HOSEA 8

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Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind8:1

Set the trumpet to your lips!

One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,

because they have transgressed my covenant

and rebelled against my law. 2

To me they cry,

“My God, we—Israel—know you.” 3

Israel has spurned the good;

the enemy shall pursue him.
4

They made kings, but not through me.

They set up princes, but I knew it not.

With their silver and gold they made idols

for their own destruction. 5

I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.

My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6

For it is from Israel;

a craftsman made it;

it is not God.

The calf of Samaria

shall be broken to pieces.
7

For they sow the wind,

and they shall reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads;

it shall yield no flour;

if it were to yield,

strangers 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 donkey wandering alone;

Ephraim has hired lovers. 10

Though they hire allies among the nations,

I will soon gather them up.

And the king and princes shall soon writhe

because of the tribute.
11

Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,

they have become to him altars for sinning. 12

Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,

they would be regarded as a strange thing. 13

As for my sacrificial offerings,

they sacrifice meat and eat it,

but the Lord does not accept 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;

so I will send a fire upon his cities,

and it shall devour her strongholds.

HOSEA 9

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The Lord Will Punish Israel9:1

Rejoice not, O Israel!

Exult not like the peoples;

for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.

You have loved a prostitute’s wages

on all threshing floors. 2

Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,

and the new wine shall fail them. 3

They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,

but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,

and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
4

They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,

and their sacrifices shall not please him.

It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;

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 the appointed festival,

and on the day of the feast of the Lord? 6

For behold, they are going away from destruction;

but 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 Ephraim with 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 Gibeah:

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 Baal-peor

and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,

and became detestable like the thing they loved. 11

Ephraim’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

Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow;

but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter. 14

Give them, O Lord—

what will you 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

Ephraim is stricken;

their root is dried up;

they shall bear no fruit.

Even though they give birth,

I will put their beloved children to death. 17

My God will reject them

because they have not listened to him;

they shall be wanderers among the nations.

PROVERBS 3

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Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart3:1

My son, do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments, 2

for length of days and years of life

and peace they will add to you.
3

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart. 4

So you will find favor and good success

in the sight of God and man.
5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding. 6

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths. 7

Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8

It will be healing to your flesh

and refreshment to your bones.
9

Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10

then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.
11

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

or be weary of his reproof, 12

for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights. Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom13

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding, 14

for the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than gold. 15

She is more precious than jewels,

and nothing you desire can compare with her. 16

Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor. 17

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace. 18

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed.
19

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens; 20

by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

and the clouds drop down the dew.
21

My son, do not lose sight of these—

keep sound wisdom and discretion, 22

and they will be life for your soul

and adornment for your neck. 23

Then you will walk on your way securely,

and your foot will not stumble. 24

If you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25

Do not be afraid of sudden terror

or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, 26

for the Lord will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from being caught. 27

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

when it is in your power to do it.
28

Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,

tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you. 29

Do not plan evil against your neighbor,

who dwells trustingly beside you. 30

Do not contend with a man for no reason,

when he has done you no harm. 31

Do not envy a man of violence

and do not choose any of his ways, 32

for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are in his confidence. 33

The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. 34

Toward the scorners he is scornful,

but to the humble he gives favor. 35

The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get disgrace.

REVELATION 4

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The Throne in Heaven  4:1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
    And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.”