1 To you, O Lord, I will lift up my soul. 2 In you I have trusted, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. 3 All who hope in you will never be put to shame, but those who are treacherous for no reason will be put to shame.
A Prayer for Forgiveness
4 Make known to me your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. 5 Make me walk in your truth and teach me, because you are the God who saves me. In you I hope all day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and your mercy, for they are from eternity. [1] 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways. According to your mercy remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord. 8 Good and upright is the Lord. Therefore, he instructs sinners in the right way. 9 He directs the humble to what is just, and he teaches the humble his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, you forgive my guilt, although it is great.
A Prayer for a Godly Life
12 Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord? The Lord will instruct him in the way he chooses. 13 That man will enjoy a good life, and his descendants will possess the land. 14 The guidance [2] of the Lord is with those who fear him. His covenant will give them knowledge.
A Second Prayer for Protection
15 My eyes are always on the Lord, because he frees my feet from the net. 16 Turn toward me and be gracious to me, because I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The distress of my heart increases. [3] Bring me out of my anguish. 18 See my affliction and my trouble, and take away all my sins. 19 See my enemies— how they have increased, and how violently they hate me! 20 Guard my life and rescue me. Do not let me be put to shame, for I have taken refuge in you. 21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because I wait for you. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress!
Footnotes
Psalm 25:6 Or from of old
Psalm 25:14 The Hebrew word used here implies the kind of advice given by a close friend and confidant.
Psalm 25:17 Or, following an alternate reading of the Hebrew, relieve the distress of my heart
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1 The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. 2 He causes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
The Shepherd Protects His People
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Royal Host Provides for His People
5 You set a table for me in the presence of my foes. You drench my head with oil. [1] My cup is overflowing. 6 Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. [2]
Psalm 24
The King of Glory
Heading
By David. A psalm.
The King of Glory Owns the Whole World
1 The earth is the Lord’s and everything that fills it, the world and all who live in it, 2 because he founded it on the seas, and he established it on the rivers. [3]
The King of Glory Is Served by a Holy People
3 Who may go up to the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, whose soul is not set on what is false, who does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God who saves him. 6 Such are the people of Jacob who look for the Lord, who seek your face. [4]Interlude
The King of Glory Comes
7 Lift up your heads, you gates. Lift yourselves up, you ancient doors, and the King of Glory will come in. 8 Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, you gates. Lift up, you ancient doors, and the King of Glory will come in. 10 Who is he, this King of Glory? The Lord of Armies—he is the King of Glory. Interlude [5]
Footnotes
Psalm 23:5 Scenting someone with perfumed olive oil was a part of celebrations. The verb used here is not the verb used for anointing someone to an office.
Psalm 23:6 Literally for length of days or for days without end
Psalm 24:2 Or ocean currents
Psalm 24:6 Literally this is the generation (or circle) of those who seek him, who seek your face Jacob. The syntax of the verse is difficult. It appears that in the Hebrew Jacob should be understood as an apposition to those who seek him. The Greek reads the generation of those who look for him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Psalm 24:10 The Hebrew selah seems to indicate a musical interlude for reflection.
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22 I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation I will praise you. 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised nor detested the affliction of the afflicted. He has not hidden his face from him, but when he cried out to him, he heard. 25 You are the source of my praise in the great congregation. [1] I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear him.
The Glory of Messiah’s Kingdom
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him will praise the Lord— may he live in your hearts forever! [2] 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before you. 28 For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. 29 All the rich of the earth will eat and bow down. All who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. [3] 30 Descendants will serve him. For generations people will be told about the Lord. 31 They will come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet to be born— because he has done it.
Footnotes
Psalm 22:25 This verse may mean that the Son praises the Father in the great congregation (as in verse 22) or that the Father praises the Son in the great congregation. The first option seems to fit the context best.
Psalm 22:26 Or may your hearts live forever
Psalm 22:29 The ancient versions read my soul will live for him rather than my soul will not live.
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For the choir director. According to “Doe of the Dawn.” [1]
A psalm by David.
Part One: The Messiah’s Suffering
The Messiah’s Plea
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? My groaning does nothing to save me. 2 My God, I call out by day, but you do not answer. I call out by night, but there is no relief for me. [2]
God’s Help in the Past
3 Yet you are seated as the Holy One, praised by Israel. 4 In you our fathers trusted. They trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried out to you, and they were rescued. They trusted in you, and they were not disappointed.
God’s Present Absence
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me. They sneer. They shake their heads. 8 They say, “Trust in the Lord.” [3] “Let the Lord deliver him. Let him rescue him, if he delights in him.” [4]
The Mutual Love of Father and Son
9 But you are the one who brought me out of the belly. You made me trust when I was at my mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast on you from the womb. From the belly of my mother you have been my God. 11 Do not be distant from me, for distress is near, and there is no one to help.
The Power of His Enemies
12 Many bulls surround me. Strong bulls from Bashan encircle me. 13 Enemies open their mouths wide against me, like a lion that tears its prey and roars. 14 Like water I am poured out. All my bones are pulled apart. My heart has become like wax. It has melted in the middle of my chest. 15 My strength is dried up like broken pottery, and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me. A band of evil men has encircled me. They have pierced [5] my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them. For my clothing they cast lots.
The Greater Power of God
19 But you, O Lord, do not be distant. O my Strength, come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver my life from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion. From the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me. [6]
Footnotes
Psalm 22:1 This may be the name of the tune. An alternate reading is help at dawn.
Psalm 22:2 Or I am never silent
Psalm 22:8 Literally roll [your troubles] to the Lord
Psalm 22:8 The first part of the quotation is addressed to the suffering Messiah. The second part is addressed to their fellow mockers, so they are marked as two separate quotations.
Psalm 22:16 The reading they have pierced is found in some Hebrew manuscripts, including one of the oldest, as well as in other ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts read like a lion instead of a verb.
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1 May the Lord answer you in the day of distress. May the name of the God of Jacob lift you up. 2 May he send you help from the holy place. May he support you from Zion. 3 May he remember all your sacrificial gifts. Interlude May he accept your burnt offerings. 4 May he give you whatever your heart desires. May he fulfill all your plans. 5 We will shout joyfully when God saves you. In the name of our God we will lift up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your prayers.
The King’s Response
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his Anointed. [1] He answers him from his holy heavens with powerful acts of salvation from his right hand.
The People’s Prayer
7 Some rely on chariots, and some on horses, but we rely on the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9 Lord, save the king! Answer us in the day we call!
Psalm 21
Thanksgiving for Victory
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
The People Thank the Lord for Victory
1 O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength. He joyfully celebrates salvation from you. 2 You have granted him what his heart desired. Interlude You have not denied the request from his lips. 3 Yes, you meet him to give him great blessings. You place a crown of pure gold on his head. 4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, forever and ever. 5 He receives great glory through the salvation you gave. You bestow splendor and majesty on him. 6 Surely you grant him blessings forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence. 7 Surely the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he will not be shaken.
The People Assure the King of Future Victory
8 Your hand will reach all your enemies. Your right hand will reach those who hate you. 9 At the time when you appear, O Lord, you will make them like a blazing furnace. In his anger he will swallow them. Fire will consume them. 10 You will cause their fruit to perish from the earth, their seed [2] from among the children of Adam. 11 Indeed, they intend [3] evil against you. They plan wicked schemes, but they will not succeed, 12 because you will make them turn and run when you get ready to aim your arrows at them.
The People Praise the Lord
13 Rise up, O Lord, in your strength. We will sing and make music because of your might.
Footnotes
Psalm 20:6 That is, the king of Israel, who as a type of Christ was called by the title the Anointed
Psalm 21:10 Fruit and seed refer to their descendants.
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1 The heavens tell about the glory of God. The expanse of the sky proclaims the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour out speech. Night after night they display knowledge. 3 They do not speak. They say no words. Their voice is not heard. [1] 4 Their voice [2] goes out into all the earth, and their word reaches the end of the world.
God has pitched a tent for the sun in the heavens. 5 It comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy. It celebrates like a champion who has run his race. 6 It sets out from one end of the heavens. It runs until it reaches the other end. There is nowhere to hide from its heat.
The Glory of God Revealed in His Word
7 The law [3] of the Lord is perfect. It revives the soul. The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy. It gives wisdom to the inexperienced. [4] 8 The precepts of the Lord are right. They give joy to the heart. The commandment of the Lord is bright. It gives light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure. It stands forever. The just decrees of the Lord are truth. They are altogether righteous. 10 They are more desirable than gold, even better than much pure gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the honeycomb.
The Glory of God Revealed in the Believer’s Life
11 Yes, by them your servant is warned. In keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can recognize his own errors? Declare me innocent of hidden sins. 13 Restrain your servant also from deliberate sins. Do not let them rule over me. Then I will be blameless. Then I will be innocent of great rebellion. 14 May the speech from my mouth and the thoughts in my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Footnotes
Psalm 19:3 Or there is no speech or language where their voice is not heard
Psalm 19:4 The translation follows the Greek. The Hebrew reads their measuring line.
Psalm 19:7 The Hebrew term torah, traditionally translated law, includes other forms of instruction besides laws. Here it refers to God’s whole word, including the gospel.
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31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 This God wraps me with strength and makes my way perfect. [1] 33 By making my feet like those of a deer he enables me to stand on high places. 34 Because he trains my hands for battle, my arms can draw a bronze bow. 35 Then you give me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me, and you stoop down to lift me up. 36 You widen the path under my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.
David’s Victories
37 I pursued my enemies, and I overtook them. So I did not turn back until they were wiped out. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise again. They fell beneath my feet. 39 You wrapped me with strength for battle. You made those who rose up against me bow down to me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs and flee. I destroyed those who hate me. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them. They cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. 42 So I grind them as fine as dust blown by the wind. I dump them out like mud in the streets. 43 You delivered me from the accusations of the people. You made me the head of nations. A people I did not know serve me. 44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me. Foreigners cower before me. 45 Foreigners fall exhausted. They come trembling from their strongholds.
Closing Words of Faith
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! May the God who saves me be exalted! 47 The God who avenges me subdues peoples under me. 48 You delivered me from my enemies. Yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me. You rescued me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, Lord. To your name I will make music. 50 By providing great salvation for his King, he shows mercy to his Anointed One, to David and to his Descendant [2] forever.
Footnotes
Psalm 18:32 Or smooth
Psalm 18:50 Literally seed. The word seed connects this passage to the messianic promises given to Eve and to Abraham. By preserving David and his royal line, God carried on the messianic line that would reach its goal in Jesus.
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Unfailing Kindness to David
And to His Descendant Forever
(2 Samuel 22)
Heading
For the choir director.
By David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, even from the grasp of Saul.
Praise to the Rock of Salvation
1 Then he said: I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rocky cliff, my stronghold, and my deliverer. My God is my rock. I take refuge in him. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high fortress. 3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
Deliverance From Death
4 The ropes of death entangled me. Floodwaters of destruction [1] rolled over me. 5 The ropes of the grave wrapped around me. The traps of death threatened me. 6 In my distress I called to the Lord. To my God I cried out. He heard my voice from his temple. My cry came before him. It reached his ears.
The Greatness of the Deliverance
7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains [2] trembled. They shook because the Lord was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and fire from his mouth devoured. Coals were set on fire by it. 9 Then he tore open the heavens and came down. A dark cloud was under his feet. 10 He rode upon a cherub, [3] and he flew. He soared on the wings of the wind. 11 He made the darkness around him his hiding place. Dark rain clouds [4] surrounded him like a canopy. 12 Emerging from the brightness in front of him his clouds passed by with hail and coals of fire. 13 Then the Lord thundered in the heavens. The Most High raised his voice with hail and coals of fire. [5] 14 Then he shot his arrows and scattered the enemy. He shot great lightning bolts and routed them. 15 Then the sources of water [6] were revealed, and the foundations of the world were uncovered by your rebuke, O Lord, by the breath of wind from your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me. He drew me out of deep waters. 17 Because they were too strong for me, he rescued me from my powerful enemy, from those who hate me. 18 They confronted me on the day of my disaster, but the Lord supported me. 19 Then he brought me out into a wide-open space. He rescued me because he delighted in me.
David’s Uprightness as a Basis for God’s Judgment
20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands he has repaid me, 21 for I have kept the ways of the Lord. I have not done evil and departed from my God. 22 So all his just decrees remain before me, and I have not turned his statutes away from me. 23 I have been blameless with him. I have kept myself from guilt. 24 The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
God’s Uprightness as a Basis for His Judgment
25 To the merciful you reveal yourself as merciful. To the blameless person you reveal yourself as blameless. 26 To the pure you reveal yourself as pure, but to the crooked you reveal yourself as crafty. 27 For you save humble people, but you bring low the eyes of the arrogant. 28 Yes, you light my lamp, O Lord. My God turns my darkness to light. 29 For with you I can charge against a battalion, and with my God I can jump over a wall.
God Equips David for Victory
30 This God—his way is blameless. The speech of the Lord is pure. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
Footnotes
Psalm 18:4 Hebrew floodwaters of belial. Belial means worthless or unrestrained. It later became a name for Satan.
Psalm 18:7 See 2 Samuel 22:8, which reads foundations of the heavens.
Psalm 18:10 The cherubim are the powerful angels who serve as God’s honor guard.
Psalm 18:11 Literally darkness of waters, clouds of a cloudy sky
Psalm 18:13 The Greek text does not include hail and coals of fire in this verse. It may be an accidental repetition from the preceding verse. The parallel in 2 Samuel 22:14 does not have this repetition.
Psalm 18:15 Sources of the sea is the reading in the parallel text in 2 Samuel 22:16.
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1 Hear my righteous plea, O Lord. Pay attention to my outcry. Turn your ear to my prayer, which is not offered by deceitful lips. 2 May a just verdict for me come from you. May your eyes observe the things that are right. 3 You have tested my heart. You have visited me at night. You have refined me; you have found nothing wrong. I resolved that my mouth will not overstep its bounds. 4 As for the deeds of people: by the words from your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent. 5 Keep my footsteps on your paths. My steps have not slipped.
God’s Love
6 Indeed, I call to you because you will answer me, O God. Turn your ear toward me. Hear what I say. 7 Perform wonders through your mercy. By your right hand save those who seek refuge from those who rise up against them. 8 Guard me like the pupil of your eye. [1] In the shadow of your wings hide me 9 from the wicked who try to destroy me, from those enemies of my life who surround me.
The Enemies’ Ruthlessness
10 Their hearts are calloused. [2] Their mouths speak arrogantly. 11 Now they surround our steps. They watch us to throw us to the ground. 12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear, like a young lion crouching in its hiding place. 13 Rise, O Lord. Confront him. Bring him down. Save my life from the wicked by your sword. 14 Save me from such men by your hand, O Lord, from men of this world, whose reward is in this life.
Closing Confidence
14b But you fill the stomachs of those whom you treasure. [3] Their children are satisfied, and they leave their wealth to their children. 15 Indeed, in righteousness I will view your face. When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Footnotes
Psalm 17:8 Traditionally the apple of your eye
Psalm 17:10 Literally they close their fat
Psalm 17:14 Many translations join verse 14b with the first part of verse 14, understanding it as an observation about the worldly prosperity of the ungodly. They translate with your treasure you fill their stomachs.
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1 Lord, who may be a guest in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
The Answer: The One Who Does What Is Righteous
2 One who walks with integrity, who does what is righteous, and who speaks the truth in his heart. 3 He has no slander on his tongue. He does not harm his friend, and he does not defame his neighbor. 4 He despises everyone whom God rejects, but he honors those who fear the Lord. When he promises something, he does not break his word even though it costs him a lot. 5 He does not lend his money to get interest, [1] and he does not accept a bribe against the innocent. One who does these things will never be toppled.
Psalm 16
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
Heading
A miktam [2] by David.
You Are My Lord
1 Guard me, O God, for I take refuge in you. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord. I have no good apart from you.” [3] 3 The holy ones who are in the land are glorious. All my delight is in them. 4 Those who chase after another god will increase their sorrows. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood. I will not take up their names on my lips.
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
5 Lord, you are the cup that has been given to me. You have secured an allotment for me. 6 The property lines chosen for me fall in pleasant places. Yes, a delightful inheritance is mine. 7 I will bless the Lord, who guides me. Even at night my heart [4] instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being [5] rejoices. Even my flesh will dwell securely 10 because you will not abandon my life to the grave. You will not let your favored one [6] see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life, fullness of joy in your presence, pleasures at your right hand forever.
Footnotes
Psalm 15:5 Or perhaps excessive interest
Psalm 16:1 The meaning of miktam is uncertain. It may mean a golden psalm or a choice piece or a psalm inscribed on a tablet.
Psalm 16:2 The Hebrew of verses 2–4 is difficult and may be understood in more than one way.
Psalm 16:7 Literally kidneys. In Hebrew the word kidneys has some of the same connotations that heart does in English.
Psalm 16:9 Literally my glory. A few manuscripts read liver, which in Hebrew idiom parallels heart as a center of emotion.
Psalm 16:10 The Hebrew word hasid refers to a person who receives favor or distributes mercy. Here it refers to Christ, but it is not capitalized because it does not become one of his messianic titles.
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1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I experience worries in my soul, sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy tower over me?
An Urgent Prayer
3 Look at me. Answer me, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes so I do not sleep in death, 4 so my enemy does not say, “I have overcome him,” so my foes do not rejoice when I fall.
A Solid Answer
5 But I trust in your mercy. My heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord because he has accomplished his purpose for me.
Psalm 14
The Fool (Psalm 53)
Heading
For the choir director. By David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. There is no one who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God. 3 Every one of them has turned away. Altogether they have become rotten. There is no one who does good. There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t any of these evildoers understand, those who devour my people as if they were eating bread? They do not call on the Lord. 5 There they are! They are terrified because God is present in the circle of the righteous. 6 You try to put the plans of the poor to shame, but the Lord is their refuge.
Closing Prayer
7 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion? [1] When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Footnotes
Psalm 14:7 Or Oh that salvation for Israel would come from Zion!
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1 When Ephraim spoke, people would tremble. He was highly honored in Israel, but he became guilty through worshipping Baal, so he died. 2 Now they sin more and more. They make cast images for themselves, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said about them, “The ones who sacrifice are humans who kiss calves!” [1] 3 Therefore they will be like morning mist, and like early dew that passes away, like chaff that is blown away from the threshing floor, and like smoke from a chimney. 4 But I have been the Lord your God since you left the land of Egypt. You must not acknowledge any god except me. There is no Savior except me. 5 I took care of you in the wilderness, in a land burned by drought. 6 When they had pasture, they were satisfied. When they were satisfied, their hearts became arrogant. That is why they have forgotten me. 7 So I will be like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk along the path. 8 I will come upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs. I will tear the cover off their hearts. Then I will devour them like a lioness. The wild animals will rip them apart. 9 This is what has destroyed you, Israel: the fact that you are against me, against your helper. [2] 10 So where is your king, so that he may save you in all your cities, and your judges, whom you requested, saying, “Give me a king and officials”? 11 I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath. 12 The guilt of Ephraim is wrapped up. His sin is stored up. 13 Labor pains will come for him, but he is not a wise son, for when the time arrives, he is not ready to be born.
14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave! [3] I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Grave, where is your destruction?
Compassion will be hidden from my eyes. 15 Although he flourishes as a son among brothers, [4] an east wind will come. The breath [5] of the Lord is coming up from the wilderness. His spring will become dry. His fountain will be dried up. His treasury will be plundered of every precious article. 16 Samaria will be found guilty, because she rebelled against her God. The people will fall by the sword. Their little children will be dashed to the ground, and their pregnant women will be ripped open. [6]
Return to the Lord!
Hosea 14
1 Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your guilt. 2 Take words with you [7] and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our guilt, and receive us graciously, and let us present the fruit of our lips as bulls. [8] 3 Assyria cannot save us. We will not ride on horses. We will no longer call the work of our hands our gods! For in you the fatherless child finds compassion.”
4 I will cure them of their unfaithfulness. I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be refreshing like dew to Israel. It will blossom like a lily. It will take root like a cedar of Lebanon. 6 Its young shoots will sprout. Its beauty will be like an olive tree. Its fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. 7 Those who live in Israel’s shade will once again grow grain. They will blossom like a grape vine. Its fame will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim, how much more do I have to put up with from idols? I am the one who has answered, and I look after him. I am like a fresh fir tree. Your fruit comes from me.
9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is discerning? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.
Footnotes
Hosea 13:2 Or they offer human sacrifice and kiss calves. The line is difficult.
Hosea 13:9 Or it has destroyed you, Israel, because it is from me, from your helper
Hosea 13:14 Hebrew sheol
Hosea 13:15 Or among the reeds. The translation above is a literal rendering of the Hebrew.
Hosea 13:15 Or wind
Hosea 13:16 English verse 13:16 is verse 14:1 in Hebrew. In chapter 14 the subsequent Hebrew verse numbers are one higher than the English numbers.
Hosea 14:2 Or prepare a speech or take back your words
Hosea 14:2 The text and meaning of this line are uncertain.
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1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called to them, the more they went away from me. [1] They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. 3 Yet I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk. I took them in my arms, [2] but they did not realize that it was I who healed them. 4 I drew them with cords suitable for a man, [3] with ropes of love. For them I became like someone who lifts a yoke off their neck, and I bent down to feed them.
5 They will not [4] return into the land of Egypt. Instead, an Assyrian will be their king, because they refused to repent. 6 The sword will slash against their cities. It will destroy the bars of their gates, and it will devour them because of their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn away from me. Though they call him the Most High, he certainly will not exalt them.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? [5] My heart is changed inside me. All my compassion is stirred up. 9 I will not carry out my burning anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again, because I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you. I will not enter a city. [6] 10 They will follow the Lord. He will roar like a lion. Yes, he will roar, and his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come trembling like a bird from Egypt, and like a dove from the land of Assyria. I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.
Israel Must Repent
12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit. Judah still strays from [7] God, even from the Holy One, who is faithful. [8]
Hosea 12
1 Ephraim feeds on wind and chases the east wind all day. He multiplies lies and violence. They make a treaty with Assyria, and olive oil is carried to Egypt. 2 The Lord has a case against Judah. He will deal with Jacob according to his ways. According to his deeds he will repay him. 3 In the womb Jacob grasped his brother by the heel, and when he was a grown man, he struggled with God. 4 He wrestled with the Angel and prevailed. He wept and sought his favor. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him, [9] 5 namely, with the Lord, the God of Armies. The Lord is the name by which he is to be remembered! 6 So return to your God. Observe mercy and justice, and wait for your God continually.
7 A merchant has fraudulent scales in his hand. He loves to defraud others. 8 Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich. I have secured wealth for myself. Among all my possessions no one will find anything that makes me guilty of sin.”
9 But I have been the Lord your God from the time you left the land of Egypt. I will make you dwell in tents again, as in the days of the appointed festival. [10] 10 I have spoken to the prophets. I have given numerous visions. I taught meaningful lessons through the prophets. 11 Since Gilead is wicked, it is certain that they are worthless. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Yes, their altars are like piles of stones in the furrows of a field. 12 Jacob fled to the territory of Aram. Israel worked as a servant to get a wife, and for a wife, he took care of sheep. 13 By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he took care of Israel. 14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger. Therefore his Lord will leave him bloodied by his guilt and bring his disgrace back on him.
Footnotes
Hosea 11:2 A variant reading is the more they called them, the more they went away from them.
Hosea 11:3 The text of the pronouns in this verse is uncertain. The translation follows the Greek Old Testament.
Hosea 11:4 Literally cords of mankind. The words translated man and love have homonyms meaning leather, so there may be a play on words here.
Hosea 11:5 Not is missing from some manuscripts.
Hosea 11:8 Admah and Zeboiim were daughter cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Hosea 11:9 Or come in wrath. The Hebrew is difficult.
Hosea 11:12 Literally wanders with. Translations disagree whether the term is negative or positive.
Hosea 11:12 English verse 11:12 is verse 12:1 in Hebrew. In chapter 12 the subsequent Hebrew verse numbers are one higher than the English numbers.
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1 Do not rejoice, Israel, with excessive celebration like the nations, because you act promiscuously against your God. You love the wages you can earn as a prostitute at every threshing floor for grain. 2 The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail for them. 3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land. Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria. 4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord. Their sacrifices will not be pleasing to him. For them, their bread will become like the bread eaten by mourners. Everyone who eats it will be unclean. This bread will only serve their own appetite. It will not enter the House of the Lord. 5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festivals and on the feast days of the Lord? 6 Know this! Even if they flee from destruction, Egypt will gather them up. Memphis will bury them. Thistles will overgrow their silver treasures. Thorns will grow inside their tents. 7 The days of reckoning have come. The days of retribution have come. Israel should know this!
Israel Rejects the Prophets
The prophet is treated like a fool, and the man of the Spirit is called crazy, because your guilt is enormous, and because your hostility is so great. 8 A prophet is to be a watchman over Ephraim for my God, but a fowler’s snare is laid for him on all of Ephraim’s paths, and he encounters hostility in the house of his God. [1] 9 They have become extremely corrupt, as they were in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their guilt. He will punish them for their sins.
Fertility Worship Brings No Fertility
10 I regarded Israel like grapes found in the wilderness. I regarded your forefathers like the first ripe fruit on a fig tree in its first season, but they went to Baal Peor, and they devoted themselves to a shameful thing, and they became as disgusting as the thing they loved. 11 Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! 12 Even if they bring up their children, I will deprive them of each one. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them! 13 I have seen Ephraim planted in a pleasant place like Tyre, but Ephraim will bring its children out to the executioner. 14 Give to them, Lord—but what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. 15 Because of all their evil in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their evil deeds, I will drive them out of my house! I will love them no more. All their officials are rebels. 16 Ephraim has been struck down. Their root has dried up. They will bear no fruit. Even if they give birth, I will put their precious offspring to death.
17 My God will reject them, because they have not obeyed him. They will be wanderers among the nations.
Hosea 10
1 Israel was a spreading [2] vine. He produced fruit for himself. The more fruit he produced, the more altars he made. The richer the land became, the richer he made his sacred memorial stones.
2 Their hearts are insincere, [3] so now they will suffer for their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their sacred memorial stones.
Kings Cannot Save You
3 Certainly now they will say, “We have no king because we did not fear the Lord, but what could such a king do for us anyway?” 4 They speak empty words. With empty oaths, they make agreements. That is why disputes sprout like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. 5 The inhabitants of Samaria will be terrified because of the calf [4] of Beth Aven. Yes, its people will mourn over it, and its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, over its lost glory, because it has gone into exile. 6 It will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the Great King. [5] Ephraim will be gripped with shame, and Israel will be ashamed of its own idol. [6] 7 Samaria, like her king, will be carried off like a twig on the surface of the water. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will become unusable. Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars. They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Learn the Lesson of Gibeah
9 Israel, you have sinned ever since the days of Gibeah, where the evildoers took their stand. The war against the evildoers caught up with them at Gibeah, did it not? 10 When I see fit, I will discipline them. [7] Peoples will be gathered against them to bind them for their double guilt. [8]
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh. I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. [9] I will harness Ephraim. Judah will plow. Jacob will break up the ground. 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, and reap mercy. Break up your fallow ground. It is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and rains righteousness on you. 13 You have plowed wickedness. You have reaped injustice. You have eaten the fruit of your lies, because you trusted in your own way, in the large number of your strong warriors. 14 Therefore the roar of battle will rise against your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed, as Shalman [10] devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle. Mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. 15 This is what will be done to you, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Footnotes
Hosea 9:8 This verse is difficult.
Hosea 10:1 The Hebrew word may have a negative connotation like invasive.
Hosea 10:2 Or divided
Hosea 10:5 Variant calves
Hosea 10:6 The text of the last word of the line is uncertain.
Hosea 10:6 Or plan. The meaning of the last word is uncertain.
Hosea 10:10 The text of the line is uncertain.
Hosea 10:10 Or two crimes. The text of the line is uncertain.
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15 I will go. I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will earnestly seek me.
Israel’s Need to Return to the Lord
15 Come, let us return to the Lord. For he has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us. He has struck us, but he will bandage our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, so that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us acknowledge the Lord. Let us pursue knowledge of the Lord. As surely as the sun rises, the Lord will appear. He will come to us like a heavy rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.
God’s Grief Over Israel’s Impenitence
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? For your faithfulness [1] is like a morning mist, like early dew that disappears. 5 That is why I cut them to pieces by means of the prophets. I killed them with the words of my mouth. The judgments against you go forth like the light. 6 For I desire mercy, [2] and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. 7 Like Adam, [3] they have broken the covenant. They acted treacherously against me there. 8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with bloody footprints. 9 As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so do bands of priests. They commit murder on the road to Shechem. They have committed shameful crimes. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing. Ephraim practices sexual immorality there. Israel defiles itself. 11 Judah, also for you, a harvest has been appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people. [4]
Israel’s Corruption
7 Whenever I want to heal Israel, the guilt of Ephraim is uncovered, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed, because they deal dishonestly. Thieves come inside, and bandits raid outside. 2 In their hearts Ephraim does not realize that I remember all their wickedness. Now their deeds are all around them. They are in front of my face. 3 The people of Ephraim make the king glad with their wickedness. They make their officials happy with their lies. 4 They are all adulterers, burning like an oven. The baker does not need to stoke the fire from the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened. 5 On the day [5] of our [6] king, the officials became sick from the intoxicating wine. He reaches out his hand to the blasphemers. 6 Indeed, their hearts are like an oven. They approach him, while plotting against him. Their anger sleeps all night, but in the morning it burns like a blazing fire. 7 They are all hot as an oven. They devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen. Not one of them calls on me. 8 Ephraim mixes itself with the nations. Ephraim is a flatbread not turned over. 9 Strangers have devoured his strength, but he does not realize it. There are gray hairs on his head, but he does not realize it. 10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him, yet they have not returned to the Lord their God, and they have not sought him, despite all this.
Israel’s Instability
11 Ephraim is like a gullible dove, without sense. They call to Egypt. Then they appeal to Assyria. 12 When they go out, I will spread my net over them. I will bring them down like birds from the sky. I will discipline them, on the basis of the report about their assembly. [7] 13 Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction comes upon them, because they have rebelled against me! I want to redeem them, but they speak lies against me. 14 They do not cry out to me with their hearts, but they howl on their beds. They gather together [8] for grain and new wine. They turn away from me. 15 Though I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against me. 16 They return, but not upward. [9] They are like an unreliable bow. Their officials will fall by the sword because of their angry tongues. Because of this, they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
The Lord’s Anger Burns Against Israel
8 Raise a ram’s horn to your lips! A vulture is circling over [10] the Lord’s house, because they have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law. 2 Israel cries out to me, “My God, we acknowledge [11] you!” 3 But, in fact, Israel has rejected what is good. An enemy will pursue him. 4 They set up kings, but not with my approval. They installed officials, but I did not choose [12] them. From their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, so they will be cut off. 5 I reject [13] your calf idol, Samaria! My anger burns against these people! How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6 That thing sitting there is from Israel! A craftsman made it, so it is not God. Certainly that calf of Samaria will be smashed to pieces! 7 Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. The standing grain forms no heads, so it will yield no flour. Even if it would yield flour, foreigners would swallow it up. 8 Israel is swallowed up. Now among the nations they are like a pot no one wants. 9 For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey all by itself. Ephraim has hired lovers. 10 Even though they hire lovers among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to suffer in a little while, because of oppression by a king with many officials. 11 Ephraim has multiplied his altars for sin offerings, but for him they became altars for sinning. 12 Though I wrote many teachings from my law for them, they regarded them as strange. 13 They offer sacrifices to me just to get the meat. [14] They sacrifice flesh and eat it, but the Lord is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their guilt and punish their sins. They will return to Egypt. 14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and built palaces. [15] Judah has multiplied its fortified cities, but I will send fire on its cities, which will devour its citadels.
Footnotes
Hosea 6:4 Or mercy
Hosea 6:6 Or faithfulness
Hosea 6:7 Or at Adam. We are aware of no act of covenant breaking at the city of Adam.
Hosea 6:11 Or though I would rather restore my people from captivity. Some translations join this line with verse 7:1.
Hosea 7:5 The birthday or the coronation day
Hosea 7:5 The Targum reads their.
Hosea 7:12 Or I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together. The meaning of the line is uncertain.
Hosea 7:14 Or they cut themselves, a reference to heathen religious practices
Hosea 7:16 Or not for the better. The translation above is literal. Many translations suggest the emendations return to the Most High or turn to Baal.
Hosea 8:1 Or an eagle is about to swoop down on
Hosea 8:2 Or know
Hosea 8:4 Literally know
Hosea 8:5 The Hebrew text reads he rejects. Ancient versions read reject! Sudden shifts of person are not unusual in Hosea.
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1 Hear the word of the Lord, you people of Israel,
because the Lord has charges to make against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land. 2 There is cursing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery. They break out in violence, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns, [1] and everyone who dwells in it wastes away along with the wild animals and the birds in the sky. Even the fish of the sea have been removed. 4 Yet no one should bring charges. No one should accuse, because your people are like those who dispute with a priest. [2] 5 You will stumble by day, and the prophet will also stumble with you by night. I will also destroy your mother. 6 My people have been destroyed because of lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from serving as a priest for me. Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. 7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me. I changed their glory into shame. [3] 8 They feed on the sin of my people. They set their desire on things that make them guilty. 9 So it will be the same for people as for priests. I will punish them for their ways. I will repay them for their deeds. 10 They will eat, but not be satisfied. They will engage in sexual immorality, but not increase. This will take place because they have abandoned the Lord to devote themselves to 11 sexual sin. [4] Wine and new wine take away their understanding. [5] 12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their fortunetellers wand gives them information, because a promiscuous spirit has led them astray, and they behave like a whore instead of following their God. 13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops. They burn incense on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because their shade is pleasant. That is why your daughters commit fornication, [6] and your brides commit adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit fornication, or your brides when they commit adultery, because the men consort with prostitutes and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes. So the people without understanding will come to ruin. 15 Though you, Israel, practice sexual immorality, Judah should not follow your guilty way. Do not go to Gilgal. Do not go up to Beth Aven. Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives.” 16 For Israel has become as stubborn as a heifer. How can the Lord feed them like a lamb in a meadow? 17 Ephraim is joined to idols. Let him go his own way! 18 Their alcoholic drinks are used up, but they keep practicing sexual immorality anyway. Their rulers, who should be their shields, instead love shame. 19 The wings of the wind will sweep them away, and they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
Judgment on Israel’s Priests and Kings
Hosea 5
1 Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For this judgment applies to you, because you were a trap at Mizpah and a net spread out on Mount Tabor. 2 The rebels sink deeper into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me. Now, Ephraim, you still practice sexual immorality. Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of prostitution lies within them, and they do not know the Lord. 5 The arrogance of Israel testifies against them. Israel and Ephraim will stumble over their guilt. Judah also will stumble with them. 6 They will go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but they will not find him. He has withdrawn from them. 7 They acted treacherously against the Lord. They even gave birth to illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them along with their allotted land. 8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah and the trumpet in Ramah! Raise a battle cry at Beth Aven: “Lead the way, Benjamin!” 9 Ephraim will become desolate ruins on the day it is punished. [7] What I have made known among the tribes of Israel will certainly happen. 10 The officials of Judah are like people who move a boundary stone. I will pour out my wrath on them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. [8] 12 I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the Great King for help, but he is not able to heal you, and he will not cure your wound, 14 because I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. Yes, I will tear him to pieces and go away. I will carry them off, and there will be no one who can rescue them.
Footnotes
Hosea 4:3 Or dries up
Hosea 4:4 The verse is difficult. The translation follows the Hebrew and Greek texts. Translations that render the third line my contention is with you, O priest emend the text to obtain this rendering. The point of the verse seems to be that it is useless to bring charges against these people, because they would not accept the judgment even of a priest.
Hosea 4:7 A Hebrew variant is they changed my glory for something shameful.
Hosea 4:11 Or prostitution
Hosea 4:11 The proper dividing point between verses 10 and 11 is uncertain. Though the words sexual sin are in verse 11 in the Hebrew text, these words belong with verse 10.
Hosea 4:13 The same Hebrew word elsewhere translated sexual immorality or prostitution is used here in reference to unmarried girls, so it is translated fornication.
Hosea 5:9 Or rebuked
Hosea 5:11 The translation follows some ancient versions. The Hebrew reads human commands.
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The Prophet’s Reconciliation With His Wife:
A Picture of the Lord’s Love
1 The Lord said to me, “Go again. Show love to a woman who is loved by another man, a woman who keeps committing adultery. Show love just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, even though they keep turning to other gods and loving the raisin cakes.” [1]
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and nine bushels [2] of barley. 3 I said to her, “You will stay with me for many days. You must not be promiscuous. [3] You must not be with any other man, and I will also be for you.”
4 So the people of Israel will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred memorial stones, and without the special vest [4] or family idols. [5]5 Afterward the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Footnotes
Hosea 3:1 Raisin cakes were sometimes shaped into images of the goddess Asherah.
Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek, that is, six bushels plus three bushels
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1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Be’eri, [1] in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, the king of Israel.
2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go. Take for yourself an immoral wife and children produced by sexual immorality, [2] because the land has been committing flagrant immorality, turning away from the Lord.”
3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and gave birth to a son for him.
4 The Lord said to him, “Name him Jezre’el, [3] because in a little while I will inflict punishment on the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezre’el. I will destroy the ruling power of the house of Israel. 5 In that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezre’el.”
6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter.
The Lord said to him, “Name her Lo Ruhamah, [4] because I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel. Indeed, I will certainly not forgive them. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah. I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.” [5]
8 Gomer weaned Lo Ruhamah. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son.
9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo Ammi, [6] because you are not my people, and I will not be the Lord for you.” [7]
A Promise of Future Blessing
10 Nevertheless, the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. Then, in the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” they will be told, “You are children of the living God.” 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one head for themselves, and they will go up from the land, for the day of Jezre’el will be great. [8]
Hosea 2
1 Say to your brothers, “My people,” [9] and to your sisters, “She has been shown mercy.” [10]
Israel Rebuked, Punished, and Restored
2 Plead with [11] your mother! Plead with her, because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her put away her sexual immorality from her presence and her acts of adultery from between her breasts. 3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her as she was on the day she was born. I will make her like a wilderness. I will cause her to be like a dry land. I will cause her to die of thirst. 4 I will have no compassion on her children, because they are children of promiscuity, 5 because their mother has been promiscuous. [12] She who conceived them has acted shamefully. She said, “I will chase after my lovers, the ones who give me my food and my water, my wool and my flax, my olive oil and my drinks.” 6 Therefore, this is what I will do: I will block your [13] way with thorns. I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. 7 She will chase after her lovers, but she will not reach them. She will seek them, but she will not find them. She will say, “I will go back to my first husband, because then it was better for me than it is now.” 8 But she would not acknowledge that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil. I gave her large amounts of silver and gold—her people used it for Baal! 9 That is why I will take back my grain during harvest time, and my new wine in its season. I will also take away my wool and my flax that were given to cover her nakedness. 10 Then I will expose her shameful nakedness in the sight of her lovers. No one will deliver her from my hand. 11 I will put an end to all her celebration: her pilgrimage festivals, [14] her monthly new moons, and her weekly Sabbaths— all her appointed festivals. 12 I will devastate her vines and her fig trees, about which she said, “These are the payment [15] that my lovers gave me.” I will make them into a scrub forest, and the wild animals will eat the crops. 13 I will punish her for the days with the Baals, on which she repeatedly offered incense to them. She adorned herself with her rings [16] and her jewelry, and then she chased after her lovers, and she forgot me, declares the Lord. 14 But watch! I am going to court her. I will bring her into the wilderness. I will speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her vineyards back to her. The Valley of Achor [17] will be a door of hope. She will respond there as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up from the land of Egypt. 16 In that day, declares the Lord, this is what will take place: You will call me “my husband.” You will no longer call me “my master.” [18] 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth. She will no longer call them by their names. [19] 18 In that day I will make a covenant for the Israelites with the wild animals, with the birds of the sky and the things that creep on the ground. I will break the bow and the sword. I will abolish war from the land. I will allow the people to lie down safely. [20] 19 I will pledge you to myself in marriage forever. I will pledge you to myself in marriage— with righteousness, justice, mercy, and compassion. 20 In faithfulness I will pledge you to myself in marriage, and you will know the Lord. 21 In that day this is what will happen: I will respond, declares the Lord. I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth. 22 The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil. They will respond to Jezre’el. 23 I will sow her for myself in the land. I will have compassion for Lo Ruhamah, [21] and I will tell Lo Ammi, [22] “You are my people,” and he will say, “You are my God!”
Footnotes
Hosea 1:1 The stop mark ′ indicates that Be’er – should be pronounced as two syllables.
Hosea 1:2 Or prostitution. The Hebrew term includes paid prostitution, but it also includes promiscuous sexual immorality which is not done for money. It also includes sexual misconduct by perpetrators who pay their lovers instead of the other way around.
Hosea 1:4 Jezre’el means God sows, and it is the name of both a valley and a city in Israel. Ahab and Jezebel murdered Naboth at the city of Jezre’e l, and Jehu destroyed the dynasty of Ahab there.
Hosea 1:6 The Hebrew name Lo Ruhamah means no compassion or no pity.
Hosea 1:7 Or charioteers
Hosea 1:9 The Hebrew name Lo Ammi means not my people.
Hosea 1:9 The Hebrew reads I am not I am for you, an allusion to the Lord’s gracious name, I am.
Hosea 1:11 English verses 1:10-11 are verses 2:1-2 in the Hebrew text. All the subsequent verse numbers in chapter 2 are two numbers lower in English than they are in Hebrew.
Hosea 2:1 Hebrew Ammi
Hosea 2:1 Hebrew Ruhamah
Hosea 2:2 Or bring charges against. Also in the next line.
Hosea 2:5 Or been a prostitute or acted like a prostitute
Hosea 2:6 Your is the reading of the Hebrew. The Greek and Syriac read her.
Hosea 2:11 That is, Passover, Pentecost, and Shelters
Hosea 2:12 Or gifts
Hosea 2:13 Either earrings or nose rings
Hosea 2:15 Valley of Achor means Valley of Trouble. It refers to the location of the incident caused by Achan in Joshua 7.
Hosea 2:16 Hebrew my baal
Hosea 2:17 Or call on their names
Hosea 2:18 Or securely
Hosea 2:23 The Hebrew name Lo Ruhamah means no compassion.
Hosea 2:23 The Hebrew name Lo Ammi means not my people.
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4 Listen to this, you who trample on the needy to wipe out the oppressed from the land, 5 who say, “When will the New Moon be over so that we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end so that we can open the grain bins? Then we will make the bushel [1] smaller and make the shekel weight heavier. [2] We will cheat with dishonest scales. 6 We will buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. We will sell the chaff with the grain.”
A Famine of the Lord’s Word
7 The Lord swears by the Pride of Jacob, “I will never forget any of their deeds!” 8 Because of this, the land will shake, and everyone living in it will mourn. The whole land will rise up like the Nile. It will surge and sink down again like the Nile of Egypt. 9 Here is what will happen on that day, declares the Lord God: I will make the sun set at noon, and I will bring darkness on the earth when it should be light. 10 I will turn your festivals into mourning and all of your songs into a lamentation. I will put sackcloth on all your waists and baldness on every head. I will make that day like the mourning for an only son, and it will end like a bitter day. 11 Look, the days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine into the land— not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but rather a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 People will stumble from sea to sea and from north to east. They will roam back and forth seeking the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. 13 On that day the beautiful virgins will faint, and the young men will grow weak from thirst. 14 Those who swear by the shameful guilt [3] of Samaria, those who say, “As your god lives, Dan,” or, “The way of Beersheba lives”— they will fall, and they will never rise again.
The Fifth Vision: The Lord Topples the Temple
Amos 9
1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
Strike the capitals on top of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Cut them off so that they fall on the heads of all the people, and those who survive I will kill with the sword. No one who flees from there will get away, and not a single fugitive from among them will escape. 2 Even if they dig down to hell, [4] from there my hand will seize them. And even if they ascend to heaven, from there I will bring them down. 3 Even if they hide themselves on the top of Mount Carmel, from there I will search for them, and I will seize them. Even if they hide themselves from my sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them. 4 Even if they go into captivity in the presence of their enemies, from there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. And I will set my eye upon them for disaster and not for good.
The Lord Shakes the Earth
5 The Lord God of Armies is the one who touches the earth, so that it melts. All who dwell on it mourn. All of it rises like the Nile, and like the Nile of Egypt it sinks down again. 6 He is the one who builds his upper chambers in heaven. He set the foundation for his vault upon the earth. He is the one who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the earth— the Lord is his name.
The Final Judgment
7 Are you not like Cushites [5] to me, you children of Israel? declares the Lord. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt and the Philistines from Caphtor [6] and the Arameans from Kir? [7] 8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will never completely destroy the house of Jacob, declares the Lord. 9 Listen! I am giving a command, and among all the nations I will shake the house of Israel as the contents of a sieve are shaken, and not even one pebble [8] will fall out to the ground. [9] 10 By a sword, all the sinners among my people will die, those who are saying, “Disaster will not overtake us. It will not confront us.”
The Restoration of David’s Fallen Shelter
11 In that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David.
I will repair the broken parts of its walls,
and I will raise up its ruins.
I will rebuild it as in days of old,
12 so that they will possess what remains of Edom,
that is, all the nations who are called by my name,
declares the Lord, who is doing this.
13 Look, days are coming, declares the Lord,
when the plowman will catch up with the reaper,
and the one who tramples grapes will catch up with the one sowing the seed.
The mountains will drip sweet wine, [10]
and all the hills will wave with grain. [11]
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them in their soil,
and they will never again be uprooted from the soil
that I have given to them,
says the Lord your God.
Footnotes
Amos 8:5 Literally the ephah
Amos 8:5 Merchants cheated by measuring out the grain they were selling with an undersized bushel and weighing the silver they received with an overweight shekel.
Amos 8:14 Possibly a distortion of the name of the goddess Ashima/Asherah
Amos 9:2 Hebrew sheol
Amos 9:7 Cushites are black Africans from south of Egypt, from the territory that today is Sudan.
Amos 9:7 That is, Crete or some other location in the Mediterranean
Amos 9:7 The location of Kir is unknown. It is probably far to the north.
Amos 9:9 Or kernel of grain
Amos 9:9 The people of Israel are being sorted through a sieve. It is not clear whether those kept in the sieve are the pebbles that cannot escape judgment or the grains that are being separated from the chaff, which will be burned. The judgment is the same in either case.
Amos 9:13 Sweet wine refers to wine that is still sweet because it has not yet been soured by continued fermentation.
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1 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw that he was forming a locust swarm at the time when the late crops [1] were beginning to sprout—the crops that were planted after the cuttings of hay for the king.
2 When the swarm had finished consuming the vegetation of the land, I said, “Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? Look, he is so small!”
3 The Lord changed his decree about this. “It will not happen,” said the Lord.
The Second Vision: The Fire
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw the Lord God calling for a trial by fire, which devoured the great deep and started to consume the land.
5 I said, “Lord God, please stop! How can Jacob stand? Look, he is so small!”
6 The Lord changed his decree about this. “This will not happen,” said the Lord God.
The Third Vision: The Plumb Line
7 This is what he showed me: I saw the Lord standing by a wall that had been constructed with a plumb line. He had a plumb line in his hand.
8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?”
I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said:
Look, I am about to set up a plumb line next to my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin. 9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined. I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: [2]
Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words. 11 This is what Amos says: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer, get out of here! Flee to the land of Judah. You may eat food and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”
14 Then Amos responded to Amaziah:
I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
16 But now, hear the word of the Lord, you who are saying, “Do not prophesy against Israel” and “Do not preach [3] against the house of Isaac.”
17 This is what the Lord says: “Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be parceled out with a measuring line, and as for you, you will die upon unclean soil. And Israel will certainly go into exile far away from its own soil.”
The Fourth Vision: The Basket of Summer Fruit
Amos 8
1 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw a basket of ripe summer fruit. 2 Then he asked, “What do you see, Amos?”
I said, “A basket of ripe summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me, “The end is coming upon my people Israel. [4] I will no longer overlook their sin. 3 The singing women of the palace [5] will wail on that day, declares the Lord God. Many corpses—all over! Silence!”
Footnotes
Amos 7:1 The late crops are the crops that grow at the time of the last spring rain, as the rainy season is coming to an end. Since the king has already collected all the taxes for the whole year from the first cuttings, if the spring rain fails, it is the people who will come up short.
Amos 7:10 Jeroboam II ruled from about 793 to 753 bc. This encounter was probably near the end of his reign.
Amos 7:16 Literally drip
Amos 8:2 The Hebrew words for summer fruit and end sound alike. Just as the summer fruit is ripe, Israel is ripe for judgment.
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1 Woe to [1] you who are complacent in Zion, you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you distinguished people of the leading nation, to whom the house of Israel comes. 2 Travel to Kalneh and look. Go from there to Hamath Rabbah, and go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than those kingdoms? Are their territories greater than your territory? [2] 3 You who are trying to put off the evil day, you bring near the session for violence! 4 Those who lie on ivory beds, sprawling upon their couches, eating lambs from the flock and calves straight from the stall, 5 improvising tunes on the lyre, composing music for themselves on musical instruments like David, 6 drinking large bowls of wine— they slather [3] themselves with the most expensive perfumed oils, but they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 That is why they will go into exile as the first of the exiles. Those who sprawl out at their feasts for the dead will depart.
Certain Destruction for Proud Israel
8 The Lord God swears by himself, declares the Lord, the God of Armies: I detest the pride of Jacob, and I hate his citadels, so I will hand over the city and everything in it.
9 If ten men happen to survive in one house, they will die. 10 When a relative who burns the bodies [4] comes to take away the bones from the house, he will say to whoever remains in the recesses of the house, “Is there anyone else still with you?” And they will say, “No one.” And he will say, “Silence! For you must not invoke the name of the Lord!” [5]
11 Look, the Lord is indeed giving a command, and he will smash the largest house into fragments and the smallest house into splinters.
12 Do horses run on a rocky cliff? Does anyone plow the sea with an ox? [6] Yet you turn justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood. 13 You are rejoicing over Lo Debar. You are saying, “Was it not by our strength that we captured Karnaim for ourselves?” 14 Indeed, I am about to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel, declares the Lord, the God of Armies. They will oppress you from Lebo Hamath to the Canyon of the Arabah. [7]
Footnotes
Amos 6:1 Or how terrible it will be for
Amos 6:2 The line of thought is difficult to follow here. The context seems to require that the two lines of the verse be parallel statements, each of which requires the answer “no.” The context therefore seems to call for reversing the second comparison, but there is no manuscript evidence to support such a switch.
Amos 6:6 Literally anoint, but the reference is not to anointing to office.
Amos 6:10 Or who prepares bodies for burial
Amos 6:10 Verses 9 and 10 are difficult. Translations vary greatly.
Amos 6:12 The translation follows a re-division of a word of the Hebrew text. The main Hebrew text reads does one plow with oxen, a reading which calls for the answer “yes,” but which does not fit the context. Another solution is to repeat the object rocky cliff from the first half of the verse: does one plow a rocky cliff with oxen?
Amos 6:14 Lebo Hamath is far to the north in Syria. The Arabah is the rift between the mountains of Edom and the mountains of Sinai, south of Israel.
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1 Listen to this word that I am raising against you as a lament, [1] O house of Israel:
2 Virgin Israel has fallen, and she will not rise again. She is abandoned on her own soil. There is no one to lift her up. 3 For this is what the Lord God says: A city that marches out with a thousand will have a hundred left. A city that marches out with a hundred will have ten left for the house of Israel.
Seek the Lord and Live!
4 Listen, this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live! 5 But do not seek Bethel. Do not go to Gilgal. Do not travel to Beersheba, because Gilgal surely will go into exile, and Bethel will become nothing.
6 Seek the Lord and live, or he will rush upon the house of Joseph like fire. The fire will consume, and no one will extinguish it for Bethel.
7 There are some who turn justice into wormwood, [2] who throw righteousness to the ground.
8 There is one who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the shadow of death into morning, who darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the seas, who pours them out upon the face of the earth— the Lord is his name. 9 He causes destruction to flash against a stronghold, and destruction comes upon a fortress.
10 There are those who hate an arbitrator [3] in the city gate. [4] They despise anyone who speaks honestly. 11 That is why you trample on the poor, and you collect taxes on their grain. You have built houses of cut stones, but you will not live in them. You have planted choice vineyards, but you will not drink their wine. 12 For I know that your rebellious deeds are many, and your sins are numerous, you who are enemies of a righteous man, you who take bribes. They thrust away needy people in the city gate. 13 That is why a prudent man will be silent in that time, because it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live, and then it will be like this for you: The Lord, the God of Armies, will be with you, as you claim. 15 Hate evil and love good. Establish justice in the city gate. Perhaps the Lord, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says, the God of Armies, who is the Lord: In the city squares there will be grief, and in the streets they will say, “Woe, woe!” They will summon the farmer to mourn and the professional mourners to sing laments. 17 In all the vineyards there will be grief, because I will pass through your midst, says the Lord.
The Day of the Lord Brings Darkness
18 Woe to those who long for the Day of the Lord! What good will the Day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light. 19 It will be as if a man flees from a lion, but a bear meets him, or he enters a house and rests his hand on a wall, but a snake bites him. 20 Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness and not light, gloom without a trace of brightness?
The Lord Hates Faithless Worship
21 I hate, I reject, your festivals! I do not delight in the aroma of the sacrifices at your sacred convocations. 22 Even if you offer up to me your whole burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them. I will not pay any attention to your fellowship offerings of fattened calves. 23 Get the noise of your songs away from me! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll like the waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 25 Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 You lifted up images of Sakkuth, your king, and of Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves. [5] 27 So I will exile you beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of Armies.
Footnotes
Amos 5:1 Or sad song
Amos 5:7 Wormwood is a toxic, bitter-tasting substance (absinthe).
Amos 5:10 Or a mediator
Amos 5:10 The city gate served as the courthouse.
Amos 5:26 The form and meaning of several of the terms and names referring to gods in verse 26 are uncertain. The terms seem to refer to astral deities, most likely including Saturn.
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1 People of Israel, listen to this word that the Lord has spoken concerning you, concerning the entire family of clans that I brought up from the land of Egypt:
2 You alone have I chosen [1] from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will inflict punishment on you for all your guilt. 3 Can two people walk together without agreeing to do so? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest if it does not have prey? Does a young lion growl from its den if it has not caught anything? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground when nothing has tripped it? 6 If a ram’s horn is sounded in a city, the people become alarmed, don’t they? If a disaster takes place in a city, is it not the Lord who has done it? 7 Certainly the Lord God does not do anything without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. 8 A lion has roared! Who can avoid being terrified? The Lord God has spoken! Who can hold back from prophesying?
Judgment Against Samaria
9 Make this known to the citadels in Ashdod and to the citadels in the land of Egypt. Tell them, “Gather yourselves together on the mountains of Samaria. See the great confusion [2] there and the oppression in her midst.” 10 They do not know how to do what is right, declares the Lord. They are storing up violence and destruction in their citadels. 11 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: An enemy is all over the land. He will strip your strength from you, and your citadels will be plundered. 12 This is what the Lord says: Just as a shepherd rescues two legs or a tip of an ear from the mouth of a lion, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be rescued with only a corner of a bed or a piece of cloth [3] from a couch.
13 Listen and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord God, the God of Armies. 14 Indeed, on the day when I punish the rebellious deeds of Israel, I will punish the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground. 15 I will strike the winter house along with the summer house. The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed, and the great houses will come to an end, declares the Lord.
Amos 4
1 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, you women who are oppressing the poor, who are crushing the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more drinks!” 2 The Lord God swears by his holiness: The days are surely coming against you, when they will drag you away with hooks, every last one of you with fishhooks. 3 You will go out through the broken-down walls. Each woman will go straight ahead, and you will be thrown out [4] toward Harmon, [5] declares the Lord.
4 Go to Bethel and rebel. Rebel even more at Gilgal. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every third day. 5 Burn some leavened bread as a thank offering, and proclaim voluntary offerings—announce them! For you love to do this, you people of Israel, says the Lord God.
Warnings Produce No Repentance
6 I am the one who gave to you clean teeth [6] in all of your cities, and lack of food in all your places, but you did not return to me, declares the Lord.
7 I am the one who withheld the rain from you while there were still three months before the harvest. I would send rain on one city, but on another city I would not send rain. One plot of ground would receive rain, but another plot, on which it did not rain, would dry up. 8 Whenever people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water to drink, they would not have enough, but you did not return to me, declares the Lord.
9 I struck you with blight and mildew. Your many gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees were devoured by locusts, but you did not return to me, declares the Lord.
10 I sent plagues against you like the plagues in Egypt. I killed your best soldiers with the sword, together with your captured horses. I made the stench of your camp rise up into your nostrils, but you did not return to me, declares the Lord.
11 I overthrew some of you, just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you became like a burning stick snatched from the fire, but you did not return to me, declares the Lord.
12 Therefore, this is what I will do to you, Israel. Yes, this is what I will do to you: Prepare to meet your God, O Israel! 13 Indeed, he who forms mountains and who creates wind, who declares his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn into darkness, and who treads down the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.
Footnotes
Amos 3:2 Literally known
Amos 3:9 Or turmoil
Amos 3:12 The meaning of this word is uncertain.
Amos 4:3 In the Hebrew text the verb is active, you will throw. The translation follows the Greek text.
Amos 4:3 The meaning of the word Harmon is uncertain. It may be a place name or mean something like garbage dump.
Amos 4:6 A striking description of people who have no food to chew
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1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders [1] from Tekoa. He saw a vision concerning Israel during the days of Uzziah king of Judah and during the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 He said: The Lord roars from Zion. From Jerusalem he sends out his voice. The pastures of the shepherds dry up, [2] and the top of Mount Carmel withers.
Judgment Against Aram
3 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins [3] of Damascus, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they cut up Gilead with iron threshing boards. [4] 4 So I will send fire against the house of Hazael, and it will consume the fortresses of Ben Hadad. 5 I will break the bars of the gates of Damascus, and I will cut off the one seated in the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds a scepter in Beth Eden. [5] So the people of Aram will go into exile toward Kir. [6] The Lord has spoken.
Judgment Against Philistia
6 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Gaza, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they sold an entire population into exile, handing them over to Edom. 7 So I will send fire against the city wall of Gaza, and it will consume her citadels. 8 I will cut off the one seated in Ashdod, and the one who holds a scepter in Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and what is left of the Philistines will perish. The Lord God has spoken.
Judgment Against Canaan
9 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Tyre, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they delivered over an entire population and exiled them to Edom, and they did not remember a treaty of brotherhood. 10 So I will send fire against the city wall of Tyre, and it will consume her citadels.
Judgment Against Edom
11 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Edom, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because he [7] pursued his brother with a sword, and he had no compassion. [8] His anger kept tearing Israel apart, and his fury raged without stopping. 12 So I will send fire against Teman, and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.
Judgment Against Ammon
13 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of the Ammonites, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their own territory. 14 So I will ignite a fire against the city wall of Rabbah, and it will consume her citadels with a battle cry on the day of war, with a strong wind on the day of the storm. 15 Then their king will go into exile, he and his officials together. The Lord has spoken.
Judgment Against Moab
Amos 2
1 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Moab, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they burned the bones of the king of Edom to make lime. 2 So I will send fire against Moab, and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die in an uproar, with a battle cry, with a blast of a ram’s horn. 3 I will cut off the judge [9] from her midst, and I will kill all her officials with him. The Lord has spoken.
Judgment Against Judah
4 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Judah, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they rejected the law of the Lord, and they did not keep his statutes. Their lying idols led them astray, the idols that their fathers followed. 5 So I will send fire against Judah, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.
Judgment Against Israel
6 This is what the Lord says: Because of three sins of Israel, because of four, I will not hold back judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and they turn aside the claims of the oppressed. A man and his father go to the same young woman. In this way they profane my holy name. 8 They stretch themselves out beside every altar on pieces of clothing they seized as collateral. In the temple of their gods they drink wine obtained through fines.
9 I was the one who destroyed the Amorites in front of them, the Amorites, who were as tall as cedars, who were as strong as oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. 10 I myself brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness for forty years, so that you would take possession of the land of the Amorites. 11 I raised up some of your sons to be prophets, and some of your best young men to be Nazirites. Is this not so, you people of Israel? declares the Lord. 12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and you commanded the prophets, “You must not prophesy!”
13 Look, I am weighed down under you, just as a cart is weighed down when it is loaded with sheaves of grain. [10] 14 There will be no escape for the swift runner. The powerful man will not be able to exert his strength, and the strong warrior will not be able to save his own life. 15 The archer will not stand his ground. The swift runner will not save himself, and the horseman will not save his own life. 16 The most courageous among the warriors will flee naked on that day, declares the Lord.
Footnotes
Amos 1:1 Or ranchers
Amos 1:2 Or mourn
Amos 1:3 Or crimes
Amos 1:3 A threshing board or threshing sledge is similar to a toboggan, but it has iron teeth protruding from the bottom. It is dragged over piles of grain to cut up the straw and release the kernels of grain.
Amos 1:5 Valley of Aven and Beth Eden mean Valley of Wickedness and House of Pleasure. They may be figurative names for the region around Damascus.
Amos 1:5 The location of Kir is unknown. It probably lies far to the north or east.
Amos 1:11 Edom is referred to by the singular he because it is also a name of Jacob’s brother Esau.
Amos 1:11 Or he destroyed pregnant women
Amos 2:3 Or ruler
Amos 2:13 The meaning of the verse is uncertain. It may mean I will weigh you down as a cart is weighed down.
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17 Three days later, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Gentlemen, brothers, although I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem to the Romans. 18 After they interrogated me, they wanted to release me, because there were no grounds for the death penalty in my case. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20 That is why I asked to see you and speak to you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
21 They said to him, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, and none of the brothers who came here has reported or said anything evil about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
23 They set a day to meet with Paul, and even more of them came to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and testified about the kingdom of God. He also tried to convince them about Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others continued in their unbelief.
25 They were arguing with one another and began to leave after Paul made this one statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your [1] fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
26 Go to this people and say, You will keep hearing and yet never understand; you will keep seeing and yet never perceive. 27 For the heart of this people has grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them. [2]
28 “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” [3]
30 For two whole years Paul stayed in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to visit him. 31 He was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without anyone stopping him.
Footnotes
Acts 28:25 Some of the witnesses to the text read our.
Acts 28:27 Isaiah 6:9-10
Acts 28:28 A few witnesses to the text add 29 After he spoke these words, the Jews departed, while having a long debate among themselves.
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1 Once we were safely on shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The natives showed us extraordinary kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all, because it had started to rain and was cold.
3 As Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and laid it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he escaped from the sea, Justice [1] has not allowed him to live.”
5 However, Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not harmed. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
7 In the nearby vicinity was an estate that belonged to a man named Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as his guests for three days. 8 The father of Publius happened to be sick in bed, suffering from a fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him.
9 After that happened, others on the island who were sick also came and were healed. 10 They honored us in many ways, and when we were going to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
On to Rome
11 After three months, we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island. Its figurehead was the Twin Brothers. [2]12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we sailed up the coast and arrived at Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers [3] and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there heard the news about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
God’s Witness Reaches Rome
16 When we entered Rome, [4] Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier who guarded him.
Footnotes
Acts 28:4 Or justice. They likely meant a Greek goddess called Justice.
Acts 28:11 The Twin Brothers figurehead referred to Castor and Pollux, two sons of Zeus.
Acts 28:14 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
Acts 28:16 Some witnesses to the text add the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but.
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21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and not set sail from Crete and avoided this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because there will be no loss of life among you. Only the ship will be lost. 23 In fact, last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And surely God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, because I believe God that it will be exactly the way I have been told. 26 However, we must run aground on some island.”
The Shipwreck
27 When the fourteenth night came, while we were being driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, [1] about midnight the sailors suspected that they were approaching some land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be one hundred twenty feet deep. [2] After sailing a little farther, they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. [3]29 Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.
30 The sailors tried to escape from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it fall away.
33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged them all to eat some food. He said, “This is the fourteenth day you have waited in suspense and have gone without food. You have eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food because this is important for your rescue. In fact, not a hair from any of your heads will be lost.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and took some food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.
39 At daybreak, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they planned to run the ship aground if they could. 40 They cut off the anchors, leaving them in the sea, and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then, after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, while the stern began to break up from the pounding of the waves.
42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one would swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion wanted to save Paul and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make their way to land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks, and some on other pieces from the ship. In this way, all of them were brought safely onto land.
Footnotes
Acts 27:27 At that time, the Adriatic Sea included the present-day Adriatic plus a large section of the Mediterranean Sea south of it.
Acts 27:28 Or twenty fathoms (a fathom is about six feet deep)
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1 When it was decided that we [1] would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. 2 After boarding a ship from Adramyttium, which was going to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day, we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. 4 From there we put out to sea and sailed on the sheltered side of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 We crossed the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia and landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Since the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed on the sheltered side of Crete, off Salmone. 8 With difficulty we sailed along its coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
9 Since so much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the Fast [2] was already over, Paul advised them, 10 “Men, it looks to me as if the voyage is going to end with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the ship than to what Paul was saying. 12 Since that harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix and winter there. (Phoenix is a harbor on Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.) 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they could carry out their plan. They raised the anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.
The Storm
14 But before long, a hurricane-like wind, called the “northeaster,” rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we sailed on the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to secure the skiff. [3]17 After hoisting it on board, the men tied ropes around the ship to reinforce it. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and in this way were driven along. 18 Because we were tossed around so violently by the storm, the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the violent storm kept pressing down on us, finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.
Footnotes
Acts 27:1 Luke is included.
Acts 27:9 The Fast refers to the Jewish Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) in the fall, just before the winter months, when sea travel was treacherous.
Acts 27:16 A small service boat (also mentioned in verses 30 and 32)
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19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 Rather, I first told those in Damascus and Jerusalem about it, and then throughout the entire country of Judea and also the Gentiles. I told them that they should repent and turn to God, while also doing works that are consistent with repentance. 21 These are the reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 “But I have had help from God right up to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great. I am saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would happen, 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”
24 While Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am clearly speaking words that are true and sensible. 26 Certainly the king to whom I am freely speaking knows about these things. Indeed, I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, because this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you going to persuade me to become [1] a Christian?”
29 Paul replied, “I pray God, that whether in a short time or a long time, not only you, but also all those who are listening to me today would become what I am, except for these chains.”
30 After he had said these things, [2] the king stood up, along with the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 After they had left, they said to one another in private, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or chains.”
32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Footnotes
Acts 26:28 A few witnesses to the text read to make me.
Acts 26:30 Some witnesses to the text omit After he had said these things.
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1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”
Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am going to make my defense before you today concerning all the things about which I am being accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 “All the Jews know the way I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest party of our religion.
6 “And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 the promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. I am being accused by the Jews concerning this hope, O King. 8 Why does it seem unbelievable to any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “I too was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. After receiving authority from the chief priests, I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them throughout all the synagogues. Because I was so insanely angry with them, I even pursued them to foreign cities.
12 “That is how I came to be traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At noon along the road, O King, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, [1] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ [2]
15 “Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 Now get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen [3] and to the things I will reveal to you. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. 18 You are to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Footnotes
Acts 26:14 Or Aramaic. The Greek word is Hebrew but likely refers to the Aramaic dialect spoken by the Jews at that time and place.
Acts 26:14 Goads are pointed sticks used to urge or direct an animal. To kick against the goads means to resist stubbornly.
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