Daniel 11–12; Hosea 1–2

1“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

2Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.

4But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

5The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.

6After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

7But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing.

8He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North,

9who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

10But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.

11In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.

12When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph.

13For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.

14In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.

15Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist.

16The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

17He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

18Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him.

19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

20In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

21In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

22Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

23After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.

24In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.

25And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.

26Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

27And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.

28The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

29At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first.

30Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

32With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

33Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

34Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.

35Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

36Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.

37He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

38And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.

39He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

40At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.

41He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

42He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.

43He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

44But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.

45He 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.

1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.

3Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

5Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.

6One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”

7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”

8I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”

9“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.

10Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

11And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.

12Blessed is he who waits and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

13But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and then you will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

1This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.

2When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”

3So Hosea went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.

5And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them.

7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”

8After she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, Gomer conceived and gave birth to a son.

9And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.

10Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’

11Then the people of Judah and of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and will go up out of the land. For great will be the day of Jezreel.

1“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’

2Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

3Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.

4I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery.

5For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’

6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way.

7She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.’

8For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold— which they crafted for Baal.

9Therefore 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 given to cover her nakedness.

10And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.

11I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths— all her appointed feasts.

12I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers. So I will make them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field will devour them.

13I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD.

14“Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.

15There I will give back her vineyards 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 up out of Egypt.

16In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’

17For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked.

18On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and battle in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.

19So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.

20And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.”

21“On that day I will respond—” declares the LORD— “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth.

22And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.

23And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”