Hosea 12; Hosea 13; Hosea 14; Revelation 4

1 The people of Ephraim look to others for help. It's like chasing the wind. The wind they keep chasing is hot and dry. They tell more and more lies. They are always hurting others. They make a peace treaty with Assyria. They send olive oil to Egypt to get help.

2 The LORD is bringing charges against Judah. He will punish Jacob's people because of how they act. He'll pay them back for the evil things they've done.

3 Even before Jacob was born, he was holding on to his brother's heel. When he became a man, he struggled with God.

4 At Peniel he struggled with the angel and won. He sobbed and begged for his blessing. God also met with him at Bethel. He talked with him there.

5 He is the LORD God who rules over all. He wants us to remember that his name is The Lord.

6 People of Jacob, you must return to your God. You must hold on to love and do what is fair. You must trust in your God always.

7 You are like a trader who uses dishonest scales. You love to cheat others.

8 People of Ephraim, you brag, "We are very rich. We've become wealthy. And no one can prove we sinned to gain all of this wealth."

9 The LORD says, "I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of Egypt. But I will make you live in tents again. That is what you did when you celebrated the Feast of Booths in the desert.

10 I spoke to the prophets. They saw many visions. I gave you warnings through them."

11 The people of Gilead are evil! They aren't worth anything! Gilgal's people sacrifice bulls to other gods. Their altars will become like piles of stones on a plowed field.

12 Jacob ran away to the country of Aram. There Israel served Laban to get a wife. He took care of sheep to pay for her.

13 The prophet Moses brought Israel up from Egypt. The LORD used him to take care of them.

14 But Ephraim's people have made the LORD very angry. Their Lord will hold them accountable for the blood they've spilled. He'll pay them back for the shameful things they've done.

1 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the other tribes trembled with fear. Ephraim was honored in Israel. But its people sinned by worshiping Baal. So they were as good as dead.

2 Now they sin more and more. They use their silver to make statues of gods for themselves. The statues come from their own clever ideas. Skilled workers make all of them. The people pray to those gods. They offer human sacrifices to them. They kiss the gods that look like calves.

3 So those people will vanish like the morning mist. They will soon disappear like the early dew. They will be like straw that the wind blows around on a threshing floor. They will be like smoke that escapes through a window.

4 The LORD says, "People of Israel, I am the LORD your God. I brought you out of Egypt. You must not recognize any God but me. You must not have any Savior except me.

5 I took care of you in the desert. It was a land of burning heat.

6 I fed you until you were satisfied. Then you became proud. You forgot all about me.

7 So I will leap on you like a lion. I will hide and wait beside the road like a leopard.

8 I will attack you like a bear that is robbed of her cubs. I will rip you wide open. Like a lion I will eat you up. Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.

9 "Israel, you will be destroyed. I helped you. But you turned against me.

10 Where is your king? Wasn't he supposed to save you? Where are the rulers in all of your towns? You said, 'Give us a king and princes.'

11 So I became angry and gave you a king. Then I took him away from you.

12 Ephraim, your guilt is piling up. I am keeping a record of all of your sins.

13 You will suffer pain like a woman having a baby. You are like a foolish child. It is time for you to be born. But you refuse to come out of your mother's body.

14 "I will set you free from the power of the grave. I will save you from death. Death, where are your plagues? Grave, where is your power to destroy? "Ephraim, I will no longer pity you.

15 Even though you are doing well among the other tribes, trouble will come to you. I will send a hot and dry wind from the east. It will blow in from the desert. Your springs will not have any water. Your wells will dry up. All of your treasures will be taken out of your storerooms.

16 People of Samaria, you must pay for your sins. You have refused to obey me. You will be killed with swords. Your little children will be smashed on the ground. Your pregnant women will be ripped wide open."

1 Israel, return to the LORD your God. Your sins have destroyed you!

2 Tell the LORD you are turning away from your sins. Return to him. Say to him, "Forgive us for all of our sins. Please be kind to us. Welcome us back to you. Then our lips will offer you our praise.

3 Assyria can't save us. We won't trust in our war horses. Our own hands have made statues of gods. But we will never call them our gods again. We are like children whose fathers have died. But you show us your tender love."

4 Then the LORD will answer, "My people always wander away from me. But I will put an end to that. My anger has turned away from them. Now I will love them freely.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel. They will bloom like a lily. They will send their roots down deep like a cedar tree in Lebanon.

6 They will spread out like new branches. They will be as beautiful as an olive tree. They will smell as sweet as the cedar trees in Lebanon.

7 Once again my people will live in the safety of my shade. They will grow like grain. They will bloom like vines. And they will be as famous as wine from Lebanon.

8 Ephraim will have nothing more to do with other gods. I will answer the prayers of my people. I will take good care of them. I will be like a green pine tree to them. All of the fruit they bear will come from me."

9 If you are wise, you will realize that what I've said is true. If you have understanding, you will know what it means. The ways of the LORD are right. People who are right with God live the way he wants them to. But those who refuse to obey him trip and fall.

1 After this I looked, and there in front of me was a door standing open in heaven. I heard the voice I had heard before. It sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, "Come up here. I will show you what must happen after this."

2 At once the Holy Spirit took complete control of me. There in front of me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

3 The One who sat there shone like jewels. Around the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.

4 Twenty-four other thrones surrounded that throne. Twenty-four elders were sitting on them. The elders were dressed in white. They had gold crowns on their heads.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and thunder. Seven lamps were blazing in front of the throne. These stand for the seven spirits of God.

6 There was something that looked like a sea of glass in front of the throne. It was as clear as crystal. In the inner circle, around the throne, were four living creatures. They were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

7 The first creature looked like a lion. The second looked like an ox. The third had a man's face. The fourth looked like a flying eagle.

8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings. Each creature was covered all over with eyes, even under the wings. Day and night, they never stop saying, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD WHO RULES OVER ALL. HE WAS, AND HE IS, AND HE WILL COME."

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

10 At the same time, the 24 elders fall down and worship the One who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns in front of the throne. They say,

11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. You are worthy because you created all things. They were created and they exist. That is the way you planned it."