Hosea 4-6
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)
A Call to Repentance
6 Come, let’s return to the Lord.(CL)
For he has torn us,(CM)
and he will heal us;(CN)
he has wounded us,
and he will bind up our wounds.(CO)
2 He will revive us after two days,(CP)
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence.(CQ)
3 Let’s strive to know the Lord.(CR)
His appearance is as sure as the dawn.(CS)
He will come to us like the rain,(CT)
like the spring showers that water the land.
The Lord’s First Lament
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?(CU)
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist(CV)
and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;[p](CW)
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.[q]
6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God(CX) rather than burnt offerings.(CY)
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,(DB)
tracked with bloody footprints.(DC)
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,(DD)
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.(DE)
They commit atrocities.(DF)
10 I have seen something horrible(DG) in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there;(DH) Israel is defiled.
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
- 6:5 Or have cut down the prophets
- 6:5 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads Your judgments go out as light
- 6:7 Or they, as at Adam, or they, like men,
Psalm 58
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 58
A Cry against Injustice
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.
1 Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?[a]
Do you judge people fairly?(A)
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.(B)
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars wander about from birth.(C)
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,(D)
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.(E)
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.(F)
7 May they vanish like water that flows by;
may they aim their blunted arrows.[b](G)
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
may they not see the sun.(H)
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether green or burning—
he will sweep them away.[c](I)
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;(J)
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.(K)
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth!” (L)
Matthew 17
Christian Standard Bible
The Transfiguration
17 After six days(A) Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.(B) 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light.(C) 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up[a] three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”(D)
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered[b] them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” (E) 6 When the disciples(F) heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.
7 Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.”(G) 8 When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus alone.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them,(H) “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised[c] from the dead.”
10 So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (I)
11 “Elijah is coming[d] and will restore everything,” he replied.[e](J) 12 “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”(K) 13 Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
The Power of Jesus over a Demon
14 When they reached the crowd,(L) a man approached and knelt down before him. 15 “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures[f] and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”(M)
17 Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”(N) 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon,[g] and it[h] came out of him,(O) and from that moment[i] the boy was healed.
19 Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 “Because of your little faith,” he[j] told them. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of [k] a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.(P) Nothing will be impossible for you.”[l](Q)
The Second Prediction of His Death
22 As(R) they were gathering together[m] in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.
Paying the Temple Tax
24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” (S)
25 “Yes,” he said.
When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first,[n] “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes? From their sons or from strangers?”[o](T)
26 “From strangers,” he said.[p]
“Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. 27 “But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin.[q] Take it and give it to them for me and you.”(U)
Footnotes
- 17:4 Other mss read Let’s make
- 17:5 Or enveloped; Ex 40:34–35
- 17:9 Other mss read Man has risen
- 17:11 Other mss add first
- 17:11 Other mss read Jesus said to them
- 17:15 Lit he is moonstruck; thought to be a form of epilepsy
- 17:18 Lit rebuked him, or it
- 17:18 Lit the demon
- 17:18 Lit hour
- 17:20 Other mss read your unbelief, Jesus
- 17:20 Lit faith like
- 17:20 Some mss include v. 21: “However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.”
- 17:22 Other mss read were staying
- 17:25 Lit Jesus anticipated him by saying
- 17:25 Or foreigners
- 17:26 Other mss read Peter said to him
- 17:27 Gk stater, worth 2 double-drachmas
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