Chapter 13

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

1 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;

he was exalted in Israel.

But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.

2 Now they sin more and more;

they make idols for themselves from their silver,

cleverly fashioned images,

all of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of these people,

“They offer human sacrifices!

They kiss calf-idols!”

3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears,

like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,

like smoke escaping through a window.

4 “But I have been the Lord your God

ever since you came out of Egypt.

You shall acknowledge no God but me,

no Savior except me.

5 I cared for you in the wilderness,

in the land of burning heat.

6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;

when they were satisfied, they became proud;

then they forgot me.

7 So I will be like a lion to them,

like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,

I will attack them and rip them open;

like a lion I will devour them—

a wild animal will tear them apart.

9 “You are destroyed, Israel,

because you are against me, against your helper.

10 Where is your king, that he may save you?

Where are your rulers in all your towns,

of whom you said,

‘Give me a king and princes’?

11 So in my anger I gave you a king,

and in my wrath I took him away.

12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,

his sins are kept on record.

13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him,

but he is a child without wisdom;

when the time arrives,

he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.

14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave;

I will redeem them from death.

Where, O death, are your plagues?

Where, O grave, is your destruction?

“I will have no compassion,

15 even though he thrives among his brothers.

An east wind from the Lord will come,

blowing in from the desert;

his spring will fail

and his well dry up.

His storehouse will be plundered

of all its treasures.

16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,

because they have rebelled against their God.

They will fall by the sword;

their little ones will be dashed to the ground,

their pregnant women ripped open.”

Chapter 14

 Repentance to Bring Blessing

1 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.

Your sins have been your downfall!

2 Take words with you

and return to the Lord.

Say to him:

“Forgive all our sins

and receive us graciously,

that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

3 Assyria cannot save us;

we will not mount warhorses.

We will never again say ‘Our gods’

to what our own hands have made,

for in you the fatherless find compassion.”

4 “I will heal their waywardness

and love them freely,

for my anger has turned away from them.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily.

Like a cedar of Lebanon

he will send down his roots;

6 his young shoots will grow.

His splendor will be like an olive tree,

his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

7 People will dwell again in his shade;

they will flourish like the grain,

they will blossom like the vine—

Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like a flourishing juniper;

your fruitfulness comes from me.”

9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things.

Who is discerning? Let them understand.

The ways of the Lord are right;

the righteous walk in them,

but the rebellious stumble in them.

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

1 

I will sing of your love and justice;

    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.

2 

I will be careful to lead a blameless life—

    when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house

    with a blameless heart.

3 

I will not look with approval

    on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;

    I will have no part in it.

4 

The perverse of heart shall be far from me;

    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

5 

Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,

    I will put to silence;

whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,

    I will not tolerate.

6 

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,

    that they may dwell with me;

the one whose walk is blameless

    will minister to me.

7 

No one who practices deceit

    will dwell in my house;

no one who speaks falsely

    will stand in my presence.

8 

Every morning I will put to silence

    all the wicked in the land;

I will cut off every evildoer

    from the city of the Lord.

Psalm 102

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

1 Hear my prayer, Lord;

let my cry for help come to you.

2 Do not hide your face from me

when I am in distress.

Turn your ear to me;

when I call, answer me quickly.

3 For my days vanish like smoke;

my bones burn like glowing embers.

4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;

I forget to eat my food.

5 In my distress I groan aloud

and am reduced to skin and bones.

6 I am like a desert owl,

like an owl among the ruins.

7 I lie awake; I have become

like a bird alone on a roof.

8 All day long my enemies taunt me;

those who rail against me use my name as a curse.

9 For I eat ashes as my food

and mingle my drink with tears

10 because of your great wrath,

for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.

11 My days are like the evening shadow;

I wither away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;

your renown endures through all generations.

13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to show favor to her;

the appointed time has come.

14 For her stones are dear to your servants;

her very dust moves them to pity.

15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,

all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion

and appear in his glory.

17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;

he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written for a future generation,

that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:

19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,

from heaven he viewed the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners

and release those condemned to death.”

21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion

and his praise in Jerusalem

22 when the peoples and the kingdoms

assemble to worship the Lord.

23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;

he cut short my days.

24 So I said:

“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;

your years go on through all generations.

25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26 They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Like clothing you will change them

and they will be discarded.

27 But you remain the same,

and your years will never end.

28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;

their descendants will be established before you.”

Chapter 5

1 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.

5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,

“You are my Son;

today I have become your Father.

6 And he says in another place,

“You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek.”

7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Falling Away

11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.