Hosea 12; Hosea 13; Hosea 14; Revelation 4

1 What Israel does is as useless as chasing the wind; he chases the east wind all day. They tell more and more lies and do more and more violence. They make agreements with Assyria, and they send a gift of olive oil to Egypt.

2 The Lord also has some things against Judah. He will punish Israel for what they have done; he will give them what they deserve.

3 Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother's heel while the two of them were being born. When he grew to be a man, he wrestled with God.

4 When Jacob wrestled with the angel and won, he cried and asked for his blessing. Later, God met with him at Bethel and spoke with him there.

5 It was the Lord God All-Powerful; the Lord is his great name.

6 You must return to your God; love him, do what is just, and always trust in him as your God.

7 The merchants use dishonest scales; they like to cheat people.

8 Israel said, "I am rich! I am someone with power!" All their money will do them no good because of the sins they have done.

9 "But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. I will make you live in tents again as you used to do on worship days.

10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions; through them, I taught my lessons to you."

11 The people of Gilead are evil, worth nothing. Though people sacrifice bulls at Gilgal, their altars will become like piles of stone in a plowed field.

12 Your ancestor Jacob fled to Northwest Mesopotamia where he worked to get a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her.

13 Later the Lord used a prophet to bring Jacob's descendants out of Egypt; he used a prophet to take care of the Israelites.

14 But the Israelites made the Lord angry when they killed other people, and they deserve to die for their crimes. for the disgraceful things they have done.

1 People used to fear the tribe of Ephraim; they were important people in Israel. But they sinned by worshiping Baal, so they must die.

2 But they still keep on sinning more and more. They make idols of their silver, idols that are cleverly made, the work of a craftsman. Yet the people of Israel say to each other, "Kiss those calf idols and sacrifice to them."

3 So those people will be like the morning mist; they will disappear like the morning dew. They will be like chaff blown from the threshing floor, like smoke going out a window.

4 "I, the Lord, have been your God since you were in the land of Egypt. You should have known no other God except me. I am the only one who saves.

5 I cared for them in the desert where it was hot and dry.

6 I gave them food, and they became full and satisfied. But then they became too proud and forgot me.

7 That is why I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard waiting by the road.

8 I will attack like a bear robbed of her cubs, ripping their bodies open. I will devour them like a lion and tear them apart like a wild animal.

9 "Israel, I will destroy you. Who will be your helper then?

10 What good is your king? Can he save you in any of your towns? What good are your leaders? You said, 'Give us a king and leaders.'

11 So I gave you a king, but only in anger, and I took him away in my great anger.

12 The sins of Israel are on record, stored away, waiting for punishment.

13 The pain of birth will come for him, but he is like a foolish baby who won't come out of its mother's womb.

14 Will I save them from the place of the dead? Will I rescue them from death? Where is your sickness, death? Where is your pain, place of death? I will show them no mercy.

15 Israel is doing well among the nations, but the Lord will send a wind from the east, coming from the desert, that will dry up his springs and wells of water. He will destroy from their treasure houses everything of value.

16 The nation of Israel will be ruined, because it fought against God. The people of Israel will die in war; their children will be torn to pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open."

1 Israel, return to the Lord your God, because your sins have made you fall.

2 Come back to the Lord and say these words to him: "Take away all our sin and kindly receive us, and we will keep the promises we made to you.

3 Assyria cannot save us, nor will we trust in our horses. We will not say again, 'Our gods,' to the things our hands have made. You show mercy to orphans."

4 The Lord says, "I will forgive them for leaving me and will love them freely, because I am not angry with them anymore.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel, and they will blossom like a lily. Like the cedar trees in Lebanon, their roots will be firm.

6 They will be like spreading branches, like the beautiful olive trees and the sweet-smelling cedars in Lebanon.

7 The people of Israel will again live under my protection. They will grow like the grain, they will bloom like a vine, and they will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.

8 Israel, have nothing to do with idols. I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers and watches over you. I am like a green pine tree; your blessings come from me."

9 A wise person will know these things, and an understanding person will take them to heart. The Lord's ways are right. Good people live by following them, but those who turn against God die because of them.

1 After the vision of these things I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And the same voice that spoke to me before, that sounded like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."

2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and before me was a throne in heaven, and someone was sitting on it.

3 The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald.

4 Around the throne there were twenty-four other thrones with twenty-four elders sitting on them. They were dressed in white and had golden crowns on their heads.

5 Lightning flashes and noises and thundering came from the throne. Before the throne seven lamps were burning, which are the seven spirits of God.

6 Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass, clear like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living creatures with eyes all over them, in front and in back.

7 The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle.

8 Each of these four living creatures had six wings and was covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He was, he is, and he is coming."

9 These living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever.

10 Then the twenty-four elders bow down before the One who sits on the throne, and they worship him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and say:

11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, because you made all things. Everything existed and was made, because you wanted it."