Bible in 90 Days

9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,

² in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by the books that the number of the years, whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, was seventy years.

³ And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes;

⁴ and I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made my confession, and said, Alas Lord! the great and terrible God, keeping covenant and loving-kindness with them that love him, and that keep his commandments:

⁵ we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy commandments and from thine ordinances.

⁶ And we have not hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithfulness in which they have been unfaithful against thee.

⁸ O Lord, unto us is confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

⁹ With the Lord our God are mercies and pardons, for we have rebelled against him;

¹⁰ and we have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us through his servants the prophets.

¹¹ And all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside so as not to listen unto thy voice. And the curse hath been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God: for we have sinned against him.

¹² And he hath performed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; so that there hath not been done under the whole heaven as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us; yet we besought not Jehovah our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

¹⁴ And Jehovah hath watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he hath done; and we have not hearkened unto his voice.

¹⁵ —And now, O Lord our God, who broughtest thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name, as it is this day,—we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶ Lord, according to all thy righteousnesses, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; for because of our sins, and because of the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people [are become] a reproach to all round about us.

¹⁷ And now, our God, hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

¹⁸ Incline thine ear, O my God, and hear; open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and the city that is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee because of our righteousnesses, but because of thy manifold mercies.

¹⁹ Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, hearken and do! defer not, for thine own sake, O my God! for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

²⁰ And whilst I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God;

²¹ whilst I was yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

²² And he informed [me], and talked with me, and said, Daniel, I am now come forth to make thee skilful of understanding.

²³ At the beginning of thy supplications the word went forth, and I am come to declare [it]; for thou art one greatly beloved. Therefore consider the word, and have understanding in the vision:

²⁴ Seventy weeks are apportioned out upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make expiation for iniquity, and to bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.

²⁵ Know therefore and understand: From the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah, the Prince, are seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. The street and the moat shall be built again, even in troublous times.

²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with an overflow, and unto the end, war,—the desolations determined.

²⁷ And he shall confirm a covenant with the many [for] one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and because of the protection of abominations [there shall be] a desolator, even until that the consumption and what is determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing is true, but the appointed time of trial is long; and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.

² In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks:

³ I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were fulfilled.

⁴ And on the four-and-twentieth day of the first month, I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel:

⁵ and I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz;

⁶ and his body was like a chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as torches of fire, and his arms and his feet as the look of burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

⁷ And I Daniel alone saw the vision; and the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves.

⁸ And I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; and my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.

⁹ And I heard the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, I fell into a deep stupor on my face, and my face to the ground.

¹⁰ And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and the palms of my hands.

¹¹ And he said unto me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words which I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent. And as he spoke this word unto me, I stood trembling.

¹² And he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words.

¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

¹⁴ And I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people at the end of the days: for the vision is yet for [many] days.

¹⁵ And as he was speaking with me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

¹⁶ And behold, one after the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; and I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, My lord, by reason of the vision my pains are turned upon me, and I retain no strength.

¹⁷ And how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

¹⁸ Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me;

¹⁹ and he said, Fear not, man greatly beloved; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And as he was speaking with me I was strengthened, and I said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

²⁰ And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.

²¹ However, I will declare unto thee that which is set down in the scripture of truth; and there is not one that sheweth himself strong with me against these, but Michael your prince.

11 And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

² And now will I declare unto thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall enrich himself with great riches more than all; and when he hath become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

³ And a mighty king shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

⁴ And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside these.

⁵ And the king of the south, who is one of his princes, shall be strong; but [another] shall be stronger than he, and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion.

⁶ And after the course of years they shall join affinity; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make equitable conditions: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; and she shall be given up, she and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in [those] times.

⁷ But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shew himself mighty.

⁸ He shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall subsist for more years than the king of the north;

⁹ and [the same] shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land.

¹⁰ And his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; and he shall return and carry the war even to his fortress.

¹¹ And the king of the south shall be enraged, and shall come forth and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

¹² And when the multitude shall have been taken away, his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down myriads; but he shall not prevail.

¹³ For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall certainly come at the end of the times of years with a great army and with much substance.

¹⁴ And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; and the violent of thy people will exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

¹⁵ And the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take the well-fenced city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, for there shall be no strength to withstand.

¹⁶ And he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and destruction shall be in his hand.

¹⁷ And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he shall practise; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him.

¹⁸ And he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself.

¹⁹ And he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; and he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

²⁰ And in his place shall one stand up who shall cause the exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but in a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

²¹ And in his place shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

²² And the overflowing forces shall be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant.

²³ And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

²⁴ In time of peace shall he enter even into the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance, and he shall plan his devices against the fortified places, even for a time.

²⁵ And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall engage in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall plan devices against him.

²⁶ And they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; and many shall fall down slain.

²⁷ And both these kings' hearts [shall meditate] mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

²⁸ And he shall return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall practise, and return to his own land.

²⁹ At the set time he shall return, and come towards the south; but not as the former time shall be the latter;

³⁰ for ships of Chittim shall come against him; and he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; and will practise; and he shall return and direct his attention to those that forsake the holy covenant.

³¹ And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

³² And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and shall act.

³³ And they that are wise among the people shall instruct the many; and they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days.

³⁴ And when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

³⁵ And [some] of the wise shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them white, to the time of the end: for it shall yet be for the time appointed.

³⁶ And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished: for that which is determined shall be done.

³⁷ And he will not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women; nor regard any +god: for he will magnify himself above all.

³⁸ And in his place will he honour the +god of fortresses; and a +god whom his fathers knew not will he honour with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.

³⁹ And he will practise in the strongholds of fortresses with a strange +god: whoso acknowledgeth him will he increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over the many, and shall divide the land [to them] for a reward.

⁴⁰ And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and overflow and pass through.

⁴¹ And he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many [countries] shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

⁴² And he shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

⁴³ And he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

⁴⁴ But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate, and utterly to destroy many.

⁴⁵ And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the mountain of holy beauty; and he shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him.

12 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of distress, such as never was since there was a nation until that time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that is found written in the book.

² And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame, to everlasting contempt.

³ And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever.

⁴ And thou, Daniel, close the words, and seal the book, till the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

⁵ And I Daniel looked, and behold, there stood other two, the one on this side, on the bank of the river, and the other on that side, on the bank of the river.

⁶ And he said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long [is it to] the end of these wonders?

⁷ And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river; and he held up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and swore by him that liveth for ever that it is for a time, times, and a half; and when the scattering of the power of the holy people shall be accomplished, all these things shall be finished.

⁸ And I heard, but I understood not. And I said, My lord, what shall be the end of these things?

⁹ And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for these words are closed and sealed till the time of the end.

¹⁰ Many shall be purified, and be made white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

¹¹ And from the time that the continual [sacrifice] is taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand, two hundred, and ninety days.

¹² Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days!

¹³ But do thou go thy way until the end; and thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

1 The word of Jehovah that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

² The beginning of the word of Jehovah through Hosea. And Jehovah said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms; for the land is entirely given up to whoredom, away from Jehovah.

³ And he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴ And Jehovah said unto him, Call his name Jizreel; for yet a little, and I will visit the blood of Jizreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.

⁵ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jizreel.

⁶ And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And he said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah; for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, so that I should pardon them.

⁷ But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God; and I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by battle, [or] by horses, or by horsemen.

⁸ And she weaned Lo-ruhamah; and she conceived and bore a son;

⁹ and he said, Call his name Lo-ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be for you.

¹⁰ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea which cannot be measured or numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, it shall be said unto them, Sons of the living God.

¹¹ And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land: for great is the day of Jizreel.

2 Say unto your brethren Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.

² Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: and let her put away her whoredoms from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

³ lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her as a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

⁴ And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they are the children of whoredoms.

⁵ For their mother hath played the harlot; she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give [me] my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

⁶ Therefore behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns; and I will fence [her] in with a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

⁷ And she shall pursue after her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, and shall not find them: and she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now.

⁸ And she did not know that I had given her the corn and the new wine and the oil, and had multiplied to her the silver and gold, which they employed for Baal.

⁹ Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my new wine in its season, and will withdraw my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness.

¹⁰ And now will I discover her impiety in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.

¹¹ And I will cause all her mirth to cease: her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths! and all her solemnities.

¹² And I will make desolate her vine and her fig-tree, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards which my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

¹³ And I will visit upon her the days of the Baals, wherein she burned incense to them, and decked herself with her rings and jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith Jehovah.

¹⁴ Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak to her heart.

¹⁵ And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, [that] thou shalt call me, My husband, and shalt call me no more, Baali;

¹⁷ for I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

¹⁸ And I will make a covenant for them in that day with the beasts of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will break bow and sword and battle out of the land; and I will make them to lie down safely.

¹⁹ And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; and I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies;

²⁰ and I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know Jehovah.

²¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith Jehovah, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

²² and the earth shall hear the corn, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jizreel.

²³ And I will sow her unto me in the land; and I will have mercy upon Lo-ruhamah; and I will say to Lo-ammi, Thou art my people; and they shall say, My God.

3 And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of a friend, and an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah for the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love raisin-cakes.

² So I bought her to me for fifteen silver [pieces], and for a homer of barley, and a half-homer of barley.

³ And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be [another] man's, and I will also be for thee.

⁴ For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without statue, and without ephod and teraphim.

⁵ Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king; and shall turn with fear toward Jehovah and toward his goodness, at the end of the days.

4 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye children of Israel; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land; for there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.

² Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery,—they break out; and blood toucheth blood.

³ For this shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

⁴ Yet let no man strive, and let no man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

⁵ And thou shalt stumble by day; and the prophet also shall stumble with thee by night: and I will destroy thy mother.

⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; for thou hast rejected knowledge, and I will reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.

⁷ As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

⁸ They eat the sin of my people, and their soul longeth for their iniquity.

⁹ And it shall be as the people so the priest; and I will visit their ways upon them, and recompense to them their doings;

¹⁰ and they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: for they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.

¹¹ Fornication, and wine, and new wine take away the heart.

¹² My people ask counsel of their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredoms causeth [them] to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God:

¹³ they sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oak and poplar and terebinth, because the shade thereof is good; therefore your daughters play the harlot and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your daughters-in-law for their committing adultery; for they themselves go aside with harlots, and they sacrifice with prostitutes: and the people that doth not understand shall come to ruin.

¹⁵ Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, let not Judah trespass; and come ye not unto Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven, nor swear [As] Jehovah liveth!

¹⁶ For Israel is refractory as an untractable heifer; now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a wide [pasture].

¹⁷ —Ephraim is joined to idols: leave him alone.

¹⁸ Their drink is sour; they give themselves up to whoredom; her great men passionately love [their] shame.

¹⁹ The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

5 Hear this, ye priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ear, O house of the king: for this judgment is for you; for ye have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

² And they have plunged themselves in the corruption of apostasy, but I will be a chastiser of them all.

³ I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me; for now, Ephraim, thou hast committed whoredom; Israel is defiled.

⁴ Their doings do not allow them to return unto their God; for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they know not Jehovah.

⁵ And Israel's pride doth testify to his face; and Israel and Ephraim shall fall by their iniquity: Judah also shall fall with them.

⁶ They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find [him]: he hath withdrawn himself from them.

⁷ They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they have begotten strange children: now shall the new moon devour them, with their allotted possessions.

⁸ Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; cry aloud [at] Beth-aven: behind thee, O Benjamin!

⁹ Ephraim shall be a desolation in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which is sure.

¹⁰ The princes of Judah are become like them that remove the landmark: I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

¹¹ Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because in selfwill he walked after the commandment [of man].

¹² And I will be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

¹³ When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sore, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb; but he was unable to heal you, nor hath he removed your sore.

¹⁴ For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah. I, I will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.

¹⁵ I will go away, I will return to my place, till they acknowledge their trespass, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

6 Come and let us return unto Jehovah: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

² After two days will he revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before his face;

³ and we shall know,—we shall follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is assured as the morning dawn; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain which watereth the earth.

⁴ What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? What shall I do unto thee, Judah? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away.

⁵ Therefore have I hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and my judgment goeth forth as the light.

⁶ For I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.

⁷ But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

⁸ Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is tracked with blood.

⁹ And as troops of robbers lie in wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way of Shechem; yea, they commit lewdness.

¹⁰ In the house of Israel have I seen a horrible thing: the whoredom of Ephraim is there; Israel is defiled.

¹¹ Also, for thee, Judah, is a harvest appointed, when I shall turn again the captivity of my people.

7 When I would heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim is discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they practise falsehood; and the thief entereth in, [and] the troop of robbers assaileth without.

² And they say not in their hearts [that] I remember all their wickedness: now do their own doings encompass them; they are before my face.

³ They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

⁴ They all practise adultery, as an oven heated by the baker: he ceaseth from stirring [the fire] after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

⁵ In the day of our king, the princes made themselves sick with the heat of wine: he stretched out his hand to scorners.

⁶ For they have applied their heart like an oven to their lying in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth like a flaming fire.

⁷ They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

⁸ Ephraim, he mixeth himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

⁹ Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth [it] not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, and he knoweth [it] not.

¹⁰ And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face; and they do not return to Jehovah their God, nor seek him for all this.

¹¹ And Ephraim is become like a silly dove without understanding: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

¹² When they go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowl of the heavens; I will chastise them, according as their assembly hath heard.

¹³ Woe unto them! for they have wandered from me; destruction unto them! for they have transgressed against me. And I would redeem them; but they speak lies against me.

¹⁴ And they cried not unto me in their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and new wine; they have turned aside from me.

¹⁵ I have indeed trained, I have strengthened their arms, but they imagine mischief against me.

¹⁶ They return, [but] not to the [Most] High: they are like a deceitful bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

8 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. [He cometh] as an eagle against the house of Jehovah, because they have transgressed my covenant, and rebelled against my law.

² They shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee; [we], Israel.

³ Israel hath cast off good: the enemy shall pursue him.

⁴ They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not; of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

⁵ Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast [thee] off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will they be incapable of purity?

⁶ For from Israel is this also:—a workman made it, and it is no God: for the calf of Samaria shall be [broken in] pieces.

⁷ For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; should it sprout, it would yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

⁸ Israel is swallowed up: now are they become among the nations as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

⁹ For they are gone up [to] Assyria [as] a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

¹⁰ Although they hire among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall begin to be straitened under the burden of the king of princes.

¹¹ Because Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

¹² I have prescribed unto him the manifold things of my law: they are counted [as] a strange thing.

¹³ They sacrifice flesh [for] the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; Jehovah hath no delight in them. Now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

¹⁴ For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

9 Rejoice not, Israel, exultingly, as the peoples; for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved harlot's hire upon every corn-floor.

² The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail her.

³ They shall not dwell in Jehovah's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria shall they eat that which is unclean.

⁴ They shall pour out no [offerings of] wine to Jehovah, neither shall their sacrifices be pleasing unto him: they shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be defiled: for their bread shall be for themselves; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah.

⁵ What will ye do in the day of assembly, and in the day of the feast of Jehovah?

⁶ For behold, they are gone away because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Moph shall bury them: their pleasant things of silver, nettles shall possess them; thorns shall be in their tents.

⁷ The days of visitation are come; the days of recompence are come: Israel shall know [it]: the prophet is a fool, the inspired man is mad, because of the greatness of thine iniquity, and the great enmity.

⁸ Is Ephraim a watchman with my God? [nay] the prophet is a fowler's snare on all his ways, enmity in the house of his God.

⁹ They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

¹⁰ I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness; as first-ripe fruit on the fig-tree, I saw your fathers at the beginning: they went to Baal-Peor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and became abominations like their lover.

¹¹ As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away as a bird,—no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

¹² For even should they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, [that] not a man [remain]: for woe also to them when I shall have departed from them!

¹³ Ephraim, as I saw [him], was a Tyre planted in a beautiful place; but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the slayer.

¹⁴ Give them, Jehovah—what wilt thou give?—give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

¹⁵ All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them: because of the wickedness of their doings, I will drive them out of my house, I will love them no more: all their princes are rebellious.

¹⁶ Ephraim is smitten: their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they should bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved [fruit] of their womb.

¹⁷ My God hath rejected them, because they hearkened not unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

10 Israel is an unpruned vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the abundance of his fruit he hath multiplied altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly statues.

² Their heart is divided; now shall they be found guilty: he will break down their altars, he will destroy their statues.

³ For now they will say, We have no king, for we feared not Jehovah; and a king, what can he do for us?

⁴ They speak [mere] words, swearing falsely in making a covenant; therefore shall judgment spring up as hemlock in the furrows of the fields.

⁵ The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calf of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the idolatrous priests thereof shall tremble for it, for its glory, because it is departed from it.

⁶ Yea, it shall be carried unto Assyria [as] a present for king Jareb: Ephraim shall be seized with shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

⁷ As for Samaria her king is cut off as chips upon the face of the waters.

⁸ And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up upon their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us! and to the hills, Fall on us!

⁹ From the days of Gibeah hast thou sinned, O Israel: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

¹⁰ At my pleasure will I chastise them; and the peoples shall be assembled against them, when they are bound for their two iniquities.

¹¹ And Ephraim is a trained heifer, that loveth to tread out [the corn]; I have passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to draw; Judah shall plough, Jacob shall break his clods.

¹² Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

¹³ Ye have ploughed wickedness, reaped iniquity, eaten the fruit of lies; for thou didst confide in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

¹⁴ And a tumult shall arise among thy peoples, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces with the children.

¹⁵ So shall Bethel do unto you because of the wickedness of your wickedness: at day-break shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

11 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

² As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baals, and burned incense to graven images.

³ And I it was that taught Ephraim to walk,—He took them upon his arms,—but they knew not that I healed them.

⁴ I drew them with bands of a man, with cords of love; and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I gently caused them to eat.

⁵ He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king; for they refused to return [to me];

⁶ and the sword shall turn about in his cities, and shall consume his bars, and devour [them], because of their own counsels.

⁷ Yea, my people are bent upon backsliding from me: though they call them to the Most High, none at all exalteth [him].

⁸ How shall I give thee over, Ephraim? [how] shall I deliver thee up, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? [how] shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

⁹ I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man,—the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not come in anger.

¹⁰ They shall walk after Jehovah; he shall roar like a lion; when he shall roar, then the children shall hasten from the west:

¹¹ they shall hasten as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will cause them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah.

¹² Ephraim encompasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah yet walketh with God, and with the holy things of truth.

12 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and pursueth after the east wind: all day long he multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.

² Jehovah hath also a controversy with Judah, and he will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

³ He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he wrestled with God.

⁴ Yea, he wrestled with the Angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us,

⁵ —even Jehovah, the God of hosts,—Jehovah is his memorial.

⁶ And thou, return unto thy God: keep loving-kindness and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

⁷ [He is] a merchant, balances of deceit are in his hand; he loveth to oppress.

⁸ And Ephraim saith, Nevertheless I am become rich, I have found me out substance; in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

⁹ But I [that am] Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt will again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.

¹⁰ And I have spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by means of the prophets have I used similitudes.

¹¹ If Gilead is iniquity, surely they are but vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

¹² And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [sheep].

¹³ And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

¹⁴ Ephraim provoked [him] to anger most bitterly; and his Lord shall leave his blood upon him, and recompense unto him his reproach.

13 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel: but he trespassed through Baal, and he died.

² And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

³ Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the lattice.

⁴ Yet I [am] Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou hast known no God but me; and there is no saviour besides me.

⁵ I knew thee in the wilderness, in the land of drought.

⁶ According to their pasture, they became full; they became full, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me.