HOSEA 8

Israel Reaps the Whirlwind 1 Set the trumpet to your lips [announcing impending judgment]! Like a [great] vulturethe enemy comesagainst the house of the Lord, Because they have broken My covenant And transgressedandrebelled against My law. 2 Then they will cry out to Me, “My God, we of Israel know You!” 3 Israel has rejected […]

HOSEA 9

Ephraim Punished 1 Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation as do the [pagan] peoples, For you have played the prostitute,turningaway from your God. You have lovedprostitutes’earnings on every threshing floor [attributing the harvest to the Baals instead of to God]. 2 The threshing floor and the wine press will no longer feed them, And […]

HOSEA 10

Retribution for Israel’s Sin 1 Israel is a luxuriantandprolific vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made [to Baal]; The richer his land, The better he made the [idolatrous] pillars. 2 Their heart is divided (faithless); Now they must bear their guiltandpunishment. The Lordwill break down [the horns […]

HOSEA 11

God is the Loving Father of His People 1 When Israel was a child [a young nation], I loved him, And I called My son out of Egypt. 2 The more they [the prophets] called them [to repentance and obedience], The more they went away from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning […]

HOSEA 12

Ephraim Reminded 1 Ephraim feeds on the [emptiness of the] wind And [continually] pursues the [parching] east wind [which brings destruction]; Every day he multiplies lies and violence. Further, he makes a covenant with Assyria And (olive) oil is carried to Egypt [to seek alliances]. 2 The Lordalso has a dispute [a legal complaint and […]

HOSEA 13

Ephraim’s Idolatry 1 When Ephraim spoke,there wastremblingandterror. He exalted himself [above the other tribes] in Israel; But through [the worship of] Baal he became guilty and died [spiritually, and then came ruin, sealing Israel’s doom as a nation]. 2 And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves molten images, Idols skillfully made […]

HOSEA 14

Israel’s Future Blessing 1 O Israel, return [in repentance] to the Lordyour God, For you have stumbledandfallen [visited by tragedy], because of your sin. 2 Take the words [confessing your guilt] with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all our wickedness; Accept what is goodandreceive us graciously, So that we […]

DANIEL 1

The Choice Young Men 1 In the third year of the reign ofJehoiakim king of Judah,Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles of the house of God; and he brought them into the land ofShinar, […]

DANIEL 2

The King’s Forgotten Dream 1 In the second year (604b.c.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which troubledanddisturbed his spirit and [interfered with] his ability to sleep. 2 Then the king gave a command to call the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and theChaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came […]

DANIEL 3

The King’s Golden Image 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made agold [-plated] image, whose height [including the pedestal] was sixty cubits (ninety feet) and its width six cubits (nine feet). He set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sentwordto assemble thesatraps, the prefects and the […]