Hosea 13

Chapter 13

The LORD’s Anger against Israel

1 When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
the people shook with fear,
for that tribe was important in Israel.
But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal
and thus sealed their destruction.2 Now they continue to sin by making silver idols,
images shaped skillfully with human hands.
“Sacrifice to these,” they cry,
“and kiss the calf idols!”3 Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist,
like dew in the morning sun,
like chaff blown by the wind,
like smoke from a chimney.4 “I have been the LORD your God
ever since I brought you out of Egypt.
You must acknowledge no God but me,
for there is no other savior.5 I took care of you in the wilderness,
in that dry and thirsty land.6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied,
you became proud and forgot me.7 So now I will attack you like a lion,
like a leopard that lurks along the road.8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away,
I will tear out your heart.
I will devour you like a hungry lioness
and mangle you like a wild animal.9 “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel—
yes, by me, your only helper.10 Now where ist your king?
Let him save you!
Where are all the leaders of the land,
the king and the officials you demanded of me?11 In my anger I gave you kings,
and in my fury I took them away.12 “Ephraim’s guilt has been collected,
and his sin has been stored up for punishment.13 Pain has come to the people
like the pain of childbirth,
but they are like a child
who resists being born.
The moment of birth has arrived,
but they stay in the womb!14 “Should I ransom them from the gravet?
Should I redeem them from death?
O death, bring on your terrors!
O grave, bring on your plagues!t
For I will not take pity on them.15 Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers,
but the east wind—a blast from the LORD—
will arise in the desert.
All their flowing springs will run dry,
and all their wells will disappear.
Every precious thing they own
will be plundered and carried away.16 tThe people of Samaria
must bear the consequences of their guilt
because they rebelled against their God.
They will be killed by an invading army,
their little ones dashed to death against the ground,
their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”

Hosea 14

Chapter 14

Healing for the Repentant

1  tReturn, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for your sins have brought you down.2 Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD.
Say to him,
“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises.t3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
do the orphans find mercy.”4 The LORD says,
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
my love will know no bounds,
for my anger will be gone forever.5 I will be to Israel
like a refreshing dew from heaven.
Israel will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil
like the cedars in Lebanon.6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.7 My people will again live under my shade.
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.8 “O Israel,t stay away from idols!
I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
all your fruit comes from me.”9 Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the LORD are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.
But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.

Joel 1

Chapter 1

1 The LORD gave this message to Joel son of Pethuel.

Mourning over the Locust Plague

2 Hear this, you leaders of the people.
Listen, all who live in the land.
In all your history,
has anything like this happened before?3 Tell your children about it in the years to come,
and let your children tell their children.
Pass the story down from generation to generation.4 After the cutting locusts finished eating the crops,
the swarming locusts took what was left!
After them came the hopping locusts,
and then the stripping locusts,t too!5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you wine-drinkers!
All the grapes are ruined,
and all your sweet wine is gone.6 A vast army of locustst has invaded my land,
a terrible army too numerous to count.
Its teeth are like lions’ teeth,
its fangs like those of a lioness.7 It has destroyed my grapevines
and ruined my fig trees,
stripping their bark and destroying it,
leaving the branches white and bare.8 Weep like a bride dressed in black,
mourning the death of her husband.9 For there is no grain or wine
to offer at the Temple of the LORD.
So the priests are in mourning.
The ministers of the LORD are weeping.10 The fields are ruined,
the land is stripped bare.
The grain is destroyed,
the grapes have shriveled,
and the olive oil is gone.11 Despair, all you farmers!
Wail, all you vine growers!
Weep, because the wheat and barley—
all the crops of the field—are ruined.12 The grapevines have dried up,
and the fig trees have withered.
The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees—
all the fruit trees—have dried up.
And the people’s joy has dried up with them.13 Dress yourselves in burlap and weep, you priests!
Wail, you who serve before the altar!
Come, spend the night in burlap,
you ministers of my God.
For there is no grain or wine
to offer at the Temple of your God.14 Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together for a solemn meeting.
Bring the leaders
and all the people of the land
into the Temple of the LORD your God,
and cry out to him there.15 The day of the LORD is near,
the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.
How terrible that day will be!16 Our food disappears before our very eyes.
No joyful celebrations are held in the house of our God.17 The seeds die in the parched ground,
and the grain crops fail.
The barns stand empty,
and granaries are abandoned.18 How the animals moan with hunger!
The herds of cattle wander about confused,
because they have no pasture.
The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery.19 LORD, help us!
The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures,
and flames have burned up all the trees.20 Even the wild animals cry out to you
because the streams have dried up,
and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.