Hosea 9-11

New International Version

Punishment for Israel

9 Do not rejoice, Israel;
    do not be jubilant^(A) like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful^(B) to your God;
    you love the wages of a prostitute^(C)
    at every threshing floor.
²Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
    the new wine^(D) will fail them.
³They will not remain^(E) in the Lord’s land;
    Ephraim will return to Egypt^(F)
    and eat unclean food in Assyria.^(G)
⁴They will not pour out wine offerings^(H) to the Lord,
    nor will their sacrifices please^(I) him.
Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;^(J)
    all who eat them will be unclean.^(K)
This food will be for themselves;
    it will not come into the temple of the Lord.^(L)

⁵What will you do^(M) on the day of your appointed festivals,^(N)
    on the feast days of the Lord?
⁶Even if they escape from destruction,
    Egypt will gather them,^(O)
    and Memphis^(P) will bury them.^(Q)
Their treasures of silver^(R) will be taken over by briers,
    and thorns^(S) will overrun their tents.
⁷The days of punishment^(T) are coming,
    the days of reckoning^(U) are at hand.
    Let Israel know this.
Because your sins^(V) are so many
    and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,^(W)
    the inspired person a maniac.^(X)
⁸The prophet, along with my God,
    is the watchman over Ephraim,^[a]
yet snares^(Y) await him on all his paths,
    and hostility in the house of his God.^(Z)
⁹They have sunk deep into corruption,^(AA)
    as in the days of Gibeah.^(AB)
God will remember^(AC) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.^(AD)

¹⁰“When I found Israel,
    it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
    it was like seeing the early fruit^(AE) on the fig^(AF) tree.
But when they came to Baal Peor,^(AG)
    they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol^(AH)
    and became as vile as the thing they loved.
¹¹Ephraim’s glory^(AI) will fly away like a bird^(AJ)—
    no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.^(AK)
¹²Even if they rear children,
    I will bereave^(AL) them of every one.
Woe^(AM) to them
    when I turn away from them!^(AN)
¹³I have seen Ephraim,^(AO) like Tyre,
    planted in a pleasant place.^(AP)
But Ephraim will bring out
    their children to the slayer.”^(AQ)

¹⁴Give them, Lord—
what will you give them?
Give them wombs that miscarry
and breasts that are dry.^(AR)

¹⁵“Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,^(AS)
    I hated them there.
Because of their sinful deeds,^(AT)
    I will drive them out of my house.
I will no longer love them;^(AU)
    all their leaders are rebellious.^(AV)
¹⁶Ephraim^(AW) is blighted,
    their root is withered,
    they yield no fruit.^(AX)
Even if they bear children,
    I will slay^(AY) their cherished offspring.”

¹⁷My God will reject^(AZ) them
because they have not obeyed^(BA) him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.^(BB)

10 Israel was a spreading vine;^(BC)
    he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
    he built more altars;^(BD)
as his land prospered,^(BE)
    he adorned his sacred stones.^(BF)
²Their heart is deceitful,^(BG)
    and now they must bear their guilt.^(BH)
The Lord will demolish their altars^(BI)
    and destroy their sacred stones.^(BJ)

³Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us?”
⁴They make many promises,
    take false oaths^(BK)
    and make agreements;^(BL)
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds^(BM) in a plowed field.
⁵The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol^(BN) of Beth Aven.^[b]^(BO)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,^(BP)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.^(BQ)
⁶It will be carried to Assyria^(BR)
    as tribute^(BS) for the great king.^(BT)
Ephraim will be disgraced;^(BU)
    Israel will be ashamed^(BV) of its foreign alliances.
⁷Samaria’s king will be destroyed,^(BW)
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
⁸The high places^(BX) of wickedness^[c]^(BY) will be destroyed—
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns^(BZ) and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.^(CA)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”^(CB)
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”^(CC)

⁹“Since the days of Gibeah,^(CD) you have sinned,^(CE) Israel,
    and there you have remained.^[d]
Will not war again overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰When I please, I will punish^(CF) them;
    nations will be gathered against them
    to put them in bonds for their double sin.
¹¹Ephraim is a trained heifer
    that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke^(CG)
    on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
    Judah must plow,
    and Jacob must break up the ground.
¹²Sow^(CH) righteousness^(CI) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;^(CJ)
    for it is time to seek^(CK) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness^(CL) on you.
¹³But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,^(CM)
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.^(CN)
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,^(CO)
¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated^(CP)—
as Shalman^(CQ) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^(CR)
¹⁵So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^(CS)

God’s Love for Israel

11 “When Israel was a child,^(CT) I loved^(CU) him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son.^(CV)
²But the more they were called,
    the more they went away from me.^[e]^(CW)
They sacrificed to the Baals^(CX)
    and they burned incense to images.^(CY)
³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
    taking them by the arms;^(CZ)
but they did not realize
    it was I who healed^(DA) them.
⁴I led them with cords of human kindness,
    with ties of love.^(DB)
To them I was like one who lifts
    a little child to the cheek,
    and I bent down to feed^(DC) them.^(DD)

⁵“Will they not return to Egypt^(DE)
    and will not Assyria^(DF) rule over them
    because they refuse to repent?^(DG)
⁶A sword^(DH) will flash in their cities;
    it will devour^(DI) their false prophets
    and put an end to their plans.
⁷My people are determined to turn^(DJ) from me.^(DK)
    Even though they call me God Most High,
    I will by no means exalt them.

⁸“How can I give you up,^(DL) Ephraim?^(DM)
    How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
    How can I make you like Zeboyim?^(DN)
My heart is changed within me;
    all my compassion^(DO) is aroused.^(DP)
⁹I will not carry out my fierce anger,^(DQ)
    nor will I devastate^(DR) Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man^(DS)—
    the Holy One^(DT) among you.
    I will not come against their cities.
¹⁰They will follow the Lord;
    he will roar^(DU) like a lion.^(DV)
When he roars,
    his children will come trembling^(DW) from the west.^(DX)
¹¹They will come from Egypt,
    trembling like sparrows,
    from Assyria,^(DY) fluttering like doves.^(DZ)
I will settle them in their homes,”^(EA)
    declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

¹²Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,^(EB)
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful^(EC) Holy One.^[f]^(ED)

Footnotes

Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.
Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken
Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
Hosea 11:12 In Hebrew texts this verse (11:12) is numbered 12:1.

Matthew 19

New International Version

Divorce^(A)

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,^(B) he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them^(C) there.

³Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife^(D) for any and every reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’^[a]^(E) ⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’^[b]?^(F) ⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”^(G)

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”^(H)

¹⁰The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.^(I) ¹²For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

The Little Children and Jesus^(J)

¹³Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them^(K) and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs^(L) to such as these.”^(M) ¹⁵When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God^(N)

¹⁶Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life^(O)?”^(P)

¹⁷“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”^(Q)

¹⁸“Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery,^(R) you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹honor your father and mother,’^[c]^(S) and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”^(T)

²⁰“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect,^(U) go, sell your possessions and give to the poor,^(V) and you will have treasure in heaven.^(W) Then come, follow me.”

²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich^(X) to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”^(Y)

²⁷Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you!^(Z) What then will there be for us?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,^(AA) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.^(AB) ²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.^(AC) ³⁰But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.^(AD)