Hosea 13-14

New King James Version

Relentless Judgment on Israel

13 When Ephraim spoke, trembling,
He exalted himself in Israel;
But when he offended through Baal worship, he died.
²Now they sin more and more,
And have made for themselves molded images,
Idols of their silver, according to their skill;
All of it is the work of craftsmen.
They say of them,
“Let ^[a]the men who sacrifice ^[b]kiss the calves!”
³Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud
And like the early dew that passes away,
^(A)Like chaff blown off from a threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.

⁴“Yet ^(B)I am the Lord your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For ^(C)there is no savior besides Me.
⁵^(D)I ^[c]knew you in the wilderness,
^(E)In the land of ^[d]great drought.
⁶^(F)When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.

⁷“So ^(G)I will be to them like a lion;
Like ^(H)a leopard by the road I will lurk;
⁸I will meet them ^(I)like a bear deprived of her cubs;
I will tear open their rib cage,
And there I will devour them like a lion.
The ^[e]wild beast shall tear them.

⁹“O Israel, ^[f]you are destroyed,
But ^[g]your help is from Me.
¹⁰^[h]I will be your King;
^(J)Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom ^(K)you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
¹¹^(L)I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.

¹²“The^(M) iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
¹³^(N)The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.

¹⁴“I will ransom them from the ^[i]power of ^[j]the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
^(O)O Death, ^[k]I will be your plagues!
O ^[l]Grave, ^[m]I will be your destruction!
^(P)Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

¹⁵Though he is fruitful among his brethren,
^(Q)An east wind shall come;
The wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness.
Then his spring shall become dry,
And his fountain shall be dried up.
He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable prize.
¹⁶Samaria ^[n]is held guilty,
For she has ^(R)rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child ^(S)ripped open.

Israel Restored at Last

14 O Israel, ^(T)return to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
²Take words with you,
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him,
“Take away all iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the ^(U)sacrifices^[o] of our lips.
³Assyria shall ^(V)not save us,
^(W)We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
^(X)For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

⁴“I will heal their ^(Y)backsliding,
I will ^(Z)love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
⁵I will be like the ^(AA)dew to Israel;
He shall ^[p]grow like the lily,
And ^[q]lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
⁶His branches shall ^[r]spread;
^(AB)His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And ^(AC)his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷^(AD)Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And ^[s]grow like a vine.
Their ^[t]scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸“Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
^(AE)Your fruit is found in Me.”

⁹Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For ^(AF)the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.

Footnotes

Hosea 13:2 Or those who offer human sacrifice
Hosea 13:2 Worship with kisses
Hosea 13:5 Cared for you
Hosea 13:5 Lit. droughts
Hosea 13:8 Lit. beast of the field
Hosea 13:9 Lit. it or he destroyed you
Hosea 13:9 Lit. in your help
Hosea 13:10 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Where is your king?
Hosea 13:14 Lit. hand
Hosea 13:14 Or Sheol
Hosea 13:14 LXX where is your punishment?
Hosea 13:14 Or Sheol
Hosea 13:14 LXX where is your sting?
Hosea 13:16 LXX shall be disfigured
Hosea 14:2 Lit. bull calves; LXX fruit
Hosea 14:5 Lit. bud or sprout
Hosea 14:5 Lit. strike
Hosea 14:6 Lit. go
Hosea 14:7 Lit. bud or sprout
Hosea 14:7 Lit. remembrance

Psalm 100

New King James Version

A Song of Praise for the Lord’s Faithfulness to His People

^(A)A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

100 Make ^(B)a joyful shout to the Lord, ^[a]all you lands!
²Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
³Know that the Lord, He is God;
^(C)It is He who has made us, and ^[b]not we ourselves;
^(D)We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴^(E)Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
⁵For the Lord is good;
^(F)His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

Footnotes

Psalm 100:1 Lit. all the earth
Psalm 100:3 So with Kt., LXX, Vg.; Qr., many Heb. mss., Tg. we are His

Psalm 102

New King James Version

The Lord’s Eternal Love

A Prayer of the afflicted, ^(A)when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

102 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry come to You.
²^(B)Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

³For my days ^[a]are ^(C)consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth.
⁴My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
⁵Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my ^[b]skin.
⁶I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am like an owl of the desert.
⁷I lie awake,
And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop.

⁸My enemies reproach me all day long;
Those who deride me swear an oath against me.
⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
¹⁰Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and cast me away.
¹¹My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.

¹²But You, O Lord, shall endure forever,
And the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
¹³You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
For the time to favor her,
Yes, the set time, has come.
¹⁴For Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And show favor to her dust.
¹⁵So the ^[c]nations shall ^(D)fear the name of the Lord,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
¹⁶For the Lord shall build up Zion;
^(E)He shall appear in His glory.
¹⁷^(F)He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.

¹⁸This will be ^(G)written for the generation to come,
That ^(H)a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
¹⁹For He ^(I)looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the Lord viewed the earth,
²⁰^(J)To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
²¹To ^(K)declare the name of the Lord in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem,
²²^(L)When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

²³He weakened my strength in the way;
He ^(M)shortened my days.
²⁴^(N)I said, “O my God,
Do not take me away in the midst of my days;
^(O)Your years are throughout all generations.
²⁵^(P)Of old You laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
²⁶^(Q)They will perish, but You will ^[d]endure;
Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change them,
And they will be changed.
²⁷But ^(R)You are the same,
And Your years will have no end.
²⁸^(S)The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”

Footnotes

Psalm 102:3 Lit. end in
Psalm 102:5 flesh
Psalm 102:15 Gentiles
Psalm 102:26 continue

Hebrews 5

New King James Version

Qualifications for High Priesthood

5 For every high priest taken from among men ^(A)is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He can ^[a]have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to ^(B)weakness. ³Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for ^(C)himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as ^(D)Aaron was.

A Priest Forever

⁵^(E)So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:

^(F)“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.”

⁶As He also says in another place:

^(G)“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”;

⁷who, in the days of His flesh, when He had ^(H)offered up prayers and supplications, ^(I)with vehement cries and tears to Him ^(J)who was able to save Him from death, and was heard ^(K)because of His godly fear, ⁸though He was a Son, yet He learned ^(L)obedience by the things which He suffered. ⁹And ^(M)having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, ¹⁰called by God as High Priest ^(N)“according to the order of Melchizedek,” ¹¹of whom ^(O)we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become ^(P)dull of hearing.

Spiritual Immaturity

¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the ^[b]oracles of God; and you have come to need ^(Q)milk and not solid food. ¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is ^(R)a babe. ¹⁴But solid food belongs to those who are ^[c]of full age, that is, those who by reason of ^[d]use have their senses exercised ^(S)to discern both good and evil.