אֵת

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the message was given to him in a vision.

I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.

Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.

So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.

I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had said this to me, I stood up trembling.

“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”

But first I will tell you what is inscribed in the Book of Truth. Yet no one has the courage to support me against these, except Michael your prince.

Now 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.

And 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.”

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

Then 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.

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

Gomer 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.

Yet 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.”

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

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

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

She 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.’

Therefore 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.

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

I 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.

There 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.

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

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

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

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

And 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.’”

Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”

Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves

The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.

Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.

They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.

When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.

So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.

All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings fall; not one of them calls upon Me.