Hosea 5; Hosea 6; Hosea 7; Hosea 8; Revelation 2

Hosea 5

1 "Listen, you priests. Pay attention, people of Israel. Listen, royal family, because you will all be judged. and like a net spread out at Mount Tabor.

2 You have done many evil things, so I will punish you all.

3 I know all about the people of Israel; what they have done is not hidden from me. Now that Israel acts like a prostitute, it has made itself unclean.

4 "They will not give up their deeds and return to their God. They are determined to be unfaithful to me; they do not know the Lord.

5 Israel's pride testifies against them. The people of Israel will stumble because of their sin, and the people of Judah will stumble with them.

6 They will come to worship the Lord, bringing their flocks and herds, but they will not be able to find him, because he has left them.

7 They have not been true to the Lord; they are children who do not belong to him. So their false worship will destroy them and their land.

8 "Blow the horn in Gibeah and the trumpet in Ramah. Give the warning at Beth Aven, and be first into battle, people of Benjamin.

9 Israel will be ruined on the day of punishment. I tell the truth.

10 The leaders of Judah are like those who steal other people's land. I will pour my punishment over them like a flood of water.

11 Israel is crushed by the punishment, because it decided to follow idols.

12 I am like a moth to Israel, like a rot to the people of Judah.

13 "When Israel saw its illness and Judah saw its wounds, and sent to the great king of Assyria. But he cannot heal you or cure your wounds.

14 I will be like a lion to Israel, like a young lion to Judah. I will attack them and tear them to pieces. I will drag them off, and no one will be able to save them.

15 Then I will go back to my place until they suffer for their guilt and turn back to me. In their trouble they will look for me."

Hosea 6

1 "Come, let's go back to the Lord. He has hurt us, but he will heal us. He has wounded us, but he will bandage our wounds.

2 In two days he will put new life in us; on the third day he will raise us up so that we may live in his presence

3 and know him. Let's try to learn about the Lord; he will come to us as surely as the dawn comes. He will come to us like rain, like the spring rain that waters the ground."

4 The Lord says, "Israel, what should I do with you? Judah, what should I do with you? Your faithfulness is like a morning mist, like the dew that goes away early in the day.

5 I have warned you by my prophets that I will kill you and destroy you. My justice comes out like bright light.

6 I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices. I want people to know me more than I want burnt offerings.

7 But they have broken the agreement as Adam did; they have been unfaithful to me.

8 Gilead is a city of people who do evil; their footprints are bloody.

9 The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people; they murder people on the road to Shechemn and do wicked things.

10 I have seen horrible things in Israel. Look at Israel's prostitution; Israel has become unclean.

11 "Judah, I have set a harvest time for you when I will make the lives of my people good again.

Hosea 7

1 When I heal Israel, Israel's sin will go away, and so will Samaria's evil. "They cheat a lot! Thieves break into houses, and robbers are in the streets.

2 It never enters their minds that I remember all their evil deeds. The bad things they do are all around them; they are right in front of me.

3 "They make the king happy with their wickedness; their rulers are glad with their lies.

4 But all of them are traitors. They are like an oven heated by a baker. While he mixes the dough, he does not need to stir up the fire.

5 The kings get so drunk they get sick every day. The rulers become crazy with wine; they make agreements with those who do not know the true God.

6 They burn like an oven; their hearts burn inside them. All night long their anger is low, but when morning comes, it becomes a roaring fire.

7 All these people are as hot as an oven; they burn up their rulers. All their kings fall, and no one calls on me.

8 "Israel mixes with other nations; he is like a pancake cooked only on one side.

9 Foreign nations have eaten up his strength, but he doesn't know it. Israel is weak and feeble, like an old man, but he doesn't know it.

10 Israel's pride will cause their defeat; they will not turn back to the Lord their God or look to him for help in all this.

11 Israel has become like a pigeon -- easy to fool and stupid. First they call to Egypt for help. Then they run to Assyria.

12 When they go, I will catch them in a net, I will bring them down like birds from the sky; I will punish them countless times for their evil.

13 How terrible for them because they left me! They will be destroyed, because they turned against me. I want to save them, but they have spoken lies against me.

14 They do not call to me from their hearts. They just lie on their beds and cry. They come together to ask for grain and new wine, but they really turn away from me.

15 Though I trained them and gave them strength, they have made evil plans against me.

16 They did not turn to the Most High God. They are like a loose bow that can't shoot. Because their leaders brag about their strength, they will be killed with swords, and the people in Egypt will laugh at them.

Hosea 8

1 "Put the trumpet to your lips and give the warning! The enemy swoops down on the Lord's people like an eagle. and have turned against my teachings.

2 They cry out to me, 'Our God, we in Israel know you!'

3 But Israel has rejected what is good, so the enemy will chase them.

4 They chose their own kings without asking my permission. They chose their own leaders, people I did not know. They made their silver and gold into idols, and for all this they will be destroyed.

5 I hate the calf-shaped idol of Israel! I am very angry with the people. How long will they remain unclean?

6 The idol is something a craftsman made; it is not God. Israel's calf-shaped idol will surely be smashed to pieces.

7 "Israel's foolish plans are like planting the wind, but they will harvest a storm. Like a stalk with no head of grain, it produces nothing. Even if it produced something, other nations would eat it.

8 Israel is eaten up; the people are mixed among the other nations and have become useless to me.

9 Israel is like a wild donkey all by itself. They have run to Assyria; They have hired other nations to protect them.

10 Although Israel is mixed among the nations, I will gather them together. They will become weaker and weaker as they suffer under the great king of Assyria.

11 "Although Israel built more altars to remove sin, they have become altars for sinning.

12 I have written many teachings for them, but they think the teachings are strange and foreign.

13 The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts and eat the meat, but the Lord is not pleased with them. He remembers the evil they have done, and he will punish them for their sins. They will be slaves again as they were in Egypt.

14 Israel has forgotten their Maker and has built palaces; Judah has built many strong, walled cities. But I will send fire on their cities and destroy their strong buildings."

Revelation 2

1 "Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus: "The One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands says this:

2 I know what you do, how you work hard and never give up. I know you do not put up with the false teachings of evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles but really are not, and you found they are liars.

3 You have patience and have suffered troubles for my name and have not given up.

4 "But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning.

5 So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you do not change, I will come to you and will take away your lampstand from its place.

6 But there is something you do that is right: You hate what the Nicolaitansn do, as much as I.

7 "Every person who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life, which is in the garden of God.

8 "Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna: "The One who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again, says this:

9 I know your troubles and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan.

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.

11 "Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.

12 "Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum: "The One who has the sharp, double-edged sword says this:

13 I know where you live. It is where Satan has his throne. But you are true to me. You did not refuse to tell about your faith in me even during the time of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed in your city, where Satan lives.

14 "But I have a few things against you: You have some there who follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak how to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food offered to idols and by taking part in sexual sins.

15 You also have some who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

16 So change your hearts and lives. If you do not, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

17 "Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. "I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give to each one who wins the victory a white stone with a new name written on it. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it.

18 "Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira: "The Son of God, who has eyes that blaze like fire and feet like shining bronze, says this:

19 I know what you do. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.

20 "But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel spread false teachings. She says she is a prophetess, but by her teaching she leads my people to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols.

21 I have given her time to change her heart and turn away from her sin, but she does not want to change.

22 So I will throw her on a bed of suffering. And all those who take part in adultery with her will suffer greatly if they do not turn away from the wrongs she does.

23 I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will know I am the One who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you for what you have done.

24 "But others of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching and have not learned what some call Satan's deep secrets. I say to you that I will not put any other load on you.

25 Only continue in your loyalty until I come.

26 "I will give power over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and continues to be obedient to me until the end.

27 'You will rule over them with an iron rod, as when pottery is broken into pieces.'

28 This is the same power I received from my Father. I will also give him the morning star.

29 Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.