Study Desk

And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.

"The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.

He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all.

The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, "It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened."

But he said, "Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end.

"As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you."

And the Lord said, "Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu's dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel's independence.

Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, "Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved'—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them.

And the Lord said, "Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people'—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God.

Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel—when God will again plant his people in his land.

"But now bring charges against Israel—your mother— for she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute's makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts.

And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in prostitution.

Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, ‘I'll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil and drinks.'

"For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way.

When she runs after her lovers, she won't be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, ‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.'

I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me," says the Lord .

"In that day, I will answer," says the Lord . "I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds. And the sky will answer the earth with rain.

At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.' And to those I called ‘Not my people,' I will say, ‘Now you are my people.' And they will reply, ‘You are our God!'"

So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine.

Then I said to her, "You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me."