The Daily Audio Bible
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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)
Greeting
1 The elder:
To the elect(A) lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not only I, but also all who know the truth(B)— 2 because of the truth that remains in us(C) and will be with us forever.
3 Grace, mercy, and peace(D) will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son(E) of the Father, in truth and love.(F)
Truth and Deception
4 I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth,(G) in keeping with a command we have received from the Father. 5 So now I ask you, dear lady—not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.(H) 6 This is love:(I) that we walk according to his commands.(J) This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.[a]
7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.(K) This is the deceiver and the antichrist.(L) 8 Watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we[b] have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.(M) 9 Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching(N) but goes beyond it does not have God.(O) The one who remains(P) in that teaching, this one has both the Father(Q) and the Son.(R) 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive(S) him into your home, and do not greet him; 11 for the one who greets him shares(T) in his evil works.(U)
Farewell
12 Though I have many things to write to you,(V) I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so that our joy(W) may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister send you greetings.
Psalm 125
Israel’s Stability
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.(A)
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem
and the Lord surrounds his people,
both now and forever.(B)
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.(C)
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good,
to those whose hearts are upright.(D)
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.(E)
Peace be with Israel.(F)
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