Hosea 4-5
Christian Standard Bible
God’s Case against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord,(A) people of Israel,
for the Lord has a case(B)
against the inhabitants of the land:
There is no truth,(C) no faithful love,(D)
and no knowledge of God(E) in the land!
2 Cursing,(F) lying,(G) murder,(H) stealing,(I)
and adultery(J) are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.(K)
3 For this reason the land mourns,(L)
and everyone who lives in it languishes,
along with the wild animals(M) and the birds of the sky;
even the fish of the sea disappear.(N)
4 But let no one dispute;(O) let no one argue,
for my case is against you priests.[a][b](P)
5 You will stumble by day;(Q)
the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
And I will destroy your mother.(R)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.(S)
Because you have rejected knowledge,(T)
I will reject you(U) from serving as my priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,(V)
I will also forget your sons.
7 The more they multiplied,(W)
the more they sinned against me.
I[c] will change their[d] honor into disgrace.(X)
8 They feed on the sin[e] of my people;(Y)
they have an appetite for their iniquity.(Z)
9 The same judgment will happen
to both people and priests.(AA)
I will punish them for their ways(AB)
and repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat but not be satisfied;(AC)
they will be promiscuous(AD) but not multiply.
For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.(AE)
11 Promiscuity,(AF) wine, and new wine
take away one’s understanding.(AG)
12 My people consult their wooden idols,(AH)
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;(AI)
they act promiscuously(AJ)
in disobedience to[f] their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops,(AK)
and they burn offerings on the hills,(AL)
and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,(AM)
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters act promiscuously
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters
when they act promiscuously
or your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go off with prostitutes(AN)
and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.(AO)
People without discernment are doomed.(AP)
Warnings for Israel and Judah
15 Israel, if you act promiscuously,
don’t let Judah become guilty!
Do not go to Gilgal(AQ)
or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,[g](AR)
and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives!(AS)
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.(AT)
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?(AU)
17 Ephraim is attached to idols;(AV)
leave him alone!(AW)
18 When their drinking is over,
they turn to promiscuity.
Israel’s leaders[h] fervently love disgrace.[i]
19 A wind with its wings will carry them off,[j](AX)
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.
5 Hear this, priests!(AY)
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, royal house!
For the judgment applies to you
because you have been a snare at Mizpah(AZ)
and a net spread out on Tabor.
2 Rebels(BA) are deeply involved in slaughter;(BB)
I will be a punishment for all of them.[k]
3 I know Ephraim,(BC)
and Israel is not hidden from me.
For now, Ephraim,(BD)
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.
4 Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,(BE)
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,(BF)
and they do not know the Lord.(BG)
5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.[l](BH)
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their iniquity;(BI)
even Judah will stumble with them.(BJ)
6 They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord(BK)
but do not find him;(BL)
he has withdrawn from them.(BM)
7 They betrayed the Lord;(BN)
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.(BO)
Now the New Moon(BP) will devour them
along with their fields.(BQ)
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah,(BR)
the trumpet in Ramah;(BS)
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:(BT)
Look behind you,[m] Benjamin!(BU)
9 Ephraim will become a desolation(BV)
on the day of punishment;(BW)
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.(BX)
10 The princes of Judah are like those
who move boundary markers;(BY)
I will pour out my fury(BZ) on them like water.(CA)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,(CB)
for he is determined to follow what is worthless.[n]
12 So I am like rot to Ephraim(CC)
and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria(CD)
and sent a delegation to the great king.[o](CE)
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.(CF)
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim(CG)
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart.(CH)
I will carry them off,
and no one can rescue them.(CI)
15 I will depart and return to my place
until they recognize their guilt and seek my face;(CJ)
they will search for me in their distress.(CK)
Footnotes
- 4:4 Text emended; MT reads argue, and your people are like those contending with a priest
- 4:4 Hb obscure
- 4:7 Alt Hb tradition, Syr, Tg read They
- 4:7 Alt Hb tradition reads my
- 4:8 Or sin offerings
- 4:12 Lit promiscuously from under
- 4:15 = House of Wickedness
- 4:18 Lit Her shields; Ps 47:9; 89:18
- 4:18 Hb obscure
- 4:19 Lit wind will bind it in its wings
- 5:2 Hb obscure
- 5:5 Lit against his face
- 5:8 Or We will follow you
- 5:11 Or follow a command; Hb obscure
- 5:13 Or to King Yareb
1 Peter 1
Christian Standard Bible
Greeting
1 Peter,(A) an apostle of Jesus Christ:
To those chosen, living as exiles(B) dispersed(C) abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,(D) chosen(E) 2 according to the foreknowledge(F) of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,(G) to be obedient(H) and to be sprinkled with the blood(I) of Jesus Christ.
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
A Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.(J) Because of his great mercy(K) he has given us new birth(L) into a living hope(M) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead(N) 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable,(O) undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven(P) for you. 5 You are being guarded by God’s power(Q) through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.(R) 6 You rejoice in this,[a] even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials(S) 7 so that the proven character of your faith(T)—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire(U)—may result(V) in praise, glory, and honor(W) at the revelation of Jesus Christ.(X) 8 Though you have not seen(Y) him, you love him;(Z) though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice(AA) with inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets,(AB) who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated. 11 They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ(AC) within them was indicating when he testified in advance(AD) to the sufferings of Christ(AE) and the glories(AF) that would follow.[b] 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you(AG) by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven(AH)—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
A Call to Holy Living
13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action,(AI) be sober-minded(AJ) and set your hope(AK) completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation(AL) of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children,(AM) do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you(AN) is holy,(AO) you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.[c](AP) 17 If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially(AQ) according to each one’s work,(AR) you are to conduct yourselves in reverence(AS) during your time living as strangers. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life(AT) inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,(AU) 19 but with the precious blood of Christ,(AV) like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.(AW) 20 He was foreknown(AX) before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times(AY) for you. 21 Through him you believe in God,(AZ) who raised him from the dead(BA) and gave him glory,(BB) so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth,[d] so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other,(BC) from a pure[e] heart love one another constantly,[f](BD) 23 because you have been born again(BE)—not of perishable seed(BF) but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.(BG) 24 For
All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory(BH) like a flower of the grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.[g](BI)
And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.
Psalm 135:1-7
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 135
The Lord Is Great
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Give praise, you servants of the Lord(A)
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.(B)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing praise to his name, for it is delightful.(C)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(D)
5 For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is greater than all gods.(E)
6 The Lord does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(F)
7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(G)
Proverbs 29:9-11
Christian Standard Bible
9 If a wise person goes to court with a fool,
there will be ranting and raving but no resolution.[a](A)
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