WEBVTT 00:00:00.919 --> 00:00:03.700 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.740 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:08.880 in a year. Today we finish the second half of 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.699 the book of Hosea with chapters 7 through 14. 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:16.019 Chapter 7 When I would have healed Israel, the 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:19.120 iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:21.719 of Samaria. For they have committed fraud. A 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:24.739 thief comes in, a band of robbers takes spoil 00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:27.179 outside. They do not consider in their hearts 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:29.870 that I remember all their wickedness. Now their 00:00:29.870 --> 00:00:32.210 own deeds have surrounded them. They are before 00:00:32.210 --> 00:00:35.369 my face. They make a king glad with their wickedness 00:00:35.369 --> 00:00:39.310 and princes with their lies. They are all adulterers. 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:42.390 Like an oven heated by a baker, he ceases stirring 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:45.009 the fire after kneading the dough until it is 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:47.570 leavened. In the day of our king, princes have 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:50.490 made him sick, inflamed with wine. He stretched 00:00:50.490 --> 00:00:53.049 out his hand with scoffers. They prepare their 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:55.750 heart like an oven while they lie in wait. Their 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:58.380 baker sleeps all night. In the morning it burns 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:01.200 like a flaming fire. They are all hot like an 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.120 oven, and have devoured their judges. All their 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.959 kings have fallen. None among them calls upon 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:09.980 me. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples. 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:13.599 Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:16.659 his strength, but he does not know it. Yes, gray 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:19.180 hairs are here and there on him, yet he does 00:01:19.180 --> 00:01:21.560 not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:24.079 to his face. But they do not return to the Lord 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.409 their God, nor seek him for all this. Ephraim 00:01:27.409 --> 00:01:30.489 also is like a silly dove without sense. They 00:01:30.489 --> 00:01:33.230 call to Egypt. They go to Assyria. Wherever they 00:01:33.230 --> 00:01:35.750 go, I will spread my net on them. I will bring 00:01:35.750 --> 00:01:38.650 them down like birds of the air. I will chastise 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:40.969 them according to what their congregation has 00:01:40.969 --> 00:01:43.890 heard. Woe to them, for they have fled from me. 00:01:44.150 --> 00:01:46.469 Destruction to them, because they have transgressed 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:49.090 against me. Though I redeemed them, yet they 00:01:49.090 --> 00:01:51.609 have spoken lies against me. They did not cry 00:01:51.609 --> 00:01:54.310 out to me with their heart when they wailed upon 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:56.629 their beds. They assemble together for grain 00:01:56.629 --> 00:01:59.469 and new wine. They rebel against me. Though I 00:01:59.469 --> 00:02:01.609 disciplined and strengthened their arms, yet 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:04.450 they devise evil against me. They return, but 00:02:04.450 --> 00:02:06.730 not to the Most High. They are like a treacherous 00:02:06.730 --> 00:02:09.889 bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword. For 00:02:09.889 --> 00:02:12.650 the cursings of their tongue, this shall be their 00:02:12.650 --> 00:02:17.750 derision in the land of Egypt. Set the trumpet 00:02:17.750 --> 00:02:20.310 to your mouth. He shall come like an eagle against 00:02:20.310 --> 00:02:22.669 the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed 00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:25.530 my covenant and rebelled against my law. Israel 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:28.509 will cry to me, My God, we know you. Israel has 00:02:28.509 --> 00:02:30.949 rejected the good, the enemy will pursue him. 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:34.310 They set up kings, but not by me. They made princes, 00:02:34.530 --> 00:02:37.330 but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver 00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:40.030 and gold, they made idols for themselves, that 00:02:40.030 --> 00:02:42.810 they might be cut off. Your calf is rejected, 00:02:42.949 --> 00:02:45.669 O Samaria. My anger is aroused against them. 00:02:45.750 --> 00:02:48.650 How long until they attain to innocence? For 00:02:48.650 --> 00:02:51.509 from Israel is even this, a workman made it, 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:54.449 and it is not God. But the calf of Samaria shall 00:02:54.449 --> 00:02:57.409 be broken to pieces. They sow the wind and reap 00:02:57.409 --> 00:03:00.030 the whirlwind. The stock has no bud. It shall 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:03.250 never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens 00:03:03.250 --> 00:03:05.969 would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up. 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:08.650 Now they are among the Gentiles like a vessel 00:03:08.650 --> 00:03:11.389 in which is no pleasure. For they have gone up 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:14.150 to Assyria like a wild donkey alone by itself. 00:03:14.650 --> 00:03:17.550 Ephraim has hired lovers. Yes, though they have 00:03:17.550 --> 00:03:20.270 hired among the nations, now I will gather them. 00:03:20.389 --> 00:03:22.780 And they shall sorrow a little. because of the 00:03:22.780 --> 00:03:25.460 burden of the king of princes. Because Ephraim 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:27.919 has made many altars for sin, they have become 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.719 for him altars for sinning. I have written for 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:33.139 him the great things of my law, but they were 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:35.620 considered a strange thing. For the sacrifices 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:38.120 of my offerings, they sacrifice flesh and eat 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:40.639 it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:42.699 will remember their iniquity and punish their 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:46.099 sins. They shall return to Egypt. For Israel 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:48.539 has forgotten his maker and has built temples. 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:52.039 Judah also has multiplied fortified cities, but 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.939 I will send fire upon his cities, and it shall 00:03:54.939 --> 00:04:00.500 devour his palaces. Do not rejoice, O Israel, 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.240 with joy like other peoples, for you have played 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:05.680 the harlot against your God. You have made love 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.599 for hire on every threshing floor. The threshing 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:10.740 floor and the winepress shall not feed them, 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:13.409 and the new wine shall fail in her. They shall 00:04:13.409 --> 00:04:15.830 not dwell in the Lord's land, but Ephraim shall 00:04:15.830 --> 00:04:18.129 return to Egypt, and shall eat unclean things 00:04:18.129 --> 00:04:20.709 in Assyria. They shall not offer wine offerings 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:23.629 to the Lord, nor shall their sacrifices be pleasing 00:04:23.629 --> 00:04:26.550 to him. It shall be like bread of mourners to 00:04:26.550 --> 00:04:29.769 them. All who eat it shall be defiled, for their 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:32.589 bread shall be for their own life. It shall not 00:04:32.589 --> 00:04:35.209 come into the house of the Lord. What will you 00:04:35.209 --> 00:04:37.689 do in the appointed day and in the day of the 00:04:37.689 --> 00:04:40.430 feast of the Lord? For indeed they are gone because 00:04:40.430 --> 00:04:44.110 of destruction. Egypt shall gather them up. Memphis 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:47.009 shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their 00:04:47.009 --> 00:04:49.569 valuables of silver. Thorns shall be in their 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:52.290 tents. The days of punishment have come. The 00:04:52.290 --> 00:04:55.730 days of recompense have come. Israel knows. The 00:04:55.730 --> 00:04:58.509 prophet is a fool. The spiritual man is insane. 00:04:58.769 --> 00:05:01.449 Because of the greatness of your iniquity and 00:05:01.449 --> 00:05:04.329 great enmity. The watchman of Ephraim is with 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:06.870 my God. But the prophet is with a fowler's snare 00:05:06.870 --> 00:05:10.050 in all his ways. Enmity in the house of his God. 00:05:10.490 --> 00:05:12.870 They are deeply corrupted, as in the days of 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:15.269 Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will 00:05:15.269 --> 00:05:18.250 punish their sins. I found Israel like grapes 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:20.709 in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the 00:05:20.709 --> 00:05:23.569 first fruits on the fig tree in its first season. 00:05:23.689 --> 00:05:26.550 But they went to Baal Peor and separated themselves 00:05:26.550 --> 00:05:30.009 to that shame. They became an abomination like 00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:32.870 the thing they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory 00:05:32.870 --> 00:05:36.410 shall fly away like a bird. No birth, no pregnancy, 00:05:36.629 --> 00:05:39.209 and no conception. though they bring up their 00:05:39.209 --> 00:05:41.810 children, yet I will bereave them to the last 00:05:41.810 --> 00:05:45.129 man. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them, 00:05:45.189 --> 00:05:48.529 just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre planted in a 00:05:48.529 --> 00:05:50.829 pleasant place. So Ephraim will bring out his 00:05:50.829 --> 00:05:53.470 children to the murderer. Give them, O Lord, 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:56.610 what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb 00:05:56.610 --> 00:06:00.490 and dry breasts. All their wickedness is in Gilgal, 00:06:00.629 --> 00:06:03.430 for there I hated them, because of the evil of 00:06:03.430 --> 00:06:05.889 their deeds. I will drive them from my house, 00:06:06.029 --> 00:06:08.709 I will love them no more. All their princes are 00:06:08.709 --> 00:06:11.750 rebellious. Ephraim is stricken. Their root is 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:15.089 dried up. They shall bear no fruit. Yes, were 00:06:15.089 --> 00:06:17.550 they to bear children, I would kill the darlings 00:06:17.550 --> 00:06:20.509 of their womb. My God will cast them away, because 00:06:20.509 --> 00:06:23.470 they did not obey him. And they shall be wanderers 00:06:23.470 --> 00:06:29.490 among the nations. Israel empties his vine. He 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:32.110 brings forth fruit for himself, according to 00:06:32.110 --> 00:06:34.410 the multitude of his fruit. He has increased 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:36.949 the altars, according to the bounty of his land. 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:39.680 They have embellished his sacred pillars, their 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:42.560 heart is divided. Now they are held guilty. He 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:44.959 will break down their altars, he will ruin their 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.800 sacred pillars. For now they say, we have no 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:50.920 king, because we did not fear the Lord. And as 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.180 for a king, what would he do for us? They have 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:57.160 spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant. 00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:00.240 Thus judgment springs up like a hemlock in the 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.860 furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria 00:07:02.860 --> 00:07:06.100 fear because of the calf of Beit Avin, for its 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:08.879 people mourn for it, and its priests shriek for 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:12.040 it. Because its glory has departed from it, the 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:15.040 idol also shall be carried to Assyria as a present 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:18.199 to King Jerob. Ephraim shall receive shame, and 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.759 Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. As 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:23.720 for Samaria, her king is cut off, like a twig 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:26.480 on the water. Also the high places of Avin, the 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.040 sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:31.860 and thistle shall grow on their altars. They 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:34.160 shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:37.100 the hills, Fall on us. O Israel, you have sinned 00:07:37.100 --> 00:07:39.980 from the days of Gibeah. There they stood. The 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:42.420 battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:45.160 did not overtake them. When it is my desire, 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:47.680 I will chasten them. Peoples shall be gathered 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.240 against them, when I bind them for their two 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.000 transgressions. Ephraim is a trained heifer that 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:55.800 loves to thresh grain. But I harnessed her fat 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:59.160 neck, I will make Ephraim pull a plow. Judah 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:02.379 shall plow, Jacob shall break his cloths. So 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:04.680 for yourselves righteousness, reap in mercy. 00:08:04.939 --> 00:08:08.000 Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.399 seek the Lord, till he comes and rains righteousness 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.939 on you. You have plowed wickedness, you have 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:15.180 reaped iniquity, you have eaten the fruit of 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:18.060 lies, because you trusted in your own way in 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:21.370 the multitude of your mighty men. Therefore tumult 00:08:21.370 --> 00:08:24.189 shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses 00:08:24.189 --> 00:08:27.189 shall be plundered as Shaman plundered Beit Arbel 00:08:27.189 --> 00:08:29.889 in the day of battle. A mother dashed in pieces 00:08:29.889 --> 00:08:32.470 upon her children. Thus it shall be done to you, 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:35.350 O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. At 00:08:35.350 --> 00:08:38.289 dawn the king of Israel shall be cut off utterly. 00:08:39.629 --> 00:08:43.049 Chapter 11 When Israel was a child, I loved him, 00:08:43.110 --> 00:08:46.090 and out of Egypt I called my son. As they called 00:08:46.090 --> 00:08:48.570 them, so they went from them. They sacrificed 00:08:48.570 --> 00:08:50.990 to the Baals, and burnt incense to carved images. 00:08:51.330 --> 00:08:53.850 I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:56.870 arms. But they did not know that I healed them. 00:08:57.009 --> 00:08:59.590 I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of 00:08:59.590 --> 00:09:02.210 love. And I was to them as those who take the 00:09:02.210 --> 00:09:04.929 yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. 00:09:05.129 --> 00:09:07.690 He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but 00:09:07.690 --> 00:09:09.980 the Assyrian shall be his king. because they 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:12.980 refuse to repent. And the sword shall slash in 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:15.600 his cities, devour his districts, and consume 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:18.399 them, because of their own counsels. My people 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:20.940 are bent on backsliding from me. Though they 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:23.620 call to the Most High, none at all exalt him. 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:26.679 How can I give up Ephraim? How can I hand over 00:09:26.679 --> 00:09:30.179 Israel? How can I make you like Adma? How can 00:09:30.179 --> 00:09:33.379 I set you like Zeboim? My heart churns within 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.639 me. My sympathy is stirred. I will not execute 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.080 the fierceness of my anger. I will not again 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:42.580 destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:45.500 Holy One in your midst, and I will not come with 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:48.779 terror. They shall walk after the Lord. He will 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:52.019 roar like a lion. When he roars, then his sons 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:54.539 shall come trembling from the west. They shall 00:09:54.539 --> 00:09:57.379 come trembling like a bird from Egypt, like a 00:09:57.379 --> 00:09:59.799 dove from the land of Assyria, and I will let 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:03.139 them dwell in their houses, says the Lord. Ephraim 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:05.220 has encircled me with lies, and the house of 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:07.879 Israel with deceit. But Judah still walks with 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:10.860 God, even with the Holy One who is faithful. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:15.840 Ephraim feeds on the wind, and pursues the east 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:19.039 wind. He daily increases lies and desolation. 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:21.539 Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians, 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:24.620 and oil is carried to Egypt. The Lord also brings 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.200 a charge against Judah. and will punish Jacob 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:29.639 according to his ways. According to his deeds 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:31.940 he will recompense him. He took his brother by 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:34.240 the heel in the womb, and in his strength he 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.860 struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:39.559 angel and prevailed. He wept and sought favor 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:42.200 from him. He found him in Bethel, and there he 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.500 spoke to us. That is the Lord God of hosts. The 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:48.759 Lord is his memorable name. So you, by the help 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:51.820 of your God, return, observe mercy and justice, 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:55.750 and wait on your God continually. A cunning Canaanite, 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:58.769 deceitful scales are in his hand. He loves to 00:10:58.769 --> 00:11:01.610 oppress. And Ephraim said, Surely I have become 00:11:01.610 --> 00:11:04.470 rich. I have found wealth for myself. In all 00:11:04.470 --> 00:11:07.710 my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that 00:11:07.710 --> 00:11:10.409 is sin. But I am the Lord your God. Ever since 00:11:10.409 --> 00:11:13.129 the land of Egypt, I will again make you dwell 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:15.549 in tents. As in the days of the appointed feast, 00:11:15.789 --> 00:11:18.289 I have also spoken by the prophets and have multiplied 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:21.289 visions. I have given symbols through the witness 00:11:21.289 --> 00:11:24.269 of the prophets. Though Gilead has idols, surely 00:11:24.269 --> 00:11:26.909 they are vanity. Though they sacrifice bulls 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:29.909 in Gilgal, indeed their altars shall be heaps 00:11:29.909 --> 00:11:32.870 in the furrows of the field. Jacob fled to the 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:35.789 country of Syria. Israel served for a spouse, 00:11:35.970 --> 00:11:38.710 and for a wife he tended sheep. By a prophet 00:11:38.710 --> 00:11:41.409 the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by 00:11:41.409 --> 00:11:44.210 a prophet he was preserved. Ephraim provoked 00:11:44.210 --> 00:11:47.029 him to anger most bitterly. Therefore his Lord 00:11:47.029 --> 00:11:49.370 will leave him the guilt of his bloodshed upon 00:11:49.370 --> 00:11:53.580 him. and return his reproach upon him chapter 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:57.440 13 when ephraim spoke trembling he exalted himself 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.220 in israel but when he offended through baal worship 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:03.779 he died now they sin more and more and have made 00:12:03.779 --> 00:12:06.580 for themselves molded images idols of their silver 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:09.529 according to their skill All of it is the work 00:12:09.529 --> 00:12:12.350 of craftsmen. They say to them, Let the men who 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:15.049 sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall 00:12:15.049 --> 00:12:17.350 be like the morning cloud, and like the early 00:12:17.350 --> 00:12:20.409 dew that passes away, like chaff blown off from 00:12:20.409 --> 00:12:22.730 a threshing floor, and like smoke from a chimney. 00:12:23.029 --> 00:12:25.950 Yet I am the Lord your God, ever since the land 00:12:25.950 --> 00:12:29.610 of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me. For 00:12:29.610 --> 00:12:32.289 there is no Saviour besides Me. I knew you in 00:12:32.289 --> 00:12:34.490 the wilderness, in the land of great drought. 00:12:34.789 --> 00:12:37.480 When they had pasture, they were filled. They 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:40.120 were filled and their heart was exalted. Therefore 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:43.000 they forgot me. So I will be to them like a lion, 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:46.000 like a leopard by the road I will lurk. I will 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:48.659 meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs. I 00:12:48.659 --> 00:12:51.519 will tear open their ribcage, and there I will 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:54.399 devour them like a lion. The wild beast shall 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:57.480 tear them. O Israel, you are destroyed, but your 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:01.080 help is from me. I will be your king. Where is 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:03.700 any other that he may save you in all your cities? 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:06.779 and your judges to whom you said, Give me a king 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:09.860 and princes. I gave you a king in my anger, and 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:12.659 took him away in my wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:16.019 is bound up, his sin is stored up. The sorrows 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:18.620 of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him. 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.360 He is an unwise son. For he should not stay long 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:25.460 where children are born. I will ransom them from 00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:27.740 the power of the grave. I will redeem them from 00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:30.580 death. O death, I will be your plagues. O grave, 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.440 I will be your destruction. Pity is hidden from 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:36.100 my eyes, though he is fruitful among his brethren, 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.559 and east wind shall come. The wind of the Lord 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:40.899 shall come up from the wilderness, then his spring 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:43.279 shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:46.220 up. He shall plunder the treasury of every desirable 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:50.220 prize. Samaria is held guilty, for she has rebelled 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:52.860 against her God. They shall fall by the sword, 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.919 their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and 00:13:55.919 --> 00:14:00.000 their women with child ripped open. Chapter 14 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:03.259 O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:05.659 have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take 00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:08.460 words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to 00:14:08.460 --> 00:14:11.679 him, Take away all iniquity, receive us graciously, 00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:14.340 for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:17.440 Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride on 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:19.980 horses, nor will we say any more to the work 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:23.460 of our hands, You are our gods, for in you the 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:26.940 fatherless finds mercy. I will heal their backsliding, 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:29.809 I will love them freely. For my anger has turned 00:14:29.809 --> 00:14:32.610 away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel. 00:14:32.789 --> 00:14:35.669 He shall grow like the lily and lengthen his 00:14:35.669 --> 00:14:38.649 roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread. 00:14:38.850 --> 00:14:41.490 His beauty shall be like an olive tree and his 00:14:41.490 --> 00:14:43.929 fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under 00:14:43.929 --> 00:14:46.690 his shadow shall return. They shall be revived 00:14:46.690 --> 00:14:50.110 like grain and grow like a vine. Their scent 00:14:50.110 --> 00:14:52.950 shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall 00:14:52.950 --> 00:14:56.250 say, What have I to do anymore with idols? I 00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:58.500 have heard and observed them. I am like a green 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:01.980 cypress tree, your fruit is found in me. Who 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.539 is wise? Let him understand these things. Who 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.019 is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:09.820 the Lord are right. The righteous walk in them, 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:18.460 but transgressors stumble in them. I hope you 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:20.799 enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:22.679 I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow to 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.919 continue on our journey. God bless you and have 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:25.480 a great day.