Hosea 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.(A)
2 The more I[a] called them,
the more they went from me;[b]
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and offering incense to idols.(B)
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up in my[c] arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.(C)
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks.[d]
I bent down to them and fed them.(D)
5 They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.(E)
6 The sword rages in their cities;
it consumes their oracle priests
and devours because of their schemes.(F)
7 My people are bent on turning away from me.
To the Most High they call,
but he does not raise them up at all.[e](G)
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.(H)
9 I will not execute my fierce anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim,
for I am God and no mortal,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.[f](I)
10 They shall go after the Lord,
who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west.(J)
11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.(K)
Matthew 12:22-50
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see.(A) 23 All the crowds were amazed and were saying, “Can this be the Son of David?”(B) 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this man casts out the demons.”(C) 25 He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.(D) 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? 27 If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists[a] cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.(E) 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.(F) 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.(G) 31 Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.(H) 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.(I)
A Tree and Its Fruit
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.(J) 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.(K) 35 The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”(L) 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.(M) 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.(N) 41 The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and indeed something greater than Jonah is here!(O) 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed something greater than Solomon is here!(P)
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it returns, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.”(Q)
The True Kindred of Jesus
46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him.(R) 47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”[b] 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus[c] replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”(S)
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Hosea 12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
12 Ephraim herds the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a treaty with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.(A)
The Long History of Rebellion
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.(B)
3 In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,
and in his manhood he strove with God.(C)
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor;
he met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.[a](D)
5 The Lord the God of hosts,
the Lord is his name!
6 But as for you, return to your God;
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.(E)
7 A trader in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.(F)
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich;
I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
no offense has been found in me
that would be sin.”[b](G)
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of the appointed festival.(H)
10 I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets I will bring destruction.(I)
11 In[c] Gilead there is iniquity;
they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
so their altars shall be like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.(J)
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.[d](K)
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.(L)
14 Ephraim has given bitter offense,
so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him
and pay him back for his insults.(M)
1 Corinthians 1:1-25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Salutation
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord[a] and ours:(A)
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(B)
4 I give thanks to my[b] God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of[c] Christ has been strengthened among you(C)— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.(D) 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.(E)
Divisions in the Church
10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose.(F) 11 For it has been made clear to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. 12 What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?(G) 14 I thank God[d] that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,(H) 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.(I) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel—and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.(J)
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.(K) 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?(L) 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe.(M) 22 For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles,(N) 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.