Revelation 2:1-7

English Standard Version

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ^(A)him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, ^(B)who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

²^(C)“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but ^(D)have tested those ^(E)who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up ^(F)for my name's sake, and you ^(G)have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned ^(H)the love you had at first. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do ^(I)the works you did at first. If not, ^(J)I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this you have: you hate the works of ^(K)the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷^(L)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(M)To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of ^(N)the tree of life, which is in ^(O)the paradise of God.’

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Jeremiah 2:1-13

English Standard Version

Israel Forsakes the Lord

2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^(A)your youth,
    your love ^(B)as a bride,
^(C)how you followed me in the wilderness,
    ^(D)in a land not sown.
³^(E)Israel was holy to the Lord,
    ^(F)the firstfruits of his harvest.
^(G)All who ate of it incurred guilt;
    disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says the Lord:

^(H)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
^(I)and went after ^(J)worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶They did not say, ^(K)‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^(L)in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that none passes through,
    where no man dwells?’
⁷^(M)And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^(N)you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.
⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
    ^(O)Those who handle the law did not know me;
^(P)the shepherds^[a] transgressed against me;
    ^(Q)the prophets prophesied by Baal
    and went after ^(R)things that do not profit.

⁹“Therefore ^(S)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
    and ^(T)with your children's children I will contend.
¹⁰For cross to the coasts of ^(U)Cyprus and see,
    or send to ^(V)Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
¹¹^(W)Has a nation changed its gods,
    ^(X)even though they are no gods?
But my people ^(Y)have changed their glory
    for ^(Z)that which does not profit.
¹²Be appalled, ^(AA)O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
¹³for my people have committed two evils:
^(AB)they have forsaken ^(AC)me,
    the fountain of ^(AD)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 2:8 Or rulers

Ezekiel 16:8-15

English Standard Version

⁸“When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and ^(A)I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you ^(B)and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, ^(C)and you became mine. ⁹Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and ^(D)anointed you with oil. ¹⁰^(E)I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.^[a] ¹¹^(F)And I adorned you with ornaments and ^(G)put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. ¹²And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. ^(H)You ate fine flour and honey and oil. ^(I)You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴And ^(J)your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

¹⁵^(K)“But you trusted in your beauty ^(L)and played the whore^[b] because of your renown ^(M)and lavished your whorings^[c] on any passerby; your beauty^[d] became his.

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Footnotes

Ezekiel 16:10 Or with rich fabric
Ezekiel 16:15 Or were unfaithful; also verses 16, 17, 26, 28
Ezekiel 16:15 Or unfaithfulness; also verses 20, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36
Ezekiel 16:15 Hebrew it

Hosea 14:1-4

English Standard Version

A Plea to Return to the Lord

14 ^(A)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for ^(B)you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
²Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
accept ^(C)what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    ^(D)the vows^[a] of our lips.
³^(E)Assyria shall not save us;
    ^(F)we will not ride on horses;
and ^(G)we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
^(H)In you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I ^(I)will heal their apostasy;
^(J)I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.

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Footnotes

Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit

Romans 8:38-39

English Standard Version

³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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