Hosea 5:8-6:6

New King James Version

⁸“Blow^(A) the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah!
^(B)Cry aloud at ^(C)Beth Aven,
‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
⁹Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.

¹⁰“The princes of Judah are like those who ^(D)remove a landmark;
I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
¹¹Ephraim is ^(E)oppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by ^(F)human precept.
¹²Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah ^(G)like rottenness.

¹³“When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his ^(H)wound,
Then Ephraim went ^(I)to Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
¹⁴For ^(J)I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
^(K)I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
¹⁵I will return again to My place
Till they ^[a]acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

A Call to Repentance

6 Come,^(L) and let us return to the Lord;
For ^(M)He has torn, but ^(N)He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will ^[b]bind us up.
²^(O)After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
³^(P)Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established ^(Q)as the morning;
^(R)He will come to us ^(S)like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

⁴“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by ^(T)the words of My mouth;
And ^[c]your judgments are like light that goes forth.
⁶For I desire ^(U)mercy^[d] and ^(V)not sacrifice,
And the ^(W)knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Footnotes

Hosea 5:15 Lit. become guilty or bear punishment
Hosea 6:1 Bandage
Hosea 6:5 Or the judgments on you
Hosea 6:6 Or faithfulness or loyalty

Matthew 11

New King James Version

John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus^(A)

11 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to ^(B)teach and to preach in their cities.

²^(C)And when John had heard ^(D)in prison about the works of Christ, he ^[a]sent two of his disciples ³and said to Him, “Are You ^(E)the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: ⁵^(F)The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and ^(G)the poor have the gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is he who is not ^(H)offended because of Me.”

⁷^(I)As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? ^(J)A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, ^(K)and more than a prophet. ¹⁰For this is he of whom it is written:

^(L)‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹¹“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²^(M)And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³^(N)For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to receive it, he is ^(O)Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵^(P)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

¹⁶^(Q)“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, ¹⁷and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not ^[b]lament.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a ^[c]winebibber, ^(R)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ^(S)But wisdom is justified by her ^[d]children.”

Woe to the Impenitent Cities^(T)

²⁰^(U)Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago ^(V)in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I say to you, ^(W)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ²³And you, Capernaum, ^(X)who^[e] are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴But I say to you ^(Y)that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

Jesus Gives True Rest^(Z)

²⁵^(AA)At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AB)You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent ^(AC)and have revealed them to babes. ²⁶Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. ²⁷^(AD)All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. ^(AE)Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸Come to ^(AF)Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you ^(AG)and learn from Me, for I am ^[f]gentle and ^(AH)lowly in heart, ^(AI)and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰^(AJ)For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Footnotes

Matthew 11:2 NU sent by his
Matthew 11:17 Lit. beat your breast
Matthew 11:19 wine drinker
Matthew 11:19 NU works
Matthew 11:23 NU will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be
Matthew 11:29 meek

Hosea 8

New King James Version

The Apostasy of Israel

8 “Set the ^[a]trumpet to your mouth!
He shall come ^(A)like an eagle against the house of the Lord,
Because they have transgressed My covenant
And rebelled against My law.
²^(B)Israel will cry to Me,
‘My God, ^(C)we know You!’
³Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.

⁴“They^(D) set up kings, but not by Me;
They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them.
From their silver and gold
They made idols for themselves—
That they might be cut off.
⁵Your ^[b]calf ^[c]is rejected, O Samaria!
My anger is aroused against them—
^(E)How long until they attain to innocence?
⁶For from Israel is even this:
A ^(F)workman made it, and it is not God;
But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

⁷“They^(G) sow the wind,
And reap the whirlwind.
The stalk has no bud;
It shall never produce meal.
If it should produce,
^(H)Aliens would swallow it up.
⁸^(I)Israel is swallowed up;
Now they are among the Gentiles
^(J)Like a vessel in which is no pleasure.
⁹For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like ^(K)a wild donkey alone by itself;
Ephraim ^(L)has hired lovers.
¹⁰Yes, though they have hired among the nations,
Now ^(M)I will gather them;
And they shall ^[d]sorrow a little,
Because of the ^[e]burden of ^(N)the king of princes.

¹¹“Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin,
They have become for him altars for sinning.
¹²I have written for him ^(O)the great things of My law,
But they were considered a strange thing.
¹³For the sacrifices of My offerings ^(P)they sacrifice flesh and eat it,
^(Q)But the Lord does not accept them.
^(R)Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
They shall return to Egypt.

¹⁴“For^(S) Israel has forgotten ^(T)his Maker,
And has built ^[f]temples;
Judah also has multiplied ^(U)fortified cities;
But ^(V)I will send fire upon his cities,
And it shall devour his ^[g]palaces.”

Footnotes

Hosea 8:1 ram’s horn, Heb. shophar
Hosea 8:5 Golden calf image
Hosea 8:5 Or has rejected you
Hosea 8:10 Or begin to diminish
Hosea 8:10 Or oracle or proclamation
Hosea 8:14 Or palaces
Hosea 8:14 Or citadels

Galatians 5:2-26

New King James Version

²Indeed I, Paul, say to you that ^(A)if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised ^(B)that he is ^[a]a debtor to keep the whole law. ⁴^(C)You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; ^(D)you have fallen from grace. ⁵For we through the Spirit eagerly ^(E)wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁶For ^(F)in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but ^(G)faith working through love.

Love Fulfills the Law

⁷You ^(H)ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. ⁹^(I)A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.

¹¹And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, ^(J)why do I still suffer persecution? Then ^(K)the offense of the cross has ceased. ¹²^(L)I could wish that those ^(M)who trouble you would even ^[b]cut themselves off!

¹³For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only ^(N)do not use liberty as an ^(O)opportunity for the flesh, but ^(P)through love serve one another. ¹⁴For ^(Q)all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ^(R)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

Walking in the Spirit

¹⁶I say then: ^(S)Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷For ^(T)the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, ^(U)so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸But ^(V)if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹Now ^(W)the works of the flesh are evident, which are: ^[c]adultery, ^[d]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹envy, ^[e]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that ^(X)those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But ^(Y)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(Z)love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, ^(AA)goodness, ^(AB)faithfulness, ²³^[f]gentleness, self-control. ^(AC)Against such there is no law. ²⁴And those who are Christ’s ^(AD)have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵^(AE)If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶^(AF)Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.