Hosea 5:8-6:6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;
look behind you, Benjamin!(A)
9 Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I declare what is sure.(B)
10 The princes of Judah have become
like those who remove the landmark;
on them I will pour out
my wrath like water.(C)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after vanity.[a]
12 Therefore I am like maggots to Ephraim
and like rottenness to the house of Judah.(D)
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria
and sent to the great king.[b]
But he is not able to cure you
or heal your wound.(E)
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.(F)
15 I will return again to my place
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.
In their distress they will beg my favor:(G)
A Call to Repentance
6 “Come, let us return to the Lord,
for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
he has struck down, and he will bind us up.(H)
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”(I)
Impenitence of Israel and Judah
4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early.(J)
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my[c] judgment goes forth as the light.(K)
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.(L)
Matthew 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.
Messengers from John the Baptist
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah[a] was doing, he sent word by his[b] disciples(A) 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”(B) 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.(C) 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”(D)
Jesus Praises John the Baptist
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?(E) 8 What, then, did you go out to see? Someone[c] dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet?[d] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.(F) 10 This is the one about whom it is written,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’(G)
11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,[e] and violent people take it by force.(H) 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John came, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.(I) 15 Let anyone with ears[f] listen!(J)
16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”[g](K)
Woes to Unrepentant Cities
20 Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.(L) 22 But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you.(M) 23 And you, Capernaum,
will you be exalted to heaven?
No, you will be brought down to Hades.
“For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.(N) 24 But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”(O)
Jesus Thanks His Father
25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank[h] you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;(P) 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.[i] 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.(Q)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.(R) 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.(S) 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Footnotes
- 11.2 Or the Christ
- 11.2 Other ancient authorities read two of his
- 11.8 Or Why, then, did you go out? To see someone
- 11.9 Other ancient authorities read Why, then, did you go out? To see a prophet?
- 11.12 Or has been coming violently
- 11.15 Other ancient authorities add to hear
- 11.19 Other ancient authorities read children
- 11.25 Or praise
- 11.26 Or for so it was well-pleasing in your sight
Hosea 8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel’s Apostasy
8 Set the trumpet to your lips!
One like a vulture[a] is over the house of the Lord,
because they have broken my covenant
and transgressed my law.(A)
2 They cry to me,
“My God, we know you!”[b](B)
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They made kings but not through me;
they set up princes but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.(C)
5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?(D)
6 For it is from Israel,
an artisan made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
shall be broken to pieces.(E)
7 For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
it shall yield no meal;
if it were to yield,
foreigners would devour it.(F)
8 Israel is swallowed up;
now they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.(G)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild ass wandering alone;
Ephraim has bargained for lovers.(H)
10 Though they bargain with the nations,
I will now gather them up.
They shall soon writhe
under the burden of kings and princes.(I)
11 When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,
they became to him altars for sinning.
12 Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,
they are regarded as a strange thing.(J)
13 Though they offer choice sacrifices,[c]
though they eat flesh,
the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.(K)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
but I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour his strongholds.(L)
Galatians 5:2-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Nature of Christian Freedom
2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that, if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be reckoned as righteous[a] by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.(A) 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.(B) 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working[b] through love.(C)
7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?(D) 8 Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.(E) 11 But my brothers and sisters, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence,[c] but through love become enslaved to one another.(F) 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(G) 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
The Works of the Flesh
16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.(H) 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.(I) 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.(J) 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery,(K) 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy,[d] drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.(L)
The Fruit of the Spirit
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,(M) 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ[e] have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.(N) 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
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