DANIEL 9:1-19

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Daniel’s Prayer for His People  9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans-- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
    7 “Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day--to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11 Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
    15 “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day--we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

AMOS 3-5

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All the Tribes Are Guilty  3:1 Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt:

2 “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth;

Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?

4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?

Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?

5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?

Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?

6 If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?

If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?

7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing

Unless He reveals His secret counsel

To His servants the prophets.

8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear?

The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

    9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and the oppressions in her midst. 10 But they do not know how to do what is right,” declares the LORD, “these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels.”
    11 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,

“An enemy, even one surrounding the land,

Will pull down your strength from you

And your citadels will be looted.”

12 Thus says the LORD,

“Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,

So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away--

With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!

13 “Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”

Declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts.

14 “For on the day that I punish Israel’s transgressions,

I will also punish the altars of Bethel;

The horns of the altar will be cut off

And they will fall to the ground.

15 “I will also smite the winter house together with the summer house;

The houses of ivory will also perish

And the great houses will come to an end,”

Declares the LORD.

“Yet You Have Not Returned to Me”4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,

Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

Who say to your husbands, “Bring now, that we may drink!”

2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness,

“Behold, the days are coming upon you

When they will take you away with meat hooks,

And the last of you with fish hooks.

3 “You will go out through breaches in the walls,

Each one straight before her,

And you will be cast to Harmon,” declares the LORD.

4 “Enter Bethel and transgress;

In Gilgal multiply transgression!

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

Your tithes every three days.

5 “Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,

And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known.

For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,”

Declares the Lord GOD.

6 “But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities

And lack of bread in all your places,

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the LORD.

7 “Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you

While there were still three months until harvest.

Then I would send rain on one city

And on another city I would not send rain;

One part would be rained on,

While the part not rained on would dry up.

8 “So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,

But would not be satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the LORD.

9 “I smote you with scorching wind and mildew;

And the caterpillar was devouring

Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the LORD.

10 “I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt;

I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses,

And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the LORD.

11 “I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares the LORD.

12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

13 For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind

And declares to man what are His thoughts,

He who makes dawn into darkness

And treads on the high places of the earth,

The LORD God of hosts is His name.

“Seek Me that You May Live”5:1 Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:

2 She has fallen, she will not rise again--

The virgin Israel.

She lies neglected on her land;

There is none to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord GOD,

“The city which goes forth a thousand strong

Will have a hundred left,

And the one which goes forth a hundred strong

Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

    4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,

“Seek Me that you may live.

5 “But do not resort to Bethel

And do not come to Gilgal,

Nor cross over to Beersheba;

For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity

And Bethel will come to trouble.

6 “Seek the LORD that you may live,

Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,

And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,

7 For those who turn justice into wormwood

And cast righteousness down to the earth.”

8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion

And changes deep darkness into morning,

Who also darkens day into night,

Who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the surface of the earth,

The LORD is His name.

9 It is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong,

So that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who reproves in the gate,

And they abhor him who speaks with integrity.

11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor

And exact a tribute of grain from them,

Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone,

Yet you will not live in them;

You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great,

You who distress the righteous and accept bribes

And turn aside the poor in the gate.

13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live;

And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you,

Just as you have said!

15 Hate evil, love good,

And establish justice in the gate!

Perhaps the LORD God of hosts

May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

    16 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord,

“There is wailing in all the plazas,

And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’

They also call the farmer to mourning

And professional mourners to lamentation.

17 “And in all the vineyards there is wailing,

Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the LORD.

18 Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD,

For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?

It will be darkness and not light;

19 As when a man flees from a lion

And a bear meets him,

Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall

And a snake bites him.

20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light,

Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I reject your festivals,

Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.

23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;

I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.

24 “But let justice roll down like waters

And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

    25 “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

1 JOHN 1:9

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9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.