Hosea 12 - 13, Luke 1, Psalm 34 — Legacy Standard Bible

12¹Ephraim feeds on ^awindAnd pursues the ^beast wind continually;He abounds in falsehood and destruction.Moreover, ²he cuts a covenant with Assyria,And oil is carried to Egypt.

Yahweh’s Contention with Judah

²And Yahweh has a ^acontention with JudahAnd will punish Jacob ^baccording to his ways;He will cause everything to return to him according to his deeds.³In the womb he ^atook his brother by the heel,And in his maturity he ¹^,^bwrestled with God.⁴Indeed, he ¹wrestled with the angel and prevailed;He wept and ^asought His favor.He found Him at ^bBethel,And there He spoke with us,⁵Even Yahweh, the God of hosts,Yahweh is His ¹^,^aname of remembrance.⁶Therefore, ^areturn to your God,^bKeep lovingkindness and justice,And ^chope in your God continually.⁷A ¹merchant, in whose hands are deceptive ^abalances,He loves to oppress.⁸And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become ^arich;I have found wealth for myself;In all my labors they will find in me^bNo iniquity, which would be sin.”⁹But I have been Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt;I will make you ^asettle in tents again,As in the days of the appointed festival.¹⁰And I have spoken to the ^aprophets,And I ¹made visions abound,And by the hand of the prophets I gave ^bparables.¹¹Is there wickedness in Gilead?Surely they are worthless.In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;Yes, ^atheir altars are like the stone heapsBeside the furrows of the field.¹²Now ^aJacob fled to the field of Aram,And ^bIsrael worked for a wife,And for a wife he kept sheep.¹³But by a ^aprophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt,And by a prophet he was kept.¹⁴^aEphraim has provoked to bitter anger;So his Lord will leave his ^bbloodguilt on himAnd cause his ^creproach to return to him.

Ephraim’s Idolatry

13^aWhen Ephraim ¹spoke, there was trembling.He ^blifted himself up in Israel,But through ^cBaal he became guilty and died.²And now they sin more and moreAnd make for themselves ^amolten images,Idols ^bmade from their silver according to their understanding,All of them the ^cwork of craftsmen.They are saying of them, “Let the ¹men who sacrifice kiss the ^dcalves!”³Therefore they will be like the ^amorning cloudAnd like dew which ¹soon disappears,Like ^bchaff which is blown away from the threshing floorAnd like ^csmoke from a ²chimney.⁴Yet I have been ^aYahweh your GodSince the land of Egypt;And you were not to know ^bany god except Me,And there is no savior ^cbesides Me.⁵I Myself ^aknew you in the wilderness,^bIn the land of drought.⁶As they had their pasture, then they became ^asatisfied,Indeed, they were satisfied, and their ^bheart became raised up;Therefore they ^cforgot Me.⁷So I will be ^alike a lion to them;Like a ^bleopard I will ¹lie in wait by the wayside.⁸I will encounter them ^alike a bear robbed of her cubs,And I will tear open ¹the chest enclosing their heart;There I will also ^bdevour them like a lioness,As a beast of the field would rip them open.⁹It is your ruin, O Israel,¹That you are ^aagainst Me, against your ^bhelp.¹⁰Where now is your ^aking,That he may save you in all your cities,And your ^bjudges of whom you said,“Give me a king and princes”?¹¹I ^agave you a king in My angerAnd ^btook him away in My wrath.¹²The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;His sin is ^astored up.¹³The pains of ^achildbirth come upon him;He is ^bnot a wise son,For ¹it is not the time that he should ^cdelay at the opening of the womb.¹⁴Shall I ^aransom them from the ¹power of Sheol?Shall I redeem them from death?^bO Death, where are your thorns?O Sheol, where is your sting?^cCompassion will be hidden from My sight.¹⁵Though he ^ais fruitful among the ¹reeds,An ^beast wind will come,The wind of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness;And his fountain will ^cbecome dry,And his spring will be dried up;It will ^dplunder his treasury of every desirable article.¹⁶¹Samaria will be held ^aguilty,For she has ^brebelled against her God.^cThey will fall by the ^dsword;Their infants will be ^edashed in pieces,And their pregnant ^fwomen will be ripped open.

Luke’s Account of Things Fulfilled

1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that ¹^,^ahave been fulfilled among us, ²just as those, who ^afrom the beginning ¹were ^beyewitnesses and ²^,^cservants of ^dthe ³word, handed them down to us, ³it seemed fitting for me as well, ^ahaving ¹investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ^bin orderly sequence, ^cmost excellent ^dTheophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty about the things you have been ¹^,^ataught.

John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

⁵^aIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the ^bdivision of ¹Abijah, and he had a wife ²from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both ^arighteous in the sight of God, walking ^bblamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the ¹Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ¹years.

⁸Now it happened that while ^ahe was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, ⁹according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^ato enter the ¹sanctuary of the ²Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying ^aoutside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹And ^aan angel of the ¹Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^afear fell upon him. ¹³But the angel said to him, “^aDo not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will ¹bear you a son, and ^byou will call his name ²John. ¹⁴“And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵“For he will be great in the sight of the ¹Lord; and ^ahe will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ²while yet in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶“And he will ^aturn many of the sons of Israel back to the ¹Lord their God. ¹⁷“And he will ^ago before Him in the spirit and power of ^bElijah, ^cto turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to ^dmake ready a people prepared for the ¹Lord.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For ^aI am an old man and my wife is advanced in ¹years.” ¹⁹And the angel answered and said to him, “I am ^aGabriel, who ^bstands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰“And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

²¹And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. ²²But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he ^akept ¹making signs to them, and remained mute. ²³And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.

²⁴After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she ¹kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵“This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to ^atake away my disgrace among men.”

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶Now in the sixth month the angel ^aGabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ^bNazareth, ²⁷to ^aa virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^bof the ¹house of David, and the virgin’s name was ²Mary. ²⁸And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, ¹favored one! The Lord ²is with you.” ²⁹But she ^awas very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. ³⁰And the angel said to her, “^aDo not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you ^ashall name Him Jesus. ³²“¹He will be great and will be called the Son of ^athe Most High, and the ²Lord God will give Him ^bthe throne of His father David, ³³^aand He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^band there will be no end of His kingdom.” ³⁴But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I ¹am a virgin?” ³⁵The angel answered and said to her, “^aThe Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^bthe Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason ¹^,^cthe holy Child shall be called ^dthe Son of God. ³⁶“And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷“For ¹^,^anothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸And Mary said, “Behold, the slave of the ¹Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹Now ¹at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to ^athe hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And it happened that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was ^afilled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³“And ¹how has it happened to me, that the mother of ^amy Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵“And ^ablessed is she who believed ¹that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ²by the ³Lord.”

Mary Magnifies the Lord

⁴⁶And Mary said: “^aMy soul ^bmagnifies the ¹Lord,

⁴⁷And ^amy spirit has rejoiced in ^bGod my Savior.⁴⁸“For ^aHe has looked upon the humble state of His slave,For behold, from this time on, all generations will count me ^bblessed.⁴⁹“For the Mighty One has done great things for me,And holy is His name.⁵⁰“^aAnd His mercy is ¹upon generation after generationToward those who fear Him.⁵¹“^aHe has done a mighty deed with His arm;He has scattered those who were proud in the ¹thoughts of their heart.⁵²“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,And has ^aexalted those who were humble.⁵³“^aHe has filled the hungry with good things,And sent away the rich empty-handed.⁵⁴“He has given help to Israel His servant,¹In remembrance of His mercy,⁵⁵^aAs He spoke to our fathers,^bTo Abraham and his seed forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷Now the time was fulfilled for Elizabeth to ¹give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had ^amagnified His great mercy toward her, and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹And it happened that on ^athe eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, after the name of his father. ⁶⁰But his mother answered and said, “No, but ^ahe shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²And they ^awere making signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “^aHis name is John.” And they all marveled. ⁶⁴^aAnd at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, blessing God. ⁶⁵And fear came on all those living around them, and all these matters were being talked about in all ^athe hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶And all who heard these things put them in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^athe hand of the ¹Lord was indeed with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

⁶⁷And his father Zechariah ^awas filled with the Holy Spirit, and ^bprophesied, saying:

⁶⁸“^aBlessed be the ¹Lord God of Israel,For He visited and accomplished ^bredemption for His people,⁶⁹And raised up a ^ahorn of salvation for usIn the house of David ^bHis servant—⁷⁰^aAs He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets ^bfrom of old—⁷¹¹^,^aSalvation ^bfrom our enemies,And from the hand of all who hate us,⁷²^aTo show mercy toward our fathers,^bAnd to remember His holy covenant,⁷³^aThe oath which He swore to Abraham our father,⁷⁴To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,Might serve Him without fear,⁷⁵^aIn holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.⁷⁶“And you, child, will be called the ^aprophet of ^bthe Most High,For you will go on ^cbefore the ¹Lord to ^dmake ready His ways,⁷⁷To give to His people the knowledge of salvation¹By ^athe forgiveness of their sins,⁷⁸Because of the tender mercy of our God,With which ^athe Sunrise from on high will visit us,⁷⁹^aTo shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,To direct our feet into the ^bway of peace.”

⁸⁰^aAnd the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the desolate regions until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Taste and See That Yahweh Is Good

א Aleph

Of David. When he feigned madness before ¹Abimelech, so that he drove him away and he departed.

I will ^abless Yahweh at all times;His ^bpraise shall continually be in my mouth.

ב Beth

²My soul will ^amake its boast in Yahweh;The ^bhumble will hear it and rejoice.

ג Gimel

³O ^amagnify Yahweh with me,And let us ^bexalt His name together.

ד Daleth

⁴I ^ainquired of Yahweh, and He answered me,And ^bdelivered me from all that I dread.

ה He / ו Vav

⁵They ^alooked to Him and were radiant,And their faces will ^bnever be humiliated.

ז Zayin

⁶This ¹poor man called out, and ^aYahweh heard himAnd saved him out of all his troubles.

ח Heth

⁷The ^aangel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear Him,And rescues them.

ט Teth

⁸O ^ataste and see that Yahweh is good;How ^bblessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

י Yodh

⁹Oh, fear Yahweh, you ^aHis saints;For there is ^bno want to those who fear Him.

כ Kaph

¹⁰The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;But they who inquire of Yahweh shall ^anot be in want of any good thing.

ל Lamedh

¹¹^aCome, you children, listen to me;^bI will teach you ^cthe fear of Yahweh.

מ Mem

¹²^aWho is the man who delights in lifeAnd loves many days that he may ^bsee good?

נ Nun

¹³Guard ^ayour tongue from evilAnd your lips from speaking ^bdeceit.

ס Samekh

¹⁴^aDepart from evil and do good;Seek peace and ^bpursue it.

ע Ayin

¹⁵The ^aeyes of Yahweh are toward the righteousAnd His ears are open to their cry for help.

פ Pe

¹⁶The ^aface of Yahweh is against evildoers,To ^bcut off the memory of them from the earth.

צ Tsadhe

¹⁷The righteous ^acry, and Yahweh hearsAnd delivers them out of all their troubles.

ק Qoph

¹⁸Yahweh ^ais near to the ^bbrokenheartedAnd saves those who are ¹^,^ccrushed in spirit.

ר Resh

¹⁹^aMany are the ^bevils against the righteous,But Yahweh ^cdelivers him out of them all.

שׁ Shin

²⁰He keeps all his bones,^aNot one of them is broken.

ת Tav

²¹^aEvil shall slay the wicked,And those who hate the righteous will be ¹condemned.²²Yahweh ^aredeems the soul of His slaves,And all those who ^btake refuge in Him will not be ¹condemned.