Hosea 5:8-6:6

New American Standard Bible

⁸^(A)Blow the horn in ^(B)Gibeah,
And the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:
“^(C)Behind you, Benjamin!”
⁹Ephraim will become a ^(D)desolation in the ^(E)day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I ^(F)make known what is trustworthy.
¹⁰The leaders of Judah have become like those who ^(G)displace a boundary marker;
On them I will ^(H)pour out My anger ^(I)like water.
¹¹Ephraim is ^(J)oppressed, broken by judgment,
^(K)Because he was determined to follow ^[a]man’s command.
¹²Therefore I am like a ^(L)moth to Ephraim,
And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
¹³When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah his ^[b]sore,
Ephraim then went to ^(M)Assyria
And sent word to ^[c]^(N)King Jareb.
But he is ^(O)unable to heal you,
Or to cure you of your ^[d]sore.
¹⁴For I will be ^(P)like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
^(Q)I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be ^(R)no one to rescue.
¹⁵I will go away and return to My place
Until they ^[e]^(S)acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their distress they will ^(T)search for Me.

The Response to God’s Rebuke

6 “^(U)Come, let’s return to the Lord.
For ^(V)He has torn us, but ^(W)He will heal us;
He has ^[f]wounded us, but He will ^(X)bandage us.
²He will ^(Y)revive us after two days;
He will ^(Z)raise us up on the third day,
That we may live before Him.
³So let’s ^(AA)learn, let’s press on to know the Lord.
His ^(AB)appearance is as sure as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the ^(AC)rain,
As the spring rain waters the earth.”

⁴What shall I do with you, ^(AD)Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, Judah?
For your loyalty is like a ^(AE)morning cloud,
And like the dew which goes away early.
⁵Therefore I have ^(AF)cut them in pieces by the prophets;
I have slain them by the ^(AG)words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that ^[g]shines.
⁶For ^(AH)I ^[h]desire loyalty ^(AI)rather than sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Footnotes

Hosea 5:11 Or with some ancient versions, nothingness
Hosea 5:13 Or ulcer
Hosea 5:13 Or another reading is the great king; or the contentious king
Hosea 5:13 Or ulcer
Hosea 5:15 Or suffer their punishment
Hosea 6:1 Lit struck
Hosea 6:5 Lit proceeds
Hosea 6:6 Or take pleasure in

Matthew 11

New American Standard Bible

John’s Questions

11 ^(A)When Jesus had finished ^[a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there ^(B)to teach and ^[b]preach in their cities.

²^(C)Now while in prison, ^(D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, ³and said to Him, “Are You ^(E)the Coming One, or are we to ^[c]look for someone else?” ⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵^(F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the ^(G)poor have the ^[d]gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is ^[e]any person who ^(H)does not ^[f]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸^[g]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[h]palaces! ⁹^[i]But what did you go out to see? ^(J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it ^[j]is written:

‘^(K)Behold, I am sending My messenger ^[k]ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹¹Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²And ^(L)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. ¹³For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(M)Elijah who ^[l]was to come. ¹⁵^(N)The one who has ears to hear, ^[m]let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not ^[n]mourn.’ ¹⁸For John came neither ^(O)eating nor ^(P)drinking, and they say, ‘^(Q)He has a demon!’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[o]heavy drinker, ^(R)a friend of tax collectors and ^[p]sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

²⁰Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His ^[q]^(S)miracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹“^(T)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(U)Bethsaida! For if the ^[r]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(V)Tyre and ^(W)Sidon, they would have repented long ago in ^[s]^(X)sackcloth and ashes. ²²Nevertheless I say to you, ^(Y)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on ^(Z)the day of judgment than for you. ²³And you, ^(AA)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be ^(AB)brought down to ^(AC)Hades! For if the ^[t]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(AD)Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴Nevertheless I say to you that ^(AE)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(AF)Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

²⁵^[u]^(AG)At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^(AH)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AI)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶Yes, ^(AJ)Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight. ²⁷^(AK)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^(AL)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸“^(AM)Come to Me, all ^[v]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you and ^(AN)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ^(AO)you will find ^[w]rest for your souls. ³⁰For ^(AP)My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Footnotes

Matthew 11:1 Or commanding
Matthew 11:1 Or proclaim
Matthew 11:3 Or wait for
Matthew 11:5 Or good news
Matthew 11:6 Lit whoever
Matthew 11:6 Or stumble over Me
Matthew 11:8 Or Well then,
Matthew 11:8 Lit houses
Matthew 11:9 Or Well then,
Matthew 11:10 Lit has been written
Matthew 11:10 Lit before Your face
Matthew 11:14 Or is going to come
Matthew 11:15 Or hear! Or listen!
Matthew 11:17 Lit beat the breast
Matthew 11:19 Or wine drinker
Matthew 11:19 I.e., irreligious Jews
Matthew 11:20 Or works of power
Matthew 11:21 Or works of power
Matthew 11:21 I.e., symbols of mourning
Matthew 11:23 Or works of power
Matthew 11:25 Or On that occasion
Matthew 11:28 Or who work to exhaustion
Matthew 11:29 Or a resting place

Hosea 8

New American Standard Bible

Israel Reaps the Whirlwind

8 ^(A)Put the trumpet to your ^[a]lips!
^(B)Like an eagle the enemy comes ^(C)against the house of the Lord,
Because they have ^(D)violated My covenant
And rebelled against My ^(E)Law.
²^(F)They cry out to Me,
“My God, ^(G)we of Israel know You!”
³Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.
⁴^(H)They have set up kings, but not by Me;
They have appointed officials, but I did not know it.
With their ^(I)silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,
So that ^[b]they will be eliminated.
⁵^[c]He has rejected your ^(J)calf, Samaria, saying,
“My anger burns against them!”
How long will they be incapable of ^(K)innocence?
⁶For from Israel comes even this!
A ^(L)craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to ^[d]pieces.
⁷For ^(M)they sow wind
And they harvest a ^(N)storm.
The standing grain has no ^[e]kernels;
It yields ^(O)no ^[f]grain.
If it were to yield, strangers would swallow it.

⁸Israel has been ^(P)swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a ^(Q)vessel in which no one delights.
⁹For they have gone up to ^(R)Assyria,
Like ^(S)a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has ^(T)paid fees for ^[g]lovers.
¹⁰Even though they ^[h]pay for allies among the nations,
I will ^(U)gather them up now;
And they will begin ^(V)to diminish
Because of the burden of the ^(W)king of officials.

¹¹Since Ephraim has ^(X)multiplied altars for sin,
They have become altars of sinning for him.
¹²Though ^(Y)I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My ^(Z)Law,
They are regarded as a strange thing.
¹³As for My ^(AA)sacrificial gifts,
They ^(AB)sacrifice the flesh and eat it,
But the Lord has taken no delight in them.
Now He will ^(AC)remember their guilt,
And ^(AD)punish them for their sins;
They will return to ^(AE)Egypt.
¹⁴For Israel has ^(AF)forgotten his Maker and ^(AG)built palaces;
And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
But I will send a ^(AH)fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.

Footnotes

Hosea 8:1 Lit palate
Hosea 8:4 Lit he
Hosea 8:5 Or Your calf has rejected you
Hosea 8:6 Or splinters
Hosea 8:7 Lit growth
Hosea 8:7 Or meal
Hosea 8:9 Lit love gifts
Hosea 8:10 Or recruit allies

Galatians 5:2-26

New American Standard Bible

²Look! I, ^(A)Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves ^(B)circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³And I ^(C)testify again to every man who has himself ^(D)circumcised, that he is obligated to ^(E)keep the whole Law. ⁴You have been severed from Christ, you who ^[a]are seeking to be justified by the ^[b]Law; you have ^(F)fallen from grace. ⁵For we, ^[c]through the Spirit, ^[d]by faith, are ^(G)waiting for the hope of righteousness. ⁶For in ^(H)Christ Jesus ^(I)neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but ^(J)faith working through love.

⁷You were ^(K)running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion did not come from ^(L)Him who calls you. ⁹^(M)A little ^[e]leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. ¹⁰^(N)I have confidence ^[f]in you in the Lord, that you ^(O)will adopt no other view; but the one who is ^(P)disturbing you will bear the punishment, whoever he is. ¹¹But as for me, brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still ^(Q)persecuted? Then ^(R)the stumbling block of the cross has been eliminated. ¹²I wish that ^(S)those who are troubling you would even ^[g]^(T)emasculate themselves.

¹³For you were called to ^(U)freedom, brothers and sisters; ^(V)only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but ^(W)serve one another through love. ¹⁴For ^(X)the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “^(Y)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But if you ^(Z)bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶But I say, ^(AA)walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out ^(AB)the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷For ^(AC)the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, ^(AD)in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. ¹⁸But if you are ^(AE)led by the Spirit, ^(AF)you are not under the Law. ¹⁹Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: ^(AG)sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, ²⁰idolatry, ^(AH)witchcraft, hostilities, ^(AI)strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, ^(AJ)selfish ambition, dissensions, ^(AK)factions, ²¹envy, ^(AL)drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not ^(AM)inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But ^(AN)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(AO)love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, ^(AP)self-control; against such things ^(AQ)there is no law. ²⁴Now those who ^[h]belong to ^(AR)Christ Jesus ^(AS)crucified the flesh with its passions and ^(AT)desires.