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4Q78 Minor Prophetsc

Language: Hebrew

Date:  75-50 B.C.

Location: Qumran Cave 4

Contents (English verse numbers): Hosea 2:11-13; 3:2, 4; 4:1-4, 6-7, 9-16, 18-19; 5:1; 7:12-13; 13:3-5, 7-8, 10, 15, 16; 14:2-3, 5; Joel 1:10-20; 2:1, 8-14, 16-23; Joel 3:6, (excludes 3:7), 8-10, 12-19, 21; Amos 2:11 - 4:2; 6:13-14; 7:1-4, 7-9, 12-16; Zephaniah 2:15; 3:2; Malachi 3:6-7

 

Hosea 2

11 I will also cause all her celebrations to cease:

her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.

12 I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,

about which she has said, ‘These are my wages that my lovers have given me;

and I will make them a forest,’

and the animals of the field shall eat them.

13 I will visit on her the days of the Baals,

to which she burned incense,

when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels,

and went after her lovers,

and forgot me,” says Yahweh.

[..]

Hosea 3

So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer  and a half of barley.

[..]

For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without sacred stone, and without ephod or idols.

[..]

Hosea 4

1 Hear Yahweh’s word, you children of Israel;

for Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“Indeed there is no truth,

nor goodness,

nor knowledge of God in the land.

There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;

they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.

3 Therefore the land will mourn,

and everyone who dwells therein will waste away.

all living things in her,

even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky;

yes, the fish of the sea also die.

 

4 “Yet let no man bring a charge, neither let any man accuse; For your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.

[..]

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you,

that you may be no priest to me.

Because you have forgotten your God’s law,

I will also forget your children.

As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me.

I will change their glory into shame.

[..]

9 It will be, like people, like priest;

and I will punish them for their ways,

and will repay them for their deeds.

10 They will eat, and not have enough.

They will play the prostitute, and will not increase;

because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.

11 Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.

12 My people consult with their wooden idol,

and answer to a stick of wood.

Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray,

and they have been unfaithful to their God.

13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains,

and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths,

because its shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the prostitute,

and your brides commit adultery.

14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,

nor your brides when they commit adultery;

because the men consort with prostitutes,

and they sacrifice with the shrine prostitutes;

so the people without understanding will come to ruin.

 

15 “Though you, Israel, play the prostitute,

yet don’t let Judah offend;

and don’t come to Gilgal,

neither go up to Beth Aven,

nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’

16 For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer.

Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow.

[..]

18 Their drink has become sour.

They play the prostitute continually.

Her rulers dearly love their shameful way.

19 The wind has wrapped her up in its wings;

and they shall be disappointed because of their sacrifices.

 

Hosea 5

1 “Listen to this, you priests!

Listen, house of Israel,

and give ear, house of the king!

For the judgment is against you;

for you have been a snare at Mizpah,

and a net spread on Tabor.

[..]

Hosea 7

12 When they go, I will spread my net on them.

I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.

I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard.

13 Woe to them!

For they have wandered from me.

Destruction to them!

For they have trespassed against me.

Though I would redeem them,

yet they have spoken lies against me.

[..]

Hosea 13

Therefore they will be like the morning mist,

and like the dew that passes away early,

like the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing floor,

and like the smoke out of the chimney.

 

4 “Yet I am Yahweh your God who fortifies heaven and purchases earth, whose hands create all the host of heaven, and I did not show them to you to follow them, but I brought you up[1] from the land of Egypt;

and you shall acknowledge no god but me,

and besides me there is no savior.

5 I knew you in the wilderness,

in the land of great drought.

[..]

7 Therefore I am like a lion to them.

Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path.

8 I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs,

and will tear the covering of their heart.

There I will devour them like a lioness.

The wild animal will tear them.

[..]

10 Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities?

And your judges, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes?’

[..]

15 Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come,

the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness;

and his spring will become dry,

and his fountain will be dried up.

He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.

16 Samaria will bear her guilt;

for she has rebelled against her God.

They will fall by the sword.

Their infants will be dashed in pieces,

and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”

 

Hosea 14

Take words with you, and return to Yahweh.

Tell him, “Forgive all our sins,

and accept that which is good:

so we offer our lips like bulls.

Assyria can’t save us.

We won’t ride on horses;

neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’

for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”

[..]

5 I will be like the dew to Israel.

He will blossom like the lily,

and send down his roots like Lebanon.

[..]

Joel 1

10 The field is laid waste.

The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed,

The new wine has dried up,

and the oil languishes.

11 Be confounded, you farmers!

Wail, you vineyard keepers;

for the wheat and for the barley;

for the harvest of the field has perished.

12 The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered;

the palm tree also, and the apple tree,

the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree,

even all of the trees of the field are withered;

for joy has withered away from the sons of men.

13 Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests!

Wail, you ministers of the altar.

Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God,

for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.

14 Sanctify a fast.

And call a solemn assembly.

Gather the elders,

and all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Yahweh, your God,

and cry to Yahweh.

15 Alas for the day!

For the day of Yahweh is at hand,

and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

16 Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes;

joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17 The seeds rot under their clods.

The granaries are laid desolate.

The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.

18 How the animals groan!

The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture.

Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

19 Yahweh, I cry to you,

For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,

and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.

20 Yes, the animals of the field pant to you,

for the water brooks have dried up,

And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

 

Joel 2

Blow the trumpet in Zion,

and sound an alarm in my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of Yahweh comes,

for it is close at hand:

[..]

8 Neither does one jostle another;

they march everyone in his path,

and they burst through the defenses,

and don’t break ranks.

9 They rush on the city.

They run on the wall.

They climb up into the houses.

They enter in at the windows like thieves.

10 The earth quakes before them.

The heavens tremble.

The sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

11 Yahweh thunders his voice before his army;

for his forces are very great;

for he is strong who obeys his command;

for the day of Yahweh is great and very awesome,

and who can endure bear it?

12 “Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart,

and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”

13 Tear your heart, and not your garments goats[2],

and turn to Yahweh, your God;

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness,

and relents from sending calamity.

14 Who knows? He may turn and relent,

and leave a blessing behind him,

even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God.

[..]

16 Gather the people.

Sanctify the assembly.

Assemble the elders.

Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts.

Let the bridegroom go out of his room,

and the bride out of her room.

17 Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar,

and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh,

and don’t give your heritage to reproach,

that the nations should rule over them.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

18 Then Yahweh was jealous for his land,

And had pity on his people.

19 Yahweh answered his people,

“Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil,

and you will eat and you will be satisfied with them;

and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

20 But I will remove the northern army far away from you,

and will drive it into a barren and desolate land,

its front into the eastern sea,

and its back into the western sea;

and its stench will come up,

and its bad smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things.

21 Land, don’t be afraid.

Be glad and rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things.

22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field;

for the pastures of the wilderness spring up,

for the tree bears its fruit.

The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.

 

23 “Be glad then, you children of Zion,

and rejoice in Yahweh, your God;

for he gives you the former rain in just measure,

and he causes the rain to come down for you,

the former rain and the latter rain,

as before.

[..]

Joel 3

6 and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks,

that [3]you may remove them far from their border.

7 Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them,

and will return your repayment on your own head;

8 and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah,

and they will sell them to the men of Sheba,

to a faraway nation,

for Yahweh has spoken it.”

 

9 Proclaim this among the nations:

“Prepare for war!

Stir up the mighty men.

Let all the warriors draw near.

Let them come up. 10 Beat your plowshares into swords,

and your pruning hooks into spears.

Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’

[..]

12 “Let the nations arouse themselves,

and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat;

for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

13 Put in the sickle;

for the harvest is ripe.

Come, tread, for the wine press is full,

the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon are darkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

16 Yahweh will roar from Zion,

and thunder from Jerusalem;

and the heavens and the earth will shake;

but Yahweh will be a refuge to his people,

and a stronghold to the children of Israel.

17 “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God,

the one dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.

Then Jerusalem will be holy,

and no strangers will pass through her any more.

18 It will happen in that day,

that the mountains will drop down sweet wine,

the hills will flow with milk,

all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters,

and a fountain will flow out from Yahweh’s house,

and will water all the valley of Shittim.

19 Egypt will be a desolation,

and Edom will be a wilderness, a desolate wilderness,

for the violence done to the children of Judah,

because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

[..]

21 I will cleanse their blood,

that I have not cleansed:

for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”

 

Amos 2

11 I raised up some of your sons for prophets,

and some of your young men for Nazirites.

Isn’t this true,

you children of Israel?” says Yahweh.

12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,

and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’

13 And behold, I will crush you in your place,

as a cart crushes that is full of grain.

14 Flight will perish from the swift;

and the strong won’t strengthen his force;

neither shall the mighty deliver himself;

15 neither shall he stand who handles the bow;

and he who is swift of foot won’t escape;

neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;

16 and he who is courageous finds heart among the mighty will flee away naked on that day,”

says Yahweh.

Amos 3

1 Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

2 “I have only chosen you of all the families of the earth.

Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.”

[..]

Will a lion roar in the thicket,

when he has no prey?

Does a young lion cry out of his den,

if he has caught nothing?

5 Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth,

where no snare is set for him?

Does a snare spring up from the ground,

when there is nothing to catch?

Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city,

without the people being afraid?

Does evil happen to a city,

and Yahweh hasn’t done it?

Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing,

unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.

8 The lion has roared.

Who will not fear?

The Lord Yahweh has spoken.

Who can but prophesy?

9 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,

and in the palaces in the land of Egypt,

and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,

and see what unrest is in her,

and what oppression is among them.”

10 “Indeed they don’t know to do right,” says Yahweh,

“Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces.”

11 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“An adversary will overrun the land;

and he will pull down your strongholds,

and your fortresses will be plundered.”

12 Yahweh says:

“As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs,

or a piece of an ear,

so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch,

and on the silken cushions of a bed.”

13 Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies.

14 “For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him,

I will also visit the altars of Bethel;

and the horns of the altar will be cut off,

and fall to the ground.

15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house;

and the houses of ivory will perish,

and the great houses will have an end,”

says Yahweh.

Amos  4

Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husbands, “Bring us drinks!”

2 The Lord Yahweh has sworn by his holiness that behold,

“The days shall come on you that they will take you away with hooks,

and the last of you with fish hooks.

[..]

Amos 6

13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say,

‘Haven’t we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?’

14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel,”

says Yahweh, the God of Armies;

“and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah.”

 

Amos 7

Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s harvest. 2 When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”

[..]

Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.

[..]

7 Thus he showed me and behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 Yahweh said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more. 9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate, the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

[..]

12 Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!”

14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; 15 and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore listen to Yahweh’s word: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’

[..]

Zephaniah 2

15 This is the joyous city that lived carelessly, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” How she has become a desolation, a place for animals to lie down in! Everyone who passes by her will hiss, and shake their fists.

 

Zephaniah 3

She didn’t obey the voice. She didn’t receive correction. She didn’t trust in Yahweh. She didn’t draw near to her God.

[..]

Malachi 3

“For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. For from the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies God. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

 

 



[1] This reading matches the LXX.

[2] While the scroll does say goats, this is probably because the scribe left the first Hebrew letter of the word for “garments” off, thus changing it to “goats.”

[3] The scribe apparently failed to copy some of the text, perhaps skipping from the word for “sold” in 3:6 to the same word in 3:8.

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