Hosea 1 Cross References - NSB

¹ The word of Jehovah (YHWH) that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. ² When Jehovah first spoke through Hosea, Jehovah said to Hosea, »Go and marry an adulterous wife and have children with her for the land commits flagrant adultery. They have abandoned Jehovah.« ³ So he took as his wife Gomer the daughter of Diblaim. She conceived, and gave birth to a son. ⁴ Jehovah said to Hosea: »Name him Jezreel. In a little while I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu. I will cause the kingdom of Israel to cease. ⁵ »It will happen that I will break the bow (strength) of Israel in the valley of Jezrell.« ⁶ Gomer conceived again, and gave birth to a daughter. Jehovah said to Hosea: »Name her Loruhamah for I will no longer have mercy upon the house of Israel and I will not pardon them. ⁷ »However I will have mercy (compassion) (love) on the house of Judah. I will not save them by bow, or by sword. I will not save them by battle, not by horses, nor by horsemen. However, I will save them by Jehovah their God.« ⁸ Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, Gomer conceived, and gave birth to another son. ⁹ Jehovah said: »Name him Loammi for you are not my people, and I am not your God. ¹⁰ »Yet the number of the children of Israel will be like the grains of the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. It will be said: You are the sons of the living God in the place where it was said you are not my people! ¹¹ »The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, and will leave the land of Jezreel. It will be a great day for Jezreel.«

¹⁶ »I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust, your offspring could be counted.

¹⁷ ‘»I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities.

¹² »You said, ‘I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.’«

¹⁵ Otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land. They would commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and sacrifice to their gods. Someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice. ¹⁶ »You might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might commit spiritual immorality (fornication) with their gods and cause your sons also to commit spiritual immorality with their gods.

¹⁶ Jehovah said to Moses: »You are about to lie down with your fathers in death. This people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land. They will plunge into the midst of it. They will forsake me and break my covenant that I made with them.

¹⁶ The children of Joseph said: »The hill is not enough for us. All the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.«

³³ The Midianites, Amalekites, and the desert tribes assembled, crossed the Jordan River, and camped in Jezreel Valley.

²⁴ Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and sent an arrow, wounding Joram between the arms. The arrow came out at his heart, and he went down on his face in his chariot. ²⁵ Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain: »Pick him up, and put him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. I remember when you and I were riding together after Ahab, his father. Jehovah offered this prophesy against him.

⁷ As soon as Jehu's letter arrived, the leaders of Samaria killed all seventy of Ahab's descendants and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸ Jehu was informed that the heads of Ahab's descendants had been brought. He ordered them to be piled up in two heaps at the city gate and left there until the following morning.

¹⁰ »You may be certain that nothing Jehovah said about the family of Ahab will be without effect. Jehovah has done what he said by his servant Elijah.« ¹¹ Jehu put to death all the rest of the seed of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his relations and his near friends and his priests, till there were no more of them.

¹⁷ When Jehu arrived at Samaria, he put to death all those of Ahab's family who were still in Samaria. There were no more of them, as Jehovah had said to Elijah.

²⁹ But Jehu did not keep himself from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and the evil he made Israel do. The gold calves were still worshiped in Bethel and in Dan. ³⁰ Jehovah said to Jehu: »You have done well by doing what is right in my eyes. You carried out my purpose for the family of Ahab. Therefore your sons will be kings of Israel to the fourth generation.« ³¹ But Jehu did not take care to keep the law of Jehovah with all his heart. He did not keep himself from the sin that Jeroboam did and made Israel do.

¹⁰ Shallum, the son of Jabesh conspired against him. He attacked him in Ibleam and killed him. Shallum became king in his place. ¹¹ Now the rest of the acts of Zechariah are recorded in the Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. ¹² Jehovah spoke to Jehu: »Your sons to the fourth generation will be kings of Israel. It happened that way.«

²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel Tiglathpileser king of Assyria captured Ijon and Abelbethmaacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee and all the land of Naphtali. He took the people captive to Assyria.

³² Jotham son of Uzziah became king of Judah. It was in the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel.

¹ Ahaz son of Jotham became king of Judah. It was in the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah as king of Israel. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king. He ruled sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, as David his father did. ³ He walked in ways of the kings of Israel. He even offered his son to walk through the fire. He copied the disgusting ways of the nations. Jehovah sent the people of the nations out of the land before the children of Israel. ⁴ He made offerings and burned them on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. ⁵ Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came to Jerusalem to make war. They attacked Ahaz but could not conquer him. ⁶ Then the king of Edom got Elath back for Edom, and sent the Jews out of Elath. The Edomites returned to Elath where they are living to this day. ⁷ Ahaz sent representatives to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying: »I am your servant and your son. Come help me against the kings of Aram and Israel who have taken up arms against me.« ⁸ Ahaz took the silver and gold in the Temple of Jehovah and in the king's storehouse, and sent them as an offering to the king of Assyria. ⁹ The king of Assyria, in answer to his request, went up against Damascus and captured it. He took its people away as prisoners to Kir, and put Rezin to death. ¹⁰ Then King Ahaz went to Damascus for a meeting with Tiglathpileser king of Assyria. There he saw the altar at Damascus. King Ahaz sent a drawing of the altar, giving the design of it and all the details of its structure to Urijah the priest. ¹¹ Urijah made an altar from the drawing King Ahaz sent from Damascus. He had it ready by the time King Ahaz came back from Damascus. ¹² When the king came from Damascus, he saw the altar. He went up on it and made an offering. ¹³ He made his burned offering and his meal offering and his drink offering there, draining out the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. ¹⁴ He removed the copper alter that was before Jehovah from the front of the Temple between his altar and the Temple of Jehovah. He put it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ King Ahaz gave orders to Urijah the priest: »Make the morning burned offering and the evening meal offering and the king's burned offering and meal offering, with the burned offerings of all the people and their meal offerings and drink offerings, on the great altar. Put on it all the blood of the burned offerings and of the animals that are offered. But the bronze altar will be for my use to get directions from Jehovah.« ¹⁶ Urijah the priest did everything as the king said. ¹⁷ King Ahaz took off the sides of the wheeled bases, and took down the great water-vessel from off the copper bulls which were under it and put it on a floor of stone. ¹⁸ He removed the covered way they built in the Temple court and the king’s outer entrance. This was because of the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ The rest of the things Ahaz did are recorded in the Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁰ Ahaz slept with his fathers. He was buried in the town of David. Hezekiah his son became king in his place.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He led the Israelites away to Assyria. He stationed them in Halah and Habor on the Gozan River, and in the towns of the Medes.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He led the Israelites away to Assyria. He stationed them in Halah and Habor on the Gozan River, and in the towns of the Medes. ⁷ The wrath (intense anger) of Jehovah came on Israel because they had done evil against Jehovah their God, who took them out of the land of Egypt from under the yoke of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. They worshipped other gods. ⁸ They lived by the rules of the nations whom Jehovah sent out from before the children of Israel. ⁹ The children of Israel secretly did things that were not right according to Jehovah their God. They built high places for themselves in all their towns, from the watchtower to the walled towns. ¹⁰ They erected pillars of stone and wood on every high hill and under every green tree. ¹¹ They burned their offerings in all the high places, as those nations did whom Jehovah sent away from them. They did evil things, moving Jehovah to anger. ¹² They made themselves servants of disgusting things. Even though Jehovah said: »You should not do this.« ¹³ Jehovah sent his messengers and prophets to warn Israel and Judah: »Abandon your evil ways and obey my commands. The commandments contained in the Law I gave to your ancestors. I handed them on to you through my servants the prophets.« ¹⁴ They would not obey. They were stubborn like their ancestors. They did not trust in Jehovah their God. ¹⁵ They refused to obey his instructions. They did not keep the covenant he made with their ancestors. They disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying Jehovah’s command not to imitate them. ¹⁶ They broke all the laws of Jehovah their God. They made two metal bull-calves to worship. They also made an image of the goddess Asherah. Also they worshiped the stars and served the god Baal. ¹⁷ They caused their sons and their daughters to go through the fire to be sacrificed. They made use of secret arts and unnatural powers, and gave themselves up to doing evil in the eyes of Jehovah, till they provoked him to anger. ¹⁸ Jehovah was very angry with Israel. He removed them from his sight. Only the tribe of Judah kept its place. ¹⁹ But even Judah did not obey the commands of Jehovah their God. They were guided by the rules Israel made. ²⁰ So Jehovah would have nothing to do with all the offspring of Israel. He caused trouble for them. He gave them up into the hands of their attackers, till he had sent them away from before his face. ²¹ He tore Israel from the house of David and made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Jeroboam drove them away from the laws of Jehovah and made them do a great sin. ²² The children of Israel walked in all the sins Jeroboam committed. They did not depart from these sins. ²³ Jehovah removed Israel from his sight as he said he would through all his servants the prophets. Israel was taken away from their land to Assyria, to this day.

²³ Jehovah removed Israel from his sight as he said he would through all his servants the prophets. Israel was taken away from their land to Assyria, to this day. ²⁴ Then the king of Assyria took men from Babylon and from Cuthah and Avva and Hamath and Sepharvaim, and put them in the towns of Samaria in place of the children of Israel. They acquired Samaria for their heritage, living in its towns. ²⁵ When they first lived there they did not respect Jehovah. So Jehovah sent lions among them, causing some of them to die. ²⁶ They said to the king of Assyria: »The nations you have taken as prisoners and put in the towns of Samaria have no knowledge of the way of the god of the land. He has sent lions among them causing their death. This is because they have no knowledge of his way.« ²⁷ Then the king of Assyria gave orders, saying: »Send one of the priests you took from there. Let him live there and teach the people the way of the god of the land.« ²⁸ So one of the priests they had taken away as a prisoner from Samaria came back. He lived in Bethel and taught them how to worship Jehovah. ²⁹ EVERY NATION MADE GODS FOR THEMSELVES. They put them in the houses of the high places the Samaritans had made. ³⁰ The men of Babylon made Succothbenoth and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ The Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites gave their children to be burned in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³² So they worshipped Jehovah. They appointed priests from the people for the high places. The priests were to make offerings for them in the houses of the high places. ³³ They worshipped Jehovah, but they gave honor to their gods like the nations did from whom they had been taken as prisoners. ³⁴ So to this day they go on in their old ways. They do not worship Jehovah. They do not keep his orders, his ways, or the law Jehovah gave to the children of Jacob. They are the ones he gave the name Israel. ³⁵ Jehovah made an agreement with them and gave them orders, saying: You are to have no other gods. You are not to worship them or be their servants or make them offerings. ³⁶ »Jehovah took you out of the land of Egypt with his great power and his outstretched arm. He is your God, to whom you are to give worship and make offerings: ³⁷ »You are to obey and do forever the law he put in writing for you. You are to have no other gods. ³⁸ »You are to keep in memory the agreement I made with you. You are to have no other gods. ³⁹ »You are to worship Jehovah your God. It is he who will give you salvation from the hands of all who are against you.« ⁴⁰ But they paid no attention and they continued in their old way. ⁴¹ So these nations worshiped Jehovah and they still served the images (idols) they had made. Their children and their children's children did the same. They do just as their fathers did to this very day.

¹ Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah. It was in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel. ² Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was right in the eyes of Jehovah as David his father had done. ⁴ He removed the high places. He broke the stone pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah poles. The brass snake that Moses had made was crushed to powder at his command, because in those days the children of Israel had offerings burned before it, and he gave it the name Nehushtan. ⁵ Hezekiah had faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah who were before him. ⁶ For his heart was fixed on Jehovah. He did not turn from his ways. Hezekiah obeyed Jehovah’s commandments that Jehovah gave to Moses. ⁷ Jehovah was with Hezekiah. He did well in everything he did. He took up arms against the king of Assyria and was his servant no longer. ⁸ He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its limits, from the tower of the watchman to the walled town. ⁹ It was the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and laid siege to it.

⁹ It was the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and laid siege to it. ¹⁰ It was captured at the end of three years. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah's rule, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel.

¹⁰ It was captured at the end of three years. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah's rule, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel. ¹¹ The king of Assyria took Israel away as prisoners into Assyria. They placed them in Halah and in Habor on the river Gozan, and in towns of the Medes.

¹¹ The king of Assyria took Israel away as prisoners into Assyria. They placed them in Halah and in Habor on the river Gozan, and in towns of the Medes. ¹² They did not obey the voice of Jehovah their God. In fact they went against his agreement, even against everything ordered by Moses, the servant of Jehovah. They did not listen to or obey Jehovah.

¹² They did not obey the voice of Jehovah their God. In fact they went against his agreement, even against everything ordered by Moses, the servant of Jehovah. They did not listen to or obey Jehovah. ¹³ Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the walled towns of Judah and took them. ¹⁴ Hezekiah sent a message to Sennacherib at Lachish: »I have done wrong. Stop your attack and I will pay whatever you demand.« The emperor's answer was that Hezekiah should send him ten tons of silver and one ton of gold. ¹⁵ Hezekiah sent him all the silver in the Temple and in the palace treasury. ¹⁶ Hezekiah had the gold from the doors of Jehovah’s Temple and from the doorposts plated by him. He stripped it off and gave it to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷ The king of Assyria sent his commander-in-chief (Tartan), his quartermaster, and his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They stood at the channel for the Upper Pool on the road to the Laundryman's Field. ¹⁸ They sent for the king, and Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them. ¹⁹ The Rabshakeh said to them: »Say to Hezekiah: These are the words of the great king, the king of Assyria: »In what are you placing your hope? ²⁰ »You say you have counsel and [military] strength for war. These are only words. To whom are you looking for support that you rebel against me? ²¹ »You rely on Egypt that broken reed of a staff. If a man leans on it (relies on its power) his hand (strength) will be pierced (wounded) (diminished). So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who put their faith in him. ²² »If you say to me: We trust in Jehovah our God, is he not the one whose high places and altars have been taken away by Hezekiah. For he told Judah and Jerusalem that worship may only be given before this altar in Jerusalem? ²³ »And now, make an agreement with my master, the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them. ²⁴ »How then can you put to shame the least of my master's servants? You put your hope in Egypt for chariots and horsemen: ²⁵ »Have I now come to destroy this place without Jehovah? It was Jehovah who said to me: ‘Go up against this land and make it waste.«’

¹³ Joash went to rest with his fathers. They buried Jehoash in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Jeroboam took his place as king.

¹⁶ Jehoash went to rest with his fathers. They buried him in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Jeroboam his son became king in his place.

²⁶ Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh (the commander): »Will you kindly make use of the Aramaean language in talking to your servants. We are used to it. Do not use the Jews' language in the hearing of the people on the wall.« ²⁷ He replied: »Do you think you and the king are the only ones the king sent me to say these things? No, I am also talking to the people who are sitting on the wall. They will have to eat their excrement and drink their own urine, just as you will.« ²⁸ The official stood up and shouted in Hebrew: »Listen to what the king of Assyria is telling you! ²⁹ »He warns you: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. Hezekiah cannot save you.’ ³⁰ »Do not let Hezekiah convince you to rely on Jehovah. Do not think that Jehovah will save you or that he will stop our Assyrian army from capturing you.« ³¹ »Do not listen to Hezekiah. The king of Assyria commands you to come out of the city and surrender. Make peace with me and you will be allowed to eat grapes from your own vines and figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own wells (cisterns). ³² »The king will resettle you in a country much like your own. There are vineyards to give wine and there is grain for making bread there. It is a land of olives, olive oil, and honey. Do what he commands and you will not die. Do not let Hezekiah fool you into thinking Jehovah will rescue you. ³³ »Did the gods of other nations save their countries from the king of Assyria? ³⁴ »Where are they now? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Did anyone save Samaria? ³⁵ »When did any of the gods of all these countries ever save their country from our king? What makes you think Jehovah can save Jerusalem?« ³⁶ The people kept quiet. They did as King Hezekiah told them. They did not say a word. ³⁷ Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes in grief. They reported to the king what the Assyrian official had said.

³⁵ It happened that night. Jehovah’s angel killed one hundred and eighty five thousand soldiers in the Assyrian camp. The next morning the Judeans saw all the corpses.

²⁵ But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. ²⁶ So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

¹³ Instead, you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel. You, like Ahab’s family, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to chase after foreign gods as if they were prostitutes. You have killed your brothers, your father’s family. Your brothers were better than you.

¹ All the people of Judah took Uzziah and made him king in place of his father Amaziah. ² Uzziah rebuilt Elath and returned it to Judah after King Amaziah slept in death. ³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to rule. He ruled for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what Jehovah considered right, as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He dedicated his life to serving God in the days of Zechariah. Zechariah taught him to respect God. As long as he dedicated his life to serve God, Jehovah gave him success. ⁶ Uzziah went to wage war against the Philistines. He tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines. ⁷ God helped him when he attacked the Philistines, the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. ⁸ The Ammonites paid taxes to Uzziah. His fame spread to the border of Egypt because he became very powerful. ⁹ Uzziah strengthened the fortifications of Jerusalem. He built towers at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and where the wall turned. ¹⁰ He also built fortified towers in the open country and dug many cisterns, because he had large herds of livestock in the western foothills and plains. Because he loved farming, he encouraged the people to plant vineyards in the hill country and to farm the fertile land. ¹¹ He had a large army ready for battle. Its records were kept by his secretaries Jeiel and Maaseiah under the supervision of Hananiah, a member of the king’s staff. ¹² The total number of family heads among these warriors was twenty-six hundred. ¹³ They commanded an army of three hundred seven thousand and five hundred soldiers. They were a powerful force that could support the king against the enemy. ¹⁴ Uzziah prepared shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and stones for slings for the entire army. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem he manufactured machines designed by inventive people. The machines were placed on the towers and corners to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. Uzziah’s fame spread far and wide because he had strong support until he became powerful. ¹⁶ However when he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He was unfaithful to Jehovah his God. He went into Jehovah’s Temple to burn incense on the incense altar. ¹⁷ Azariah the priest went in after him with eighty of Jehovah’s courageous priests. ¹⁸ They opposed King Uzziah. They said to him: »Uzziah, you have no right to burn incense as an offering to Jehovah. That right belongs to the priests, Aaron’s descendants, who have been given the holy task of burning incense. Get out of the holy place because you have been unfaithful. Jehovah God will not honor you for this.« ¹⁹ Uzziah held an incense burner in his hand. He became angry. As his anger with the priests grew, a skin disease broke out on his forehead. This happened in front of the priests in Jehovah’s Temple as Uzziah was at the incense altar. ²⁰ When the chief priest Azariah and all the priests turned toward him, a skin disease was on his forehead. They rushed him away. Uzziah was in a hurry to get out because Jehovah had inflicted him with the disease. ²¹ King Uzziah had a skin disease until the day he died. Since he had a skin disease, he lived in a separate house and was barred from Jehovah’s Temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the royal palace and governed the country. ²² Everything else about Uzziah is recorded by the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. ²³ Uzziah lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in a field containing tombs that belonged to the kings. People said: »He has a skin disease.« His son Jotham succeeded him as king.

¹⁶ A mighty army does not save the king. A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and return to Jehovah. All the families from all the nations will worship you. ²⁸ This is because the kingdom belongs to Jehovah and he rules the nations. ²⁹ All prosperous people on earth will eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust will kneel in front of him, even those who are barely alive. ³⁰ There will be descendants who serve him, a generation that will be told about Jehovah.

¹⁵ Their sword will enter their own heart. Their bows will be broken.

³ It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land. They did not gain victory with their own strength. It was your right hand, your arm (power), and the light of your presence that did it, because you were pleased with them. ⁴ You alone are my king, O God. You won those victories for Jacob. ⁵ With you we can walk over our enemies. With your name we can trample those who attack us. ⁶ I do not rely on my bow, and my sword will never save me.

⁹ He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth! He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariots (instruments of destruction) with fire.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.

³⁹ They became filthy because of what they did. They behaved like prostitutes.

³ Your people will volunteer in the day of your power. Your young people will come to you in holy splendor like dew from the womb of the dawn (in the early morning).

¹⁴ Therefore Jehovah will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).

¹ Jehovah said to me: »Take a large writing tablet, and write on it with a pen: Maher Shalal Hash Baz (The Looting Will Come Quickly; the Prey Will Be Easy). ² »I will have these dependable witnesses testify: the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.« ³ I slept with the prophetess. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Jehovah told me: »Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz.

¹² He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the outcast ones of Israel. He will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ¹³ Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart. Those who harass Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.

² »Truly God is my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid. Jehovah… Jehovah is my strength and my song! He has become my salvation.«

² At that time Jehovah spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him: »Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.« He did this and went around stripped and barefoot. ³ Jehovah said: »Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,

¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For they have no understanding (discernment). Their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

¹ This is the vision seen by Isaiah the son of Amoz. It is about Judah and Jerusalem at the time of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

⁶ For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

¹ It was Hezekiah's fourteenth year as king. King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² The king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. He stood at the channel for the Upper Pool on the road to the Laundryman's Field. ³ Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace and was the son of Hilkiah, Shebna the scribe, and Joah, who was the royal historian and the son of Asaph, went out to the field commander. ⁴ He said to them: »Tell Hezekiah, This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What makes you so confident? ⁵ »‘You give useless advice about getting ready for war. Whom do you trust for support in your rebellion against me? ⁶ »When you trust Egypt, you trust a broken stick for a staff. If you lean on it, it stabs your hand and goes through it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like for everyone who trusts him. ⁷ »‘Suppose you say: ‘We are trusting Jehovah our God. He is the god whose places of worship and altars Hezekiah got rid of. Hezekiah told Judah and Jerusalem: Worship at this altar.’«’ ⁸ »Now, make a deal with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them. ⁹ »How can you defeat my master's lowest-ranking officers when you trust Egypt for chariots and horses? ¹⁰ »Have I come to destroy this country without Jehovah on my side? Jehovah said to me: Attack this country, and destroy it.’«’ ¹¹ Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the field commander: »Speak to us in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in the Judean language as long as there are people on the wall listening.« ¹² However the field commander asked: »Did my master send me to tell these things only to you and your master? Did he not send me to the men sitting on the wall who will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine with you?« ¹³ Then the field commander stood and shouted loudly in the Judean language: »Listen to the great king, the king of Assyria. ¹⁴ »‘This is what the king says: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot rescue you. ¹⁵ »‘Do not let Hezekiah get you to trust Jehovah by saying: ‘Jehovah will certainly rescue us, and this city will not be put under the control of the king of Assyria. ¹⁶ »‘Do not listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me! Come out, and give yourselves up to me! Everyone will eat from his own grapevine and fig tree and drink from his own cistern. ¹⁷ »‘Then I will come and take you away to a country like your own. It is a country with grain and new wine, a country with bread and vineyards. ¹⁸ »‘Do not let Hezekiah mislead you by saying to you: ‘Jehovah will rescue us. Did any of the gods of the nations rescue their countries from the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ »‘Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Did they rescue Samaria from my control? ²⁰ »‘Did the gods of these countries indeed rescue them from my control? Could Jehovah then rescue Jerusalem from my control?’« ²¹ They were silent and did not say anything to him because the king commanded them not to answer him. ²² Then Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace and was son of Hilkiah, Shebna the scribe, and Joah, who was the royal historian and the son of Asaph, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief. They told him the message from the field commander.

⁶ »‘I will say to the north, ‘Give them up,’ and to the south, ‘do not keep them. Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

¹⁹ »Your descendants would be like sand. Your children would be like its grains. Their names would not be cut off or wiped out in my presence.«

⁶ He says: »It is a small thing that you are my servant. You will raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also make you a light to the nations that my salvation will reach to the end of the earth.«

¹⁷ Your children will hurry back. Those who destroyed you and laid you waste will leave you. ¹⁸ Lift up your eyes and look around for they all gather together and come to you. »As I live,« declares Jehovah, »you will certainly wear them like jewels and bind them on like a bride does.« ¹⁹ »Even if you are destroyed and demolished, and your land is in ruins, you will be too crowed for your people. Those who devoured you will be long gone. ²⁰ »‘The children removed from you will say to you: ‘This place is too crowed for me. Make room for me to live here.’ ²¹ »‘You will think in your heart: ‘Who brought these children to birth? I am barren (sterile) and bereaved of my children. I am an exiled wonderer. Who gave birth to these? From where did these come?’ ²² »Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,« said Jehovah. »I will set up my standard for the peoples. They will bring your sons and your daughters in their bosom and carried on their shoulders.

¹ »Sing joyfully, O barren woman, you who never bore a child! Burst into song and shout for joy, you who were never in labor! More are the children of the desolate woman than of the woman, who has a husband,« proclaims Jehovah. ² »Enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch your tent curtains wide and do not hold back. Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. ³ »For you will spread out to the right and to the left. Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

⁴ »Look up, look around, and watch. All of your people assemble and come to you. Your sons come from far away. Your daughters are carried in their arms. ⁵ »Then you will see this and rejoice. Your heart will shake with joy. The riches of the sea will be brought to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you.

²⁰ They will bring all your brothers from every nation like a grain offering to Jehovah. They will come on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules and camels to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, declares Jehovah. They will come like the people of Israel who bring their grain offerings in clean dishes to Jehovah’s temple.

² Jehovah (YHWH) spoke his word to Jeremiah. This happened when King Josiah, son of Amon, was in his thirteenth year as king of Judah.

⁴ Jehovah spoke his word to me, Jeremiah, He said:

¹³ »My people have done two things wrong: (l) They have abandoned me, the fountain (source) of living waters. They have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Revelation 4:11)

¹ It is said: »If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband should not go back to her again.« The land would become completely polluted. »You have behaved like a prostitute who has many lovers. Now you want to come back to me!« Says Jehovah. ² »Lift up your eyes to the bare hills and see. You have had sex with men in every place. You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled (corrupted) (profaned) the land with your prostitution and wickedness. ³ »Accordingly the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the unashamed (conspicuous) (impudent) look of a prostitute, and you refuse to be ashamed. ⁴ »‘Now you call to me. You say, ‘Father!’ »You have been my friend ever since I was young.

⁸ »Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. ⁹ »Because she was not concerned about her prostitution. She polluted the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.

¹⁸ »Then the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own inheritance. ¹⁹ »I wanted to treat you like children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful property among the nations. I thought you would call me Father and not turn away from me.

⁶ »Many camels will cover your land, young camels from Midian and Ephah. Everyone from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and incense. They will sing the praises of Jehovah. ⁷ »All of the flocks from Kedar will gather and come to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be sacrificed as acceptable offerings on my altar. So I will honor my beautiful Temple. ⁸ »Who are these people that fly by like clouds and like doves to their nests? ⁹ »Surely the coastlands wait with hope for me. The ships from Tarshish are the first to bring your children from far away. They bring their silver and their gold with them to honor the name of Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, because he has honored you. ¹⁰ »Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. I struck you because of my anger, but in my favor I have compassion on you. ¹¹ »Your gates will always be open. They will never be closed day or night so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations. Even their kings are led as prisoners. ¹² »Nations and kingdoms that do not serve you will be destroyed. The nations will definitely be ruined. ¹³ »Lebanon's glory will come to you: Cedar, fir, and cypress trees will come to beautify my holy place. I will honor the place where my feet rest. ¹⁴ »The sons of those who oppress you will bow in front of you. All who loathe you will bow at your feet. They will call you the city of Jehovah, Zion, the city of the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ »You have been abandoned and hated. No one has passed through you. But now I will make you a foundation of everlasting pride, a joy for all generations. ¹⁶ »You will drink milk from other nations and nurse at royal breasts. Then you will know that I am Jehovah, your Savior, the Mighty One of Jacob, and your Defender (Protector). ¹⁷ »I will bring gold instead of copper. I will bring silver instead of iron, copper instead of wood, and iron instead of stone. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness as your ruler. ¹⁸ »You will no longer hear about violence in your land or desolation and destruction within your borders. You will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. ¹⁹ »The sun will no longer be your light during the day. The brightness of the moon will not give you light, for Jehovah will be your everlasting light. Your God will be your glory. ²⁰ »Your sun will no longer go down, nor will your moon disappear. Jehovah will be your everlasting light, and your days of sadness will be over. ²¹ »Then all your people will be righteous and they will possess the land everlastingly. They will be the seedlings I have planted, the honored work of my hands. ²² »The smallest of them will become a thousand. The weakest of them will become a mighty nation. At the right time I, Jehovah, will make it happen quickly.«

¹ Jehovah told me: »Go and buy a linen belt. Wear it on your hips for a while, but do not put it in any water.« ² So I bought a belt and put it on my hips. ³ Then Jehovah said: ⁴ »Take off the linen belt. Go to the Euphrates River and hide the belt in a crack between some large rocks.« ⁵ And that is what I did, just as Jehovah commanded. ⁶ Some time later Jehovah said: »Go back and get the linen belt.« ⁷ I went back and dug the belt out of the hiding place, but the cloth had rotted, and the linen belt was ruined. It was good for nothing. ⁸ Then Jehovah said: ⁹ »Jeremiah, I will use Babylon to destroy the pride of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ »The people of Judah are evil and stubborn. They do not listen to me. They do whatever they want and even worship other gods. When I am finished with these people, they will be good for nothing, just like this linen belt. ¹¹ »This belt is tight around your waist, and that is how tightly I held onto the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted to make them famous, so that other nations would praise and honor me, but they refused to obey me.

¹ Jehovah said to me: »I would not feel sorry for these people, even if Moses and Samuel were standing in front of me. Send them away from my presence, and let them go.

³ »The days are coming,« says Jehovah, »when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity. I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it.«’

¹ Jehovah proclaims: »At that time I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.« ² Jehovah says: »The people who survived the sword (war) found favor in the wilderness. Israel went to find its rest.« ³ Jehovah appeared to him from afar, saying: »I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving-kindness. ⁴ »I will build you and you will be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You will take up your tambourines and go to the dances of the merrymakers. ⁵ »You will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. The planters will plant and will enjoy them. ⁶ »There will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim call out: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to Jehovah our God.’« ⁷ Jehovah says: »Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations.« Proclaim! Give praise and say, O Jehovah, save your people, the remnant of Israel. ⁸ I am bringing them from the North Country. I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth. Among them are the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child. As a great company they will return here. ⁹ With weeping they will come. By supplication I will lead them. I will make them walk by streams of waters on a straight path in which they will not stumble. For I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn.

³³ »This is the covenant (agreement) that I will make with Israel after those days,« declares Jehovah. »I will put my teachings (Law) inside them. I will write those teachings (Law) on their hearts (inner man) (mind) (will) (conscience) (understanding). I will be their God, and they will be my people.«

²² »‘I will increase the descendants of my servant David and the Levites who serve me in the same way as the stars of heaven that cannot be counted and the sand on the seashore that cannot be measured.’«

² This is what Jehovah the God of Israel says concerning the shepherds who are tending my people: »You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You have not attended to them. I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,« says Jehovah.

⁵ »The days are coming,« declares Jehovah, »when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch. He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.

⁵ »The days are coming,« declares Jehovah, »when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch. He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ »In His days Judah will be saved. Israel will dwell securely. This is his name by which he will be called, Jehovah Is Our Righteousness.

⁶ »In His days Judah will be saved. Israel will dwell securely. This is his name by which he will be called, Jehovah Is Our Righteousness. ⁷ »Therefore the days are coming,« declares Jehovah, »when they will no longer say, ‘As Jehovah lives, the one who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ ⁸ »‘Instead, ‘Jehovah lives, the one who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the northland and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.’«

⁴ »In those days and at that time,« declares Jehovah, »the sons of Israel will come. Both they and the sons of Judah will go along weeping as they go. They will seek Jehovah their God. ⁵ »They will ask for the way to Zion turning their faces in its direction. They will come to join themselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

¹⁹ »‘I will bring the people of Israel back to their pastures. They will eat on Mount Carmel and Mount Bashan. They will eat until they are full on the mountains of Ephraim and Gilead.

⁵⁶ A destroyer will attack Babylon, its soldiers will be captured, and their bows and arrows will be broken. I Jehovah am a God who punishes evil. I will certainly punish them.

³⁴ Early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, Jehovah spoke his word to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam. ³⁵ »This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: ‘I am going to break the bows of Elam's archers, the most important weapon of their strength.

³ The word of Jehovah (YHWH) spoke to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi. It was in Babylon by the Chebar River. The power of Jehovah came upon him.

¹ »Son of man, take a clay tablet and put it in front of you. Draw the city of Jerusalem on it. ² »Then lay siege to it. Erect siege works against it. Build a ramp up to it. Set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. ³ »Take an iron pan and place it as an iron wall between you and the city. Then turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. ⁴ »Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. ⁵ »I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for three hundred and ninety days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.

⁹ »Then those who escape will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive. I was hurt by their adulterous hearts, which turned away from me, and by their eyes, which lusted after idols. They will hate themselves for the evil and disgusting things that they have done.

¹ The word of Jehovah came to me: ² »Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices. ³ »Say this, ‘The Lord Jehovah says this to Jerusalem: »Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ »‘»On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. ⁵ »‘»No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. ⁶ »‘»When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ »‘I made you numerous like plants of the field. You grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments. Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.«’ ⁸ »‘Then I passed by you and saw that you were at the time for love. So I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became mine, declares the Lord Jehovah. ⁹ »‘Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ »‘I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ »‘I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.’« ¹² »‘I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ »‘You were adorned with gold and silver. Your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴ »‘You became famous in every nation because of your beauty. Your beauty was perfect because I gave you my glory,’ declares the Lord Jehovah.« ¹⁵ »‘But you trusted your beauty. You used your fame to become a prostitute. You had sex with everyone who walked by. ¹⁶ »‘You took some of your clothes and made your worship sites colorful. This is where you acted like a prostitute. Such things should not happen. They should not occur. ¹⁷ »‘You took your beautiful gold and silver jewelry that I had given you and made male idols for yourself. Then you committed adultery with them. ¹⁸ »‘You took off your embroidered clothes and covered the idols with them. You offered my olive oil and incense in their presence. ¹⁹ »‘You also offered them sweet and fragrant sacrifices. You gave flour, olive oil, and honey-all the food that I gave you to eat. This is what happened,’ declares the Lord Jehovah.« ²⁰ »‘You took your sons and daughters, who belonged to me, and you sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough? ²¹ »‘You slaughtered my children and presented them as burnt offerings to idols. ²² »‘During your disgusting life as a prostitute you never once remembered your childhood, when you were naked, squirming in your own blood.’« ²³ The Lord Jehovah said: »You are doomed! Doomed! You did all that evil, and then ²⁴ by the side of every road you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. ²⁵ »You dragged your beauty through the mud. You offered yourself to everyone who came by, and you were more of a prostitute every day. ²⁶ »You let your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, go to bed with you, and you used your prostitution to make me angry. ²⁷ »Now I have raised my hand to punish you and to take away your share of my blessing. I have handed you over to the Philistines, who hate you. They are also disgusted with your immoral actions. ²⁸ »The others did not satisfy you so you ran after the Assyrians. You were their prostitute, but they did not satisfy you either. ²⁹ »You were also a prostitute for the Babylonians, that nation of merchants, but they did not satisfy you either. ³⁰ »I, the Lord Jehovah am furious with you. You were so disgusting that you would have done anything to get what you wanted. ³¹ »You had sex on every street corner, and when you finished, you refused to accept money. That is worse than being a prostitute! ³² »You are an unfaithful wife who would rather have sex with strangers than with your own husband. ³³ »Prostitutes accept money for having sex, but you bribe men from everywhere to have sex with you. ³⁴ »You are not like other prostitutes. Men do not ask you for sex. You offer to pay them! ³⁵ »Jerusalem, you prostitute, listen to the word of Jehovah. ³⁶ »You chased after lovers, then took off your clothes and had sex. You even worshiped disgusting idols and sacrificed your own children as offerings to them. ³⁷ »So I, the Lord Jehovah, will gather every one of your lovers, those you liked and those you hated. They will stand around you, and I will rip off your clothes and let all of those lovers stare at your nakedness. ³⁸ »I will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged. I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ »I will also give you into the hands of your lovers. They will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ »They will incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ »They will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women. Then I will stop you from playing the harlot. You will also no longer pay your lovers. ⁴² »I will calm my fury against you and my indignation will depart from you. I will be pacified and angry no more. ⁴³ ‘»You have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged me by all these things. I will therefore bring your conduct down on your own head,’ declares the Lord Jehovah. ‘That way you will not commit this lewdness on top of all your other abominations. ⁴⁴ ‘»Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb concerning you: »Like mother, like daughter.« ⁴⁵ ‘»You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ ‘»Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. ⁴⁷ ‘»Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. ⁴⁸ ‘»As I am alive,’ declares the Lord Jehovah, ‘Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ ‘»This was the guilt of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ ‘»They were arrogant and did disgusting things in front of me. So I did away with them when I saw this. ⁵¹ ‘»Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done many more disgusting things than they ever did. Because of all the disgusting things that you have done, you make your sisters look innocent. ⁵² ‘»You will have to suffer disgrace because you accused your sisters. Yet, your sins are more disgusting than theirs. They look like they are innocent compared to you. Be ashamed of yourself and suffer disgrace, because you have made your sisters look like they are innocent.’ ⁵³ ‘»I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and Samaria and her daughters. I will also restore your fortune along with theirs. ⁵⁴ ‘»You will have to suffer disgrace and be ashamed of everything you have done, including comforting them. ⁵⁵ ‘»When Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters return to what they once were, you and your daughters will return to what you once were. ⁵⁶ ‘»You did not mention your sister Sodom when you were arrogant. ⁵⁷ ‘»You did not mention her before your wickedness was revealed. Now the daughters of Aram and their neighbors despise you. The daughters of the Philistines also despise you. Those around you hate you. ⁵⁸ ‘»You must suffer because of all the crude and disgusting things you have done,’ declares Jehovah.« ⁵⁹ »The Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will treat you the way you deserve, because you ignored your promises and broke the covenant. ⁶⁰ ‘»I will honor the covenant I made with you when you were young. I will make a covenant with you that will last forever. ⁶¹ ‘»You will remember how you have acted, and be ashamed of it when you get your older sister and your younger sister back. I will let them be like daughters to you, even though this was not part of my covenant with you.’ ⁶² ‘»I will renew my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Jehovah. ⁶³ ‘»I will forgive all the wrongs you have done, but you will remember them and be too ashamed to open your mouth.’ The Lord Jehovah has spoken.«

¹ Jehovah spoke his word to me again: ² »Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. ³ »They played the prostitute in Egypt. They played the prostitute in their youth. There their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled. ⁴ »Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah. ⁵ »Oholah played the prostitute while she was mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors. ⁶ »The Assyrians were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ »She gave her acts of fornication to them, all of whom were the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself. ⁸ »She did not forsake her acts of fornication from the time in Egypt. In her youth men had lain with her. They handled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her. ⁹ »Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ »They uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹⁰ »They uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgments on her. ¹¹ »Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she. Her prostitution was more than the fornication of her sister. ¹² »She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. ¹³ »I saw that she had defiled herself and that they both went the same way. ¹⁴ »So she increased her acts of fornication. And she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion (reddish-orange color), ¹⁵ girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ¹⁶ »When she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ »The Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their acts of prostitution. When they had defiled her, she became disgusted with them. ¹⁸ »She uncovered her acts if prostitution and uncovered her nakedness. I became disgusted with her, as I had become disgusted with her sister. ¹⁹ »Yet she multiplied her acts of prostitution. She remembered the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ »She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose genital organ is like the genital organ of horses. ²¹ »Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth. ²² »Therefore, O Oholibah, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom you were alienated. I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ ‘»They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons, and with a company of peoples. They will set themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet. I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. ²⁵ ‘»I will set my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears. Your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters. The fire will consume your survivors. ²⁶ ‘»They will also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. ²⁷ ‘»I will make your lewdness and your fornication brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ ²⁸ »The Lord Jehovah says: ‘Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you hate, into the hand of those from whom you were alienated. ²⁹ »They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your fornications will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your acts of prostitution. ³⁰ »These things will be done to you because you have played the prostitute with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ »You have walked in the way of your sister. Therefore I will give her cup into your hand.

³¹ »You have walked in the way of your sister. Therefore I will give her cup into your hand. ³² »The Lord Jehovah says this: ‘You will drink your sister's cup, which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and held in derision; it contains much. ³³ ‘»You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. ³⁴ ‘»You will drink it and drain it. Then you will gnaw its fragments and tear your breasts. »I have spoken,« declares the Lord Jehovah.’ ³⁵ »Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your acts of prostitution.’« ³⁶ Jehovah said to me: »Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ »For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them as food. ³⁸ »Again, they have done this to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and have profaned my Sabbaths. ³⁹ »For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary on the same day to profane it. Then they did within my house. ⁴⁰ »Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. They came and you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments for them. ⁴¹ »You sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged before it on which you had set my incense and my oil. ⁴² »The sound of a carefree multitude was with her. Drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort. And they put bracelets on the hands of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads. ⁴³ »Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adultery: »Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus? ⁴⁴ »But they went into her as they would go into a prostitute. Thus they went into Oholah and into Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵ »But they, righteous men, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands. ⁴⁶ »The Lord Jehovah says: ‘Bring up a company against them and give them over to terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ ‘»The company will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords. They will slay their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸ ’»Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land. All women will be admonished and not commit lewdness as you have done. ⁴⁹ ‘»Your lewdness will be repaid upon you. You will bear the penalty of worshiping your idols. You will know that I am the Lord Jehovah!’«

²³ »‘I will place one shepherd over them, my servant David. He will take care of them. He will take care of them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ »‘I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David will be their prince. I, Jehovah, have spoken!

¹⁶ »Son of man, take a stick and write on it: For Judah and for the Israelites who are associated with it.’ Then take another stick and write on it: ‘The stick of Ephraim, for Joseph and for all the people of Israel associated with it.’ ¹⁷ Then join both sticks together so that they will be one in your hand. Your people will say to you: ¹⁸ ‘Tell us what you mean by this.’ ¹⁹ Then say to them: ‘This is what the Lord Jehovah says: I will take Joseph's stick, which is in Ephraim's hand, and the tribes of Israel associated with it, and I will put them with Judah's stick. I will make them into one stick. They will be one in my hand.«’ ²⁰ When you hold the sticks in your hand, let the people see them. ²¹ »Tell them: ‘The Lord Jehovah says: »I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from everywhere and bring them to their own land. ²² I will form them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule all of them. They will no longer be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. ²³ They will no longer dishonor themselves with their idols, with their detestable things, or with their rebellious acts. I will forgive them for all the times they turned away from me and sinned. I will cleanse them so that they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ »‘»My servant David will be their king. All of them will have one shepherd. They will live by my rules, and they will obey my laws. ²⁵ »‘»They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They, their children, and their grandchildren will live in it for a very long time. My servant David will be their prince for a very long time.

⁶ Gomer conceived again, and gave birth to a daughter. Jehovah said to Hosea: »Name her Loruhamah for I will no longer have mercy upon the house of Israel and I will not pardon them.

⁹ Jehovah said: »Name him Loammi for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

⁴ »I will show no mercy to her children for they are children of fornication.

⁴ »I will show no mercy to her children for they are children of fornication. ⁵ Their mother played the harlot. She that conceived them acted shamefully! For she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.

¹³ »I will punish her for the days in which she burned incense to the Baals, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me,« said Jehovah.

¹⁸ »At that time I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground. I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them lie down in safety.

²² »The earth will answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will answer Jezreel.

²² »The earth will answer the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will answer Jezreel. ²³ »And I will sow her to me in the earth! I will have mercy (compassion) on her who had not obtained mercy. I will say to those who were not my people: ‘You are my people!’ They will answer: ‘You are my God!’«

²³ »And I will sow her to me in the earth! I will have mercy (compassion) on her who had not obtained mercy. I will say to those who were not my people: ‘You are my people!’ They will answer: ‘You are my God!’«

¹ Jehovah said to me: »Go again and love a woman beloved by her friend. Love an adulteress, even as Jehovah loves the children of Israel. Though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins for feasts.«

⁵ Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Jehovah their God. David their king will come with trembling to Jehovah and to his goodness in the last days.

³ »I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me. O Ephraim, you have played the harlot and Israel is defiled.

¹⁵ »All Ephraim's wickedness began in Gilgal. I hated the people there. I will force them out of my Temple because of their wickedness. I will not love them anymore. All their officials are rebellious. ¹⁶ »The people of Ephraim are like sick plants. Their roots are dried up. They have no fruit. Even if they were to have children, I would kill their dear children.« ¹⁷ My God will reject them because they refused to listen to him. They will wander among the nations.

¹⁷ My God will reject them because they refused to listen to him. They will wander among the nations.

¹ The words of Amos concerning Israel. He was among the herdsmen of Tekoa in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. It was two years before the earthquake.

¹² »Ephraim surrounds me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit. Yet Judah is unruly against God, even against the Holy One who is faithful.«

¹ The word of Jehovah (YHWH) that came to Joel the son of Pethuel:

¹ Now the word of Jehovah came to Jonah the son of Amittai. He said:

¹ The word of Jehovah that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. This is the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:

¹² »I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you. I will surely gather the remnant of Israel! I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture. They will make great noise because of the crowd of men. ¹³ »The breaker (one who opens the breach) (one that breaks through) has gone ahead of them. They will pass through the gate and go out by it. Their king will lead them with Jehovah at the head of them.«

¹ The word of Jehovah (YHWH) came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet. It was in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius the king:

⁶ »Flee from the land of the north,« said Jehovah. »I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens,« continued Jehovah. ⁷ »Escape Zion! You who dwell with the daughter of Babylon should escape. ⁸ »Jehovah of Hosts proclaims: ‘He sent me after glory! He sent me to the nations that plundered you. For he that touches you touches the pupil of his eye.’ ⁹ »Behold! I will shake my hand (power) over them, and they will be a spoil to those who served them.« Then you will know that Jehovah of Hosts has sent me. ¹⁰ »Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For I am coming, and I will dwell in the midst of you,« said Jehovah. ¹¹ »Many nations will join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and will be my people! I will dwell in the your midst, and you will know that Jehovah of Hosts has sent me to you.«

⁶ He answered: »This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel.« Then Jehovah of Hosts said: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.’«

⁹ »Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king comes to you! He is righteous having salvation. He is humble, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the son of a she ass. ¹⁰ »I will destroy the war chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow will be dismantled. He will speak peace to the nations! His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁶ »I will strengthen the house of Judah. I will save the house of Joseph and I will bring them back. I will have mercy upon them; and they will be as though I had not cast them off. For I am Jehovah, their God, and I will hear them! ⁷ »They of Ephraim will be like a mighty man! Their heart will rejoice as if from wine. Their children will see it, and rejoice! Their heart will be glad in Jehovah. ⁸ »I will whistle for them, and gather them. I have redeemed them and they will increase the same as they have increased. ⁹ »I will sow them among the peoples! They will remember me in far countries. They will live with their children and return.

²¹ »She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus (»Jehovah (YHWH) is salvation«), because he will save his people from their sins.«

²¹ »She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus (»Jehovah (YHWH) is salvation«), because he will save his people from their sins.« ²² All this happened so that what God spoke through the prophet came true: ²³ »The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,« which means: »God (God-like one) is with us.« (John 1:18)

¹ The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

¹³ »Have no fear Zechariah,« said the angel, »for God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elisabeth will have a son and his name will be John.

³¹ »You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son. You will call his name Jesus.

⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, »His name is John.« They were all amazed.

¹² He gave the right to become children of God to all who received him. Even to those who believe in his name.

⁴² He took him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said: »You are Simon the son of John: you will be called Cephas (meaning: Peter).«

³⁵ »So if he called them ‘god-like ones,’ those to whom the word of God came, and the Scriptures may not be annulled,

¹⁴ All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of bondage again causing fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Father, Father! (Chaldee: Abba, meaning father). ¹⁶ The Spirit itself (Greek:autos ho pneuma) (itself the Spirit) bears witness with our spirit (mind and heart), that we are children of God. ¹⁷ If children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with him we may also be glorified with him.

²⁵ He says also in Hosea: »Those who are not my people I will call my people. And she who is not loved I will call loved.«

²⁵ He says also in Hosea: »Those who are not my people I will call my people. And she who is not loved I will call loved.« ²⁶ In the place where it was said to them: »You are not my people, they will be called Sons of the living God.« (Hosea 2:23) ²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: »Should the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved. ²⁸ »He is bringing the matter to an end, and cutting it short in righteousness. Jehovah will make an accounting on the earth.« (Isaiah 10:22)

¹⁵ If their rejection means reconciliation for the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this secret, lest you should be wise in your own conceits (estimation). Blindness has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations comes in. ²⁶ In this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: The deliverer will come out of Zion and will remove ungodliness from Jacob.

¹⁸ I will be a Father to you, and you will be to me sons and daughters, said Jehovah God the Almighty. (Hosea 1:10)

⁶ Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷ So you are no longer slaves but a son. And as a son God has made you an heir.

⁴ When the kindness of God our Savior, and his love toward man, appeared, ⁵ not by works done in righteousness, which we did, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration (restoration) (spiritual rebirth) and renewing (renovation) of the Holy Spirit. ⁶ He poured Spirit out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior.

¹² This was to come from one man and him as good as dead. There were born children, as many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as uncountable as the sand by the seashore.

⁹ You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession, that you may show the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ In time past you were no people, but now you are the people of God. You had not then received, but now have received mercy (compassion) (divine kindness).

¹⁰ In time past you were no people, but now you are the people of God. You had not then received, but now have received mercy (compassion) (divine kindness).

²¹ For no prophecy ever came by the will of man! Men spoke from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin! They entice unsteady persons. Their hearts are full of covetousness. They are children of cursing.

¹ Observe the love the Father gave to us that we should be called the children of God. That is what we are! For this reason the world does not know us. This is because it did not know him. ² Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be. We know that when he is revealed we will be like him. We will see him just as he is.

¹ One of the seven angels who had one of the seven bowls spoke to me. He said: »Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, ² »with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.«

⁵ A name was written on her forehead, a mystery, »Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.«