2 Kings 8
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Shunammite Woman’s Land Restored
8 Now Eli′sha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God; she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went forth to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Geha′zi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Eli′sha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Eli′sha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Geha′zi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Eli′sha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”
Death of Ben-hadad
7 Now Eli′sha came to Damascus. Ben-ha′dad the king of Syria was sick; and when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Haz′ael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Haz′ael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camel loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-ha′dad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 10 And Eli′sha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover’; but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was ashamed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Haz′ael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel; you will set on fire their fortresses, and you will slay their young men with the sword, and dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.” 13 And Haz′ael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Eli′sha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Eli′sha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Eli′sha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But on the morrow he took the coverlet and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Haz′ael became king in his stead.
Jehoram Reigns over Judah
16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel,[a] Jehor′am the son of Jehosh′aphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons for ever.
20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah, and set up a king of their own. 21 Then Joram passed over to Za′ir with all his chariots, and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders smote the E′domites who had surrounded him; but his army fled home. 22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 24 So Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahazi′ah his son reigned in his stead.
Ahaziah Reigns over Judah
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahazi′ah the son of Jehor′am, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahazi′ah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athali′ah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.
28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against Haz′ael king of Syria at Ra′moth-gil′ead, where the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezre′el of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Haz′ael king of Syria. And Ahazi′ah the son of Jehor′am king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezre′el, because he was sick.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 8:16 Gk Syr: Heb Israel, Jehoshaphat being king of Judah
Hosea 8-10
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Israel’s Apostasy
8 Set the trumpet to your lips,
for[a] a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because they have broken my covenant,
and transgressed my law.
2 To me they cry,
My God, we Israel know thee.
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.
5 I have[b] spurned your calf, O Samar′ia.
My anger burns against them.
How long will it be
till they are pure 6 in Israel?[c]
A workman made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samar′ia
shall be broken to pieces.[d]
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,
aliens would devour it.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild ass wandering alone;
E′phraim has hired lovers.
10 Though they hire allies among the nations,
I will soon gather them up.
And they shall cease[e] for a little while
from anointing[f] king and princes.
11 Because E′phraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 Were I to write for him my laws by ten thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13 They love sacrifice;[g]
they sacrifice flesh and eat it;
but the Lord has no delight in them.
Now he will remember their iniquity,
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
14 For 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.
Punishment for Israel’s Sin
9 Rejoice not, O Israel!
Exult not[h] like the peoples;
for you have played the harlot, forsaking your God.
You have loved a harlot’s hire
upon all threshing floors.
2 Threshing floor and winevat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.
3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord;
but E′phraim shall return to Egypt,
and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They shall not pour libations of wine to the Lord;
and they shall not please him with their sacrifices.
Their bread[i] shall be like mourners’ bread;
all who eat of it shall be defiled;
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the day of appointed festival,
and on the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they are going to Assyria;[j]
Egypt shall gather them,
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;
thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come,
the days of recompense have come;
Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool,
the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
and great hatred.
8 The prophet is the watchman of E′phraim,
the people of my God,
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
and hatred in the house of his God.
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gib′e-ah:
he will remember their iniquity,
he will punish their sins.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree,
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Ba′al-pe′or,
and consecrated themselves to Ba′al,[k]
and became detestable like the thing they loved.
11 E′phraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
13 E′phraim’s sons, as I have seen, are destined for a prey;[l]
E′phraim must lead forth his sons to slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—
what wilt thou give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
all their princes are rebels.
16 E′phraim is stricken,
their root is dried up,
they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they bring forth,
I will slay their beloved children.
17 My God will cast them off,
because they have not hearkened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations.
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
10 Israel is a luxuriant vine
that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased
the more altars he built;
as his country improved
he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord[m] will break down their altars,
and destroy their pillars.
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we fear not the Lord,
and a king, what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samar′ia tremble
for the calf[n] of Beth-a′ven.
Its people shall mourn for it,
and its idolatrous priests shall wail[o] over it,
over its glory which has departed from it.
6 Yea, the thing itself shall be carried to Assyria,
as tribute to the great king.[p]
E′phraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.[q]
7 Samar′ia’s king shall perish,
like a chip on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars;
and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us,
and to the hills, Fall upon us.
9 From the days of Gib′e-ah, you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have continued.
Shall not war overtake them in Gib′e-ah?
10 I will come[r] against the wayward people to chastise them;
and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are chastised[s] for their double iniquity.
11 E′phraim was a trained heifer
that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put E′phraim to the yoke,
Judah must plow,
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit[t] of steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain salvation upon you.
13 You have plowed iniquity,
you have reaped injustice,
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your chariots[u]
and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-ar′bel on the day of battle;
mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O house of Israel,[v]
because of your great wickedness.
In the storm[w] the king of Israel
shall be utterly cut off.
Footnotes
- Hosea 8:1 Cn: Heb as
- Hosea 8:5 Heb He has
- Hosea 8:6 Gk: Heb for from Israel
- Hosea 8:6 Or shall go up in flames
- Hosea 8:10 Gk: Heb begin
- Hosea 8:10 Gk: Heb burden
- Hosea 8:13 Cn: Heb uncertain
- Hosea 9:1 Gk: Heb to exultation
- Hosea 9:4 Cn: Heb to them
- Hosea 9:6 Cn: Heb from destruction
- Hosea 9:10 Heb shame
- Hosea 9:13 Cn Compare Gk: Heb uncertain
- Hosea 10:2 Heb he
- Hosea 10:5 Gk Syr: Heb calves
- Hosea 10:5 Cn: Heb exult
- Hosea 10:6 Cn: Heb a king that will contend
- Hosea 10:6 Cn: Heb counsel
- Hosea 10:10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb in my desire
- Hosea 10:10 Gk: Heb bound
- Hosea 10:12 Gk: Heb according to
- Hosea 10:13 Gk: Heb way
- Hosea 10:15 Gk: Heb O Bethel
- Hosea 10:15 Cn: Heb dawn
Psalm 108
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Praise and Prayer for Victory
A Song. A Psalm of David.
108 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, my soul!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples,
I will sing praises to thee among the nations.
4 For thy steadfast love is great above the heavens,
thy faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let thy glory be over all the earth!
6 That thy beloved may be delivered,
give help by thy right hand, and answer me!
7 God has promised in his sanctuary:[a]
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manas′seh is mine;
E′phraim is my helmet;
Judah my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Hast thou not rejected us, O God?
Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies.
12 O grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the help of man!
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Footnotes
- Psalm 108:7 Or by his holiness
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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