29
“At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time will not be like the first.
30
Ships of Kittim will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant.
31
His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.
32
With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.
33
Those who are wise among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will die by sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time.
34
When defeated, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely.
35
Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
36
“Then the king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, because what has been decreed will be accomplished.
37
He will not show regard for the gods of his fathers, the god longed for by women, or for any other god, because he will magnify himself above all.
38
Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses — a god his fathers did not know — with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.
39
He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward.
40
“At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.
41
He will also invade the beautiful land, and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of the Ammonites.
42
He will extend his power against the countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.
43
He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and
•Cushites
will also be in submission.
44
But reports from the east and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and
•completely
destroy many.
45
He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
Daniel
12
At that time
Michael the great prince
who stands watch over your people will rise up.
There will be a time of distress
such as never has occurred
since nations came into being until that time.
But at that time all your people
who are found written in the book will escape.
2
Many of those who sleep in the dust
of the earth will awake,
some to eternal life,
and some to shame and eternal contempt.
3
Those who are wise will shine
like the bright expanse of the heavens,
and those who lead many to righteousness,
like the stars forever and ever.
4
“But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”
5
Then I, Daniel, looked, and two others were standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the other.
6
One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the end of these extraordinary things? ”
7
Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river. He raised both his hands toward heaven and swore by Him who lives eternally that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people is shattered, all these things will be completed.
8
I heard but did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things? ”
9
He said, “Go on your way, Daniel, for the words are secret and sealed until the time of the end.
10
Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; none of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
11
From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
12
The one who waits for and reaches 1,335 days is blessed.
13
But as for you, go on your way to the end; you will rest, then rise to your destiny at the end of the days.”
Hosea
Hosea
1
The word of the
Lord
that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
Hosea's Marriage and Children
2
When the
Lord
first spoke to Hosea, He said this to him:
Go and marry a promiscuous wife
and have children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the
Lord
.
3
So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4
Then the
Lord
said to him:
Name him Jezreel, for in a little while
I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel
on the house of Jehu
and put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5
On that day I will break the bow of Israel
in the Valley of Jezreel.
6
She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, and the
Lord
said to him:
Name her No Compassion,
for I will no longer have compassion
on the house of Israel.
I will certainly take them away.
7
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah,
and I will deliver them by the
Lord
their God.
I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war,
or by horses and cavalry.
8
After Gomer had weaned No Compassion, she conceived and gave birth to a son.
9
Then the
Lord
said:
Name him Not My People,
for you are not My people,
and I will not be your God.
10
Yet the number of the Israelites
will be like the sand of the sea,
which cannot be measured or counted.
And in the place where they were told:
You are not My people,
they will be called: Sons of the living God.
11
And the Judeans and the Israelites
will be gathered together.
They will appoint for themselves a single ruler
and go up from the land.
For the day of Jezreel will be great.
Hosea
Chapter 2
1
Call your brothers: My People
and your sisters: Compassion.
Israel's Adultery Rebuked
2
Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.
For she is not My wife and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face
and her adultery from between her breasts.
3
Otherwise, I will strip her naked
and expose her as she was on the day of her birth.
I will make her like a desert
and like a parched land,
and I will let her die of thirst.
4
I will have no compassion on her children
because they are the children of promiscuity.
5
Yes, their mother is promiscuous;
she conceived them and acted shamefully.
For she thought, “I will go after my lovers,
the men who give me my food and water,
my wool and flax, my oil and drink.”
6
Therefore, this is what I will do:
I will block her way with thorns;
I will enclose her with a wall,
so that she cannot find her paths.
7
She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;
she will seek them but not find them.
Then she will think,
“I will go back to my former husband,
for then it was better for me than now.”
8
She does not recognize
that it is I who gave her the grain,
the new wine, and the oil.
I lavished silver and gold on her,
which they used for
•Baal
.
9
Therefore, I will take back My grain in its time
and My new wine in its season;
I will take away My wool and linen,
which were to cover her nakedness.
10
Now I will expose her shame
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from My hands.
11
I will put an end to all her celebrations:
her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths —
all her festivals.
12
I will devastate her vines and fig trees.
She thinks that these are her wages
that her lovers have given her.
I will turn them into a thicket,
and the wild animals will eat them.
13
And I will punish her for the days of the Baals
when she burned incense to them,
put on her rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but forgot Me.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
Israel's Adultery Forgiven
14
Therefore, I am going to persuade her,
lead her to the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
15
There I will give her vineyards back to her
and make the Valley of Achor
into a gateway of hope.
There she will respond as she did
in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.
16
In that day —
this is the
Lord
's declaration —
you will call Me, “My husband,”
and no longer call Me, “My Baal.”
17
For I will remove the names of the Baals
from her mouth;
they will no longer be remembered by their names.
18
On that day I will make a covenant for them
with the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the creatures that crawl on the ground.
I will shatter bow, sword,
and weapons of war in the land
and will enable the people to rest securely.
19
I will take you to be My wife forever.
I will take you to be My wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.
20
I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness,
and you will know
•Yahweh
.
21
On that day I will respond —
this is the
Lord
's declaration.
I will respond to the sky,
and it will respond to the earth.
22
The earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine, and the oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
23
I will sow her in the land for Myself,
and I will have compassion
on No Compassion;
I will say to Not My People:
You are My people,
and he will say, “You are My God.”
Hosea
Waiting for Restoration
3
Then the
Lord
said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, just as the
Lord
loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”
2
So I bought her for 15
•shekels
of silver and five bushels of barley.
3
I said to her, “You must live with me many days. Don't be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you.”