Hosea 2:14-23

New International Version

¹⁴“Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness^(A)
    and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor^[a]^(B) a door of hope.
There she will respond^[b]^(C) as in the days of her youth,^(D)
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.^(E)

¹⁶“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;^(F)
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.^[c]’
¹⁷I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;^(G)
    no longer will their names be invoked.^(H)
¹⁸In that day I will make a covenant for them
    with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the creatures that move along the ground.^(I)
Bow and sword and battle
    I will abolish^(J) from the land,
    so that all may lie down in safety.^(K)
¹⁹I will betroth^(L) you to me forever;
    I will betroth you in^[d] righteousness and justice,^(M)
    in^[e] love and compassion.^(N)
²⁰I will betroth you in^[f] faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge^(O) the Lord.^(P)

²¹“In that day I will respond,”
    declares the Lord—
“I will respond^(Q) to the skies,
    and they will respond to the earth;
²²and the earth will respond to the grain,
    the new wine and the olive oil,^(R)
    and they will respond to Jezreel.^[g]^(S)
²³I will plant^(T) her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.^[h]^(U)’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,^[i]’ ‘You are my people’;^(V)
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.^(W)’”

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Footnotes

Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble.
Hosea 2:15 Or sing
Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
Hosea 2:19 Or with
Hosea 2:19 Or with
Hosea 2:20 Or with
Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants.
Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah (see 1:6)
Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi (see 1:9)

Psalm 103

New International Version

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹Praise the Lord,^(A) my soul;^(B)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.^(C)
²Praise the Lord,^(D) my soul,
    and forget not^(E) all his benefits—
³who forgives all your sins^(F)
    and heals^(G) all your diseases,
⁴who redeems your life^(H) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,^(I)
⁵who satisfies^(J) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed^(K) like the eagle’s.^(L)

⁶The Lord works righteousness^(M)
and justice for all the oppressed.^(N)

⁷He made known^(O) his ways^(P) to Moses,
    his deeds^(Q) to the people of Israel:
⁸The Lord is compassionate and gracious,^(R)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;^(S)
¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve^(T)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love^(U) for those who fear him;^(V)
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions^(W) from us.

¹³As a father has compassion^(X) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴for he knows how we are formed,^(Y)
    he remembers that we are dust.^(Z)
¹⁵The life of mortals is like grass,^(AA)
    they flourish like a flower^(AB) of the field;
¹⁶the wind blows^(AC) over it and it is gone,
    and its place^(AD) remembers it no more.
¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children^(AE)—
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant^(AF)
    and remember^(AG) to obey his precepts.^(AH)

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne^(AI) in heaven,
and his kingdom rules^(AJ) over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord,^(AK) you his angels,^(AL)
    you mighty ones^(AM) who do his bidding,^(AN)
    who obey his word.
²¹Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,^(AO)
    you his servants^(AP) who do his will.
²²Praise the Lord, all his works^(AQ)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AR)

2 Corinthians 3:4-18

New International Version

⁴Such confidence^(A) we have through Christ before God. ⁵Not that we are competent in ourselves^(B) to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.^(C) ⁶He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant^(D)—not of the letter^(E) but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.^(F)

The Greater Glory of the New Covenant

⁷Now if the ministry that brought death,^(G) which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory,^(H) transitory though it was, ⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹If the ministry that brought condemnation^(I) was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!^(J) ¹⁰For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

¹²Therefore, since we have such a hope,^(K) we are very bold.^(L) ¹³We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face^(M) to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴But their minds were made dull,^(N) for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant^(O) is read.^(P) It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶But whenever anyone turns to the Lord,^(Q) the veil is taken away.^(R) ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit,^(S) and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.^(T) ¹⁸And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate^[a]^(U) the Lord’s glory,^(V) are being transformed into his image^(W) with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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Footnotes

2 Corinthians 3:18 Or reflect

Mark 2:18-22

New International Version

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(A)

¹⁸Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.^(B) Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

¹⁹Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. ²⁰But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,^(C) and on that day they will fast.

²¹“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. ²²And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

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