HOSEA 6

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Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant6:1

“Come, let us return to the Lord;

for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. 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 going out is sure as the dawn;

he will come to us as the showers,

as the spring rains that water the earth.”
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 early away. 5

Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

I have slain them by the words of my mouth,

and my judgment goes forth as the light. 6

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7

But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with me. 8

Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood. 9

As robbers lie in wait for a man,

so the priests band together;

they murder on the way to Shechem;

they commit villainy. 10

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.
11

For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I restore the fortunes of my people,

HOSEA 7

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7:1

when I would heal Israel,

the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,

and the evil deeds of Samaria,

for they deal falsely;

the thief breaks in,

and the bandits raid outside. 2

But they do not consider

that I remember all their evil.

Now their deeds surround them;

they are before my face. 3

By their evil they make the king glad,

and the princes by their treachery. 4

They are all adulterers;

they are like a heated oven

whose baker ceases to stir the fire,

from the kneading of the dough

until it is leavened. 5

On the day of our king, the princes

became sick with the heat of wine;

he stretched out his hand with mockers. 6

For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue;

all night their anger smolders;

in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. 7

All of them are hot as an oven,

and they devour their rulers.

All their kings have fallen,

and none of them calls upon me.
8

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;

Ephraim is a cake not turned. 9

Strangers devour his strength,

and he knows it not;

gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,

and he knows it not. 10

The pride of Israel testifies to his face;

yet they do not return to the Lord their God,

nor seek him, for all this.
11

Ephraim is like a dove,

silly and without sense,

calling to Egypt, going to Assyria. 12

As they go, I will spread over them my net;

I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;

I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation. 13

Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!

Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!

I would redeem them,

but they speak lies against me.
14

They do not cry to me from the heart,

but they wail upon their beds;

for grain and wine they gash themselves;

they rebel against me. 15

Although I trained and strengthened their arms,

yet they devise evil against me. 16

They return, but not upward;

they are like a treacherous bow;

their princes shall fall by the sword

because of the insolence of their tongue.

This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

PROVERBS 29

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29:1

He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

will suddenly be broken beyond healing. 2

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

but when the wicked rule, the people groan. 3

He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. 4

By justice a king builds up the land,

but he who exacts gifts tears it down. 5

A man who flatters his neighbor

spreads a net for his feet. 6

An evil man is ensnared in his transgression,

but a righteous man sings and rejoices. 7

A righteous man knows the rights of the poor;

a wicked man does not understand such knowledge. 8

Scoffers set a city aflame,

but the wise turn away wrath. 9

If a wise man has an argument with a fool,

the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. 10

Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless

and seek the life of the upright. 11

A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

but a wise man quietly holds it back. 12

If a ruler listens to falsehood,

all his officials will be wicked. 13

The poor man and the oppressor meet together;

the Lord gives light to the eyes of both. 14

If a king faithfully judges the poor,

his throne will be established forever. 15

The rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. 16

When the wicked increase, transgression increases,

but the righteous will look upon their downfall. 17

Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;

he will give delight to your heart. 18

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,

but blessed is he who keeps the law. 19

By mere words a servant is not disciplined,

for though he understands, he will not respond. 20

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

There is more hope for a fool than for him. 21

Whoever pampers his servant from childhood

will in the end find him his heir. 22

A man of wrath stirs up strife,

and one given to anger causes much transgression. 23

One’s pride will bring him low,

but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. 24

The partner of a thief hates his own life;

he hears the curse, but discloses nothing. 25

The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. 26

Many seek the face of a ruler,

but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice. 27

An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,

but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.

REVELATION 3

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To the Church in Sardis  3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
    “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ To the Church in Philadelphia7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
    8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ To the Church in Laodicea14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
    15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”