At that time, the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (Zoar) joined together and went to fight against their enemies. {They went to fight} in the Valley of Siddim. [81]
Hosea 11:8 - Easy To Read Version “Ephraim, {\cf2\super [121]} I don’t want to give you up.\par Israel, I want to protect you.\par I don’t want to make you like Admah! {\cf2\super [122]} \par I don’t want to make you like Zeboiim! {\cf2\super [123]} \par I am changing my mind.\par My love for you is too strong.\par Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I surrender you and cast you off, O Israel! How can I make you as Admah or how can I treat you as Zeboiim [both destroyed with Sodom]! My heart recoils within Me; My compassions are kindled together. [Deut. 29:23.] American Standard Version (1901) How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together. Common English Bible How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart winces within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. Catholic Public Domain Version How will I provide for you, Ephraim; how will I protect you, Israel? How will I provide for you as for Adam; will I set you like Zeboiim? My heart has changed within me; together with my regret, it has been stirred up. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version How shall I deal with thee, O Ephraim, shall I protect thee, O Israel? how shall I make thee as Adama, shall I set thee as Seboim? my heart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred up. |
At that time, the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (Zoar) joined together and went to fight against their enemies. {They went to fight} in the Valley of Siddim. [81]
The angel raised his arm over Jerusalem to destroy it. But the Lord felt very sorry about the bad things that had happened. The Lord said to the angel that destroyed the people, “That’s enough! Put down your arm.”The Lord’s angel was by the threshing floor [161] of Araunah [162] the Jebusite.
The second woman said, “That is fine. Cut the baby into two pieces. Then neither of us will have him.”
But the Lord was kind to the Israelites. The Lord had mercy and turned to the Israelites. Why? Because of his Agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Lord would not destroy the Israelites or throw them away yet.
The Lord, the God of their ancestors, {\cf2\super [454]} sent prophets again and again to warn his people. The Lord did this because he felt sorry for them and for his temple. The Lord didn’t want to destroy them or his temple.
God always remembered his Agreement {\cf2\super [563]} \par and comforted them with his great love.\par
So, I am very sad for Moab.\par I am very sad for Kir Heres. {\cf2\super [172]} \par I am very, very sad for these cities.\par
Lord, look down from the heavens.\par See the things that are happening now!\par Look down at us from your great and holy home in heaven.\par Where is your strong love {\cf2\super [462]} for us?\par Where are your powerful works\par that come from deep inside you?\par Where is your mercy for me?\par Why are you hiding your kind love\par from me?\par
But the people of that nation might change their hearts and lives. The people in that nation might stop doing evil things. Then I would change my mind. I would not follow my plans to bring disaster to that nation.
\{God says,\}\par “You know that Ephraim {\cf2\super [255]} is my dear son.\par I love that child.\par Yes, I often criticized Ephraim,\par but I still think about him.\par I love him very much.\par And I really do want to comfort him.”\par This message is from the Lord.\par
‘If you people will stay in Judah, I will make you strong—I will not destroy you. I will plant you, and I will not pull you up. I will do this because I am sad about the terrible things that I made happen to you.
One bad thing followed another.\par And lies followed lies.\par The people refused to know me.”\par The Lord said those things.\par
So, the Lord All-Powerful says:\par “A worker heats metal in a fire\par to test if it is pure.\par I will test the people of Judah like that.\par I have no other choice.\par My people have sinned.\par
“Look at me, Lord. I am in distress!\par My insides are upset!\par My heart feels like it has turned\par upside down inside me!\par My heart feels this way\par because I have been so stubborn!\par In the streets, the sword killed my children.\par Inside the houses, death was there.\par
When the Lord punishes,\par he also has mercy.\par He has mercy because of his great love\par and kindness.\par
The Lord does not want to punish people.\par He does not like to make people unhappy.\par
“You must say to them, ‘The Lord my Master says: On my life, I promise, I don’t enjoy seeing people die—not even evil people! I don’t want them to die. I want those evil people to come back to me. I want them to change their lives so they can really live! So come back to me! Stop doing bad things! Why must you die, family of Israel?’
Then those survivors {\cf2\super [50]} will be taken prisoners. They will be forced to live in other countries. But those survivors will remember me. I broke their spirit. {\cf2\super [51]} They will hate themselves for the bad things they did. In the past, they turned away from me and left me. They chased after their filthy idols. They were like a woman leaving her husband and running after some other man. They did many terrible things.
“Ephraim, {\cf2\super [63]} what should I do with you?\par Judah, what should I do with you?\par Your faithfulness is like a morning mist,\par Your faithfulness is like the dew\par that goes away early in the morning.\par
“I will heal Israel!\par Then people will know\par that Ephraim {\cf2\super [69]} sinned.\par People will know about Samaria’s {\cf2\super [70]} lies.\par People will know about the thieves\par that come and go in that town.\par
“I destroyed you like I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. {\cf2\super [55]} And those cities were completely destroyed. You were like a burnt stick pulled from a fire. But still you didn’t come back to me \{for help\}.” The Lord said those things.
Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord said, “That thing will not happen.”
Then the Lord changed his mind about this. The Lord God said, “That thing will not happen either.”
So the Lord {\cf2\super [61]} will give up his people\par until the woman gives birth to her child,\par \{the promised king\}.\par Then the rest of his brothers\par will come back to the people of Israel.\par
So, as sure as I am alive, Moab and the people of Ammon will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. {\cf2\super [17]} I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. And I promise those countries will be completely destroyed forever. Their land will be overgrown with weeds. Their land will be like the land covered with salt by the Dead Sea. The survivors of my people will take that land and all the things left in it.”
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. {\cf2\super [361]} You kill with rocks those men that God sent to you. Many, many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather your people together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me.
“In the future, your descendants [193] and foreigners from faraway countries will see how the land has been ruined. They will see the diseases that the Lord has brought to it.
All the land will be useless—destroyed by burning sulfur and covered with salt. The land will have nothing planted in it. Nothing will be growing—not even weeds. The land will be destroyed like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, the cities the Lord destroyed when he was very angry.
“The Lord will judge his people. They are his servants, and he will show them mercy. He will see that their power is gone. He will see that they are all helpless— the slaves and free people, too.
And God also punished the \{evil\} cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. {\cf2\super [7]} God burned those cities until there was nothing left but ashes. God made those cities be an example to show what will happen to people who are against God.
The bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city. This city is named Sodom {\cf2\super [84]} and Egypt. These names for the city have a special meaning. This is the city where the Lord was killed.
They saw the smoke from her burning. They said loudly, ‘There was never a city like this great city!’
Then the people of Israel threw away the foreign gods. They started worshiping the Lord again. So the Lord felt sorry for them when he saw them suffering.