the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
September 28 - Straight Thru the Bible
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Hosea 10-14
Chapter 10
The Vine and the Calf
1 Israel is a lush[a] vine;(a)
it yields fruit for itself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he increased the altars.(b)
The better his land produced,
the better they made the sacred pillars.(c)
2 Their hearts are devious;[b](d)
now they must bear their guilt.(e)
The
Lord
will break down their altars(f)
and demolish their sacred pillars.
3 In fact, they are now saying,
"We have no king!
For we do not fear the
Lord
.(g)
What can a king do for us?"
4 They speak mere words,
taking false oaths while making covenants.(h)
So lawsuits break out
like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.(i)
5 The residents of Samaria(j) will have anxiety
over the calf(k) of Beth-aven.(l)
Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it;
the people will mourn over it,
over its glory.(m)
It will certainly depart from them.
6 The calf itself will be taken to Assyria(n)
as an offering to the great king.[c](o)
Ephraim will experience shame;(p)
Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.(q)
7 Samaria's king will disappear[d](r)
like foam[e] on the surface of the water.
8 The high places(s) of Aven, the sin of Israel,(t)
will be destroyed;
thorns and thistles will grow over their altars.(u)
They will say to the mountains,(v) "Cover us!"
and to the hills, "Fall on us!"(w)
Israel's Defeat because of Sin
9 Israel, you have sinned
since the days of Gibeah;(x)
they have taken their stand there.
Will not war against the unjust
overtake them in Gibeah?
10 I will discipline(y) them at My discretion;(z)
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bondage[f]
for their two crimes.(aa)
11 Ephraim is a well-trained calf(ab)
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on[g] her fine neck.(ac)
I will harness Ephraim;(ad)
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves(ae)
and reap faithful love;
break up your unplowed ground.(af)
It is time to seek the
Lord
(ag)
until He comes(ah) and sends righteousness
on you like the rain.(ai)
13 You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;(aj)
you have eaten the fruit of lies.(ak)
Because you have trusted in your own way[h]
and in your large number of soldiers,(al)
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
and all your fortifications will be demolished(am)
in a day of war,
like Shalman's destruction of Beth-arbel.
Mothers will be dashed to pieces
along with their children.(an)
15 So it will be done to you, Bethel,(ao)
because of your extreme evil.
At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.
Chapter 11
The Lord's Love for Israel
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,(a)
and out of Egypt I called My son.(b)
2 The more they[a] called them,[b](c)
the more they[c] departed from Me.[d]
They kept sacrificing to the Baals(d)
and burning offerings to idols.(e)
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,(f)
taking them[e] in My arms,(g)
but they never knew that I healed them.(h)
4 I led them with human cords,
with ropes of love.(i)
To them I was like one
who eases the yoke from their jaws;(j)
I bent down to give them food.(k)
5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt
and Assyria will be his king,(l)
because they refused to repent.(m)
6 A sword will whirl through his cities;(n)
it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,[f](o)
because of their schemes.(p)
7 My people are bent on turning from Me.(q)
Though they call to Him on high,
He will not exalt them at all.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?(r)
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?(s)
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?(t)
I have had a change of heart;
My compassion is stirred!
9 I will not vent the full fury of My anger;(u)
I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim.(v)
For I am God and not man,
the Holy One among you;(w)
I will not come in rage.[g]
10 They will follow the
Lord
;(x)
He will roar like a lion.(y)
When He roars,
His children will come trembling from the west.(z)
11 They will be roused like birds from Egypt
and like doves(aa) from the land of Assyria.(ab)
Then I will settle them in their homes.(ac)
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
12 [h] Ephraim surrounds me with lies,(ad)
the house of Israel, with deceit.
Judah still wanders with God
and is faithful to the holy ones.[i][j]
Chapter 12
God's Case against Jacob's Heirs
1 Ephraim chases[a] the wind(a)
and pursues the east wind.(b)
He continually multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a covenant with Assyria,(c)
and olive oil is carried to Egypt.(d)
2 The
Lord
also has a dispute with Judah.
He is about to punish Jacob according to his ways;(e)
He will repay him based on his actions.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother's heel,(f)
and as an adult he wrestled with God.(g)
4 Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought His favor.(h)
He found him[b] at Bethel,(i)
and there He spoke with him.[c](j)
5 Yahweh is the God of Hosts;
Yahweh is His name.(k)
6 But you must return to your God.(l)
Maintain love and justice,(m)
and always put your hope in God.(n)
7 A merchant loves to extort(o)
with dishonest scales in his hands.(p)
8 But Ephraim says:
"How rich I have become;(q)
I made it all myself.
In all my earnings,
no one can find any crime in me(r)
that I can be punished for!"[d]
Judgment on Apostate Israel
9 I have been Yahweh your God
ever since[e] the land of Egypt.(s)
I will make you live in tents again,(t)
as in the festival days.
10 I spoke through the prophets(u)
and granted many visions;
I gave parables through the prophets.(v)
11 Since Gilead is full of evil,(w)
they will certainly come to nothing.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;(x)
even their altars will be like heaps of rocks(y)
on the furrows of a field.
Further Indictment of Jacob's Heirs
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram.(z)
Israel worked to earn a wife;(aa)
he tended flocks for a wife.(ab)
13 The
Lord
brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,(ac)
and Israel was tended by a prophet.
14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,(ad)
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him(ae)
and repay him for his contempt.(af)
Chapter 13
1 When Ephraim spoke,(a) there was trembling;
he was exalted in Israel.(b)
But he incurred guilt through Baal(c) and died.
2 Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,(d)
idols skillfully made from their silver,(e)
all of them the work of craftsmen.(f)
People say about them,
"Let the men who sacrifice[a] kiss the calves."(g)
3 Therefore, they will be like the morning mist,(h)
like the early dew that vanishes,
like chaff blown from a threshing floor,(i)
or like smoke from a window.(j)
Death and Resurrection
4 I have been Yahweh your God(k)
ever since[b] the land of Egypt;
you know no God but Me,(l)
and no Savior exists besides Me.(m)
5 I knew[c] you in the wilderness,(n)
in the land of drought.
6 When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;(o)
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.(p)
Therefore they forgot Me.(q)
7 So I will be like a lion(r) to them;
I will lurk like a leopard(s) on the path.
8 I will attack them
like a bear robbed of her cubs
and tear open the rib cage over their hearts.
I will devour them there like a lioness,(t)
like a wild beast that would rip them open.
9 I will destroy you, Israel;
you have no help but Me.[d](u)
10 Where now is your king,[e](v)
that he may save you in all your cities,
and the[f] rulers[g](w) you demanded, saying,
"Give me a king and leaders"?
11 I give you a king in My anger(x)
and take away a king in My wrath.(y)
12 Ephraim's guilt is preserved;
his sin is stored up.(z)
13 Labor pains come on him.(aa)
He is not a wise son;(ab)
when the time comes,
he will not be born.[h](ac)
14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol.
I will redeem[i] them from death.(ad)
Death, where are your barbs?
Sheol, where is your sting?(ae)
Compassion is hidden from My eyes.(af)
The Coming Judgment
15 Although he flourishes among his brothers,[j](ag)
an east wind will come,(ah)
a wind from the
Lord
rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.(ai)
The wind[k] will plunder the treasury(aj)
of every precious item.
16 [l]Samaria(ak) will bear her guilt(al)
because she has rebelled against her God.(am)
They will fall by the sword;(an)
their little ones will be dashed to pieces,(ao)
and their pregnant women ripped open.(ap)
Chapter 14
A Plea to Repent
1 Israel, return to Yahweh your God,(a)
for you have stumbled in your sin.(b)
2 Take words of repentance with you(c)
and return to the
Lord
.
Say to Him: "Forgive all our sin
and accept what is good,
so that we may repay You
with praise[a] from our[b] lips.(d)
3 Assyria will not save us,(e)
we will not ride on horses,(f)
and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods!'(g)
to the work of our hands.(h)
For the fatherless receives compassion in You."(i)
A Promise of Restoration
4 I will heal their apostasy;(j)
I will freely love them,(k)
for My anger will have turned from him.(l)
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;(m)
he will blossom like the lily(n)
and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.(o)
6 His new branches will spread,
and his splendor will be like the olive tree,(p)
his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.(q)
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade.(r)
They will grow grain(s)
and blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I[c] have anything more
to do with idols?(t)
It is I who answer and watch over him.
I am like a flourishing pine tree;(u)
your fruit comes from Me.(v)
9 Let whoever is wise(w) understand these things,
and whoever is insightful recognize them.
For the ways of the
Lord
are right,(x)
and the righteous walk in them,(y)
but the rebellious stumble in them.(z)
Joel 1:1-2:17
Chapter 1
1 The word of the Lord that came(a) to Joel son of Pethuel:
A Plague of Locusts
2 Hear this,(b) you elders;
listen, all you inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days(c)
or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it,(d)
and let your children tell their children,
and their children the next generation.
4 What the devouring locust(e) has left,
the swarming locust has eaten;
what the swarming locust has left,
the young locust(f) has eaten;
and what the young locust has left,
the destroying locust(g) has eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards,(h) and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been taken from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded My land,(i)
powerful and without number;
its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.(j)
7 It has devastated My grapevine
and splintered My fig tree.
It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away;
its branches have turned white.
8 Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth,(k)
mourning for the husband of her youth.
9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off(l)
from the house of the
Lord
;
the priests, who are ministers of the
Lord
, mourn.(m)
10 The fields are destroyed;(n)
the land grieves;
indeed, the grain is destroyed;
the new wine is dried up;(o)
and the olive oil fails.(p)
11 Be ashamed, you farmers,(q)
wail, you vinedressers,[a]
over the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.(r)
12 The grapevine is dried up,(s)
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate,(t) the date palm,(u) and the apple(v)—
all the trees of the orchard—have withered.
Indeed, human joy has dried up.(w)
13 Dress in sackcloth and lament,(x) you priests;(y)
wail,(z) you ministers of the altar.
Come and spend the night in sackcloth,(aa)
you ministers of my God,
because grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Announce a sacred fast;(ab)
proclaim an assembly!
Gather the elders(ac)
and all the residents of the land
at the house of the
Lord
your God,(ad)
and cry out to the
Lord
.(ae)
The Day of the Lord
15 Woe because of that day!(af)
For the Day of the
Lord
is near
and will come as devastation from the Almighty.(ag)
16 Hasn't the food been cut off
before our eyes,(ah)
joy and gladness(ai)
from the house of our God?
17 The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.[b](aj)
The storehouses are in ruin,
and the granaries are broken down,
because the grain has withered away.
18 How the animals groan!(ak)
The herds of cattle wander in confusion
since they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
19 I call to You,
Lord
,(al)
for fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness,(am)
and flames have devoured
all the trees of the countryside.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to[c] You,(an)
for the river beds are dried up,(ao)
and fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness.
Chapter 2
1 Blow the horn in Zion;(a)
sound the alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the Day of the
Lord
is coming;(b)
in fact, it is near—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,(c)
a day of clouds and dense overcast,(d)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people(e) appears,
such as never existed in ages past(f)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.(g)
3 A fire destroys[a] in front of them,(h)
and behind them a flame devours.
The land in front of them
is like the Garden of Eden,(i)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;(j)
there is no escape from them.
4 Their appearance is like that of horses,(k)
and they gallop like war horses.
5 They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,(l)
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,(m)
like a mighty army deployed for war.
6 Nations writhe in horror before them;(n)
all faces turn pale.
7 They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,(o)
and they do not change their course.
8 They do not push each other;
each man proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
9 They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses;(p)
they enter through the windows like thieves.(q)
10 The earth quakes before them;(r)
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,(s)
and the stars cease their shining.(t)
11 The
Lord
raises His voice(u)
in the presence of His army.(v)
His camp is very large;
Those who carry out His command are powerful.(w)
Indeed, the Day of the
Lord
is terrible and dreadful(x)—
who can endure it?(y)
God's Call for Repentance
12 Even now—
this is the
Lord
's declaration—
turn to Me with all your heart,(z)
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.(aa)
13 Tear your hearts,(ab)
not just your clothes,(ac)
and return to the
Lord
your God.
For He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, rich in faithful love,
and He relents from sending disaster.(ad)
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent(ae)
and leave a blessing behind Him,(af)
so you can offer grain and wine
to the
Lord
your God.(ag)
15 Blow the horn in Zion!(ah)
Announce a sacred fast;(ai)
proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;(aj)
assemble the aged;[b](ak)
gather the children,
even those nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom,(al)
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
17 Let the priests,(am) the
Lord
's ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.(an)
Let them say:
"Have pity on Your people,
Lord
,(ao)
and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace,(ap)
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?'"(aq)
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