121 Ephraim feeds on wind , And pursues the east wind continually e ; He multiplies lies and violence . Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria , And oil is carried to Egypt . 2 The Lord also has a dispute with Judah , And will punish Jacob according to his ways ; He will repay him according to his deeds . 3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel , And in his maturity he contended with God . 4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed ; He wept and sought His favor . He found Him at Bethel And there He spoke with us, 5 Even the Lord , the God of hosts , The Lord is His name . 6 Therefore, return to your God , Observe kindness and justice , And wait for your God continually .
7 A merchant , in whose hands are false balances , He loves to oppress . 8 And Ephraim said , "Surely I have become rich , I have found wealth for myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity , which would be sin ." 9 But I have been the Lord your God since the land of Egypt ; I will make you live in tents again , As in the days of the appointed festival . 10 I have also spoken to the prophets , And I gave numerous visions , And through the prophets I gave parables . 11 Is there iniquity in Gilead ? Surely they are worthless . In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls , Yes , their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows of the field . 12 Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram , And Israel worked for a wife , And for a wife he kept sheep. 13 But by a prophet the Lord brought Israel from Egypt , And by a prophet he was kept . 14 Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger ; So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him And bring back his reproach to him.
131 When Ephraim spoke , there was trembling . He exalted himself in Israel , But through Baal he did wrong and died . 2 And now they sin more and more , And make for themselves molten images , Idols skillfully made from their silver , All of them the work of craftsmen . They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves !" 3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears , Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney . 4 Yet I have been the Lord your God Since the land of Egypt ; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness , In the land of drought . 6 As they had their pasture , they became satisfied , And being satisfied , their heart became proud ; Therefore e they forgot Me. 7 So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside . 8 I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs , And I will tear open their chests e ; There I will also devour them like a lioness , As a wild beast would tear them.
9 It is your destruction , O Israel , That you are against Me, against your help . 10 Where now is your king That he may save you in all your cities , And your judges of whom you requested , "Give me a king and princes "? 11 I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath . 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up. 13 The pains of childbirth come upon him; He is not a wise son , For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening e of the womb . 14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol ? Shall I redeem them from death ? O Death , where are your thorns ? O Sheol , where is your sting ? Compassion will be hidden from My sight . 15 Though he flourishes among the reeds , An east wind will come , The wind of the Lord coming up from the wilderness ; And his fountain will become dry And his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious article . 16 Samaria will be held guilty , For she has rebelled against her God . They will fall by the sword , Their little ones will be dashed in pieces , And their pregnant women will be ripped open .
141 Return , O Israel , to the Lord your God , For you have stumbled because of your iniquity . 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord . Say to Him, " Take away all iniquity And receive us graciously , That we may present the fruit of our lips . 3 "Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses ; Nor will we say again , ' Our god ,' To the work of our hands ; For in You the orphan finds mercy ."
4 I will heal their apostasy , I will love them freely , For My anger has turned away from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel ; He will blossom like the lily , And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon . 6 His shoots will sprout , And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon . 7 Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain , And they will blossom like the vine . His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon .
8 O Ephraim , what more have I to do with idols ? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress ; From Me comes your fruit . 9 Whoever is wise , let him understand these things ; Whoever is discerning , let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right , And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.
41 After these things I looked , and behold , a door standing open in heaven , and the first voice which I had heard , like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said , " Come up here , and I will show you what must take place after these things ." 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit ; and behold , a throne was standing in heaven , and One sitting on the throne . 3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance ; and there was a rainbow around the throne , like an emerald in appearance . 4 Around the throne were twenty-four e thrones ; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four e elders sitting , clothed in white garments , and golden crowns on their heads . 5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder . And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne , which are the seven Spirits of God ; 6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass , like crystal ; and in the center and around the throne , four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind . 7 The first creature was like a lion , and the second creature like a calf , and the third creature had a face like that of a man , and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle .
8 And the four living creatures , each one of them having six wings , are full of eyes around and within ; and day and night they do not cease to say , " HOLY , HOLY , HOLY is THE Lord GOD , THE ALMIGHTY , WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME ." 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne , to Him who lives forever and ever , 10 the twenty-four e elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne , and will worship Him who lives forever and ever , and will cast their crowns before the throne , saying , 11 " Worthy are You, our Lord and our God , to receive glory and honor and power ; for You created all things , and because of Your will they existed , and were created ."
