1 Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel,
Because the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty,
Nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is oath-taking, denial, murder, stealing, and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky,
And even the fish of the sea disappear.
4 Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke;
For your people are like those who contend with a priest.
5 So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the Law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of My people,
And long for their wrongdoing.
9 And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the prostitute, but not increase,
Because they gave up devoting themselves to the Lord.
11 Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.
12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;
For a spirit of infidelity has led them astray,
And they have been unfaithful, departing from their God.
13 They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains
And burn incense on the hills,
Under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,
And your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.
15 Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,
Judah must not become guilty;
Also you are not to go to Gilgal,
Nor go up to Beth-aven
And take the oath:
“As the Lord lives!”
16 Since Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn cow,
Will the Lord now pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?
17 Ephraim is allied with idols;
Leave him alone.
18 Their liquor is gone,
They prostitute themselves continually;
Their rulers dearly love shame.
19 The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, you of the house of the king!
For the judgment applies to you,
Because you have been a trap at Mizpah,
And a net spread out on Tabor.
2 And the rebels have gone deep in depravity,
But I will discipline all of them.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
Because now, Ephraim, you have been unfaithful,
Israel has defiled itself.
4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a spirit of infidelity is within them,
And they do not know the Lord.
5 Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their wrongdoing;
Judah also has stumbled with them.
6 They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the Lord, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.
7 They have dealt treacherously with the Lord,
For they have given birth to illegitimate children.
Now the new moon will devour them with their land.
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,
And the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:
“Behind you, Benjamin!”
9 Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is trustworthy.
10 The leaders of Judah have become like those who displace a boundary marker;
On them I will pour out My anger like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed, broken by judgment,
Because he was determined to follow man’s command.
12 Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim,
And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his sore,
Ephraim then went to Assyria
And sent word to King Jareb.
But he is unable to heal you,
Or to cure you of your sore.
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be no one to rescue.
15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their distress they will search for Me.
1 The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth which remains in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received a commandment to do from the Father. 5 Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you are to walk in it.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.
12 Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made complete.
13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.
1 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time and forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not extend their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with those who practice injustice.
Peace be upon Israel.
9 When a wise person has a controversy with a foolish person,
The foolish person either rages or laughs, and there is no rest.
10 People of bloodshed hate the blameless person,
But the upright are concerned for his life.
11 A fool always loses his temper,
But a wise person holds it back.
