of your army,
14 So the nations will line up against you in battle
and all of your fortifications will be destroyed,
Just as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel when he fought against it
and dashed its mothers to pieces with their children!
15 The same thing will happen to you, O Bethel, because you’re so wicked.
When that day breaks, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
11 Eternal One: When Israel was a child, I loved him;
and out of Egypt I called My son.[ai]
2 But the more I called to Israel,
the more they walked away from Me.[aj]
They kept on sacrificing to other divine masters[ak]
and burning incense to idols!
3 But I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk, holding him up by his arms,
but his people didn’t know I was the One who took care of them.
4 I led them along with leather cords;
with ropes of love I showed them the way.
As I dealt with them, I lifted the yoke from their neck;
I bent down to give them their food.
5 The people of Israel will return to bondage
like they knew in the land of Egypt,
And this time Assyria will be their king
because they refuse to return to Me.
6 The sword will be turned loose in their cities.
It will destroy their defenses and put an end to them because of their schemes.
7 My people are determined to turn away from Me.
Even when they call out to the Most High, He won’t rescue them.
8 Eternal One: But how can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I turn you over to your enemies, Israel?
How can I give you away as I did Admah or treat you like Zeboiim?
The four cities of the plain—Admah, Zeboiim, Sodom, and Gomorrah—were all destroyed (Genesis 14).
My heart is changed within Me,
and all at once My compassion is stirred up.
9 I will not carry out My burning anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim completely.
For I am God, not a human being; I am the Holy One in your midst;
I won’t unleash My anger for an attack.
10 They’ll turn back to Me.
He’ll roar like a lion, and when He roars,
His children will scurry in from the west.
11 They’ll scatter like birds from Egypt
or like doves from the land of Assyria,
And I’ll restore them to their homes.
The Eternal declares that He’ll do this.
12 Eternal One: Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies.
The people of Israel surround Me with their weapons of deceit.
But Judah continues to roam with God,
even with the faithful Holy One.[al]
12 Eternal One: Ephraim feeds on the wind.
He chases the hot east wind all day long.
He’s becoming more and more deceitful and violent.
They’ve abandoned their covenant to make an alliance with Assyria,
trading oil for favor from Egypt.
As Israel pursues what she cannot obtain, she becomes entangled in affairs of other nations.
2 The Eternal has charges to bring against Judah;
He’ll punish the nation of Jacob for the way he’s acting
and pay him back for the things he’s done.
3 Even from the womb, he fought with his brother by grabbing his heel;[am]
when he grew to be an adult, he struggled against God.
4-5 He wrestled with a heavenly messenger and won;[an]
he wept and begged for his help.
It was the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies, who met him at Bethel;
the Eternal Himself spoke with him there; the Eternal One is His memorial name.
6 So you must return to your God, maintain loyalty and justice,
and wait patiently for your God.
7 Like Canaan, Israel is a merchant who uses dishonest scales—
he loves to cheat people!
8 Ephraim gloats, “I’ve gotten rich! I’ve made a fortune for myself!
And in all my dealings no one can charge me with iniquity and dishonesty.”
9 Eternal One: I’m the Eternal One; I’ve been your True God ever since you left Egypt.
I’m going to make you live in tents again,
As you do in remembrance during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Every year, the Israelites live in tents for one week as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival reminds the people of God’s constant protection of their ancestors as they wandered for a generation in the Sinai desert. However, the Israelites won’t enjoy their coming time in tents. Living in tents will mean they’ve lost all the wealth and security they built up in their solid houses and cities; they’ll be nomads wandering the earth, but this time without God’s constant protection. In a reversal of the Exodus story, these wanderings will be a prelude to bondage in a foreign nation, where they will be slaves without the ear of God, as their ancestors were in Egypt.
10 Eternal One: I’ve spoken to the prophets; I’ve given them many visions,
and I’ve told you parables through them.
11 Because Gilead is so wicked, it is worthless.[ao]
They sacrifice bulls at the cultic center of Gilgal,
But their altars will be heaps of stone next to a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the fields of Aram;[ap]
Israel worked for Laban in exchange for a wife;
to pay the bride-price, he shepherded Laban’s flocks.
13 But the Eternal One led Israel out of Egypt by a prophet;
Moses, God’s own prophet, kept the people safe.
14 But now Ephraim has made his Lord furious, and this is His judgment:
God will punish him for the blood he’s shed
and pay him back for his defiance.
13 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled
because he was powerful in Israel.
But he was guilty of worshiping another divine master[aq]
and was sentenced to death.
2 Even now they keep on sinning; they cast metal idols for themselves,
shaping silver to fashion wretched images.
These idols are all skillfully crafted by humans.
People say, “Offer your human sacrifices to them, and kiss these calf-idols.”
3 God will destroy them for this, and they’ll be like fog in the morning,
like dew evaporating at sunrise, like the chaff blown from the threshing floor,
Like the smoke that drifts out of a window.
4 Eternal One: I’m the Eternal One.
I’ve been your God ever since you left Egypt.
You are supposed to be exclusively loyal to Me.
No other god can be your liberator.
5 It was I who established the relationship with you in the wilderness,
I who looked after you in that parched and weary land.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied,
but when satisfied, they filled with pride and then forgot Me.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.