HOSEA 4

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God’s Controversy with Israel4:1 Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel,

For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land,

Because there is no faithfulness or kindness

Or knowledge of God in the land.

2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.

They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Therefore the land mourns,

And everyone who lives in it languishes

Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,

And also the fish of the sea disappear.

4 Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof;

For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

5 So you will stumble by day,

And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;

And I will destroy your mother.

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being My priest.

Since you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;

I will change their glory into shame.

8 They feed on the sin of My people

And direct their desire toward their iniquity.

9 And it will be, like people, like priest;

So I will punish them for their ways

And repay them for their deeds.

10 They will eat, but not have enough;

They will play the harlot, but not increase,

Because they have stopped giving heed to the LORD.

11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.

12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them;

For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,

And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.

13 They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains

And burn incense on the hills,

Under oak, poplar and terebinth,

Because their shade is pleasant.

Therefore your daughters play the harlot

And your brides commit adultery.

14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot

Or your brides when they commit adultery,

For the men themselves go apart with harlots

And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;

So the people without understanding are ruined.

15 Though you, Israel, play the harlot,

Do not let Judah become guilty;

Also do not go to Gilgal,

Or go up to Beth-aven

And take the oath:

“As the LORD lives!”

16 Since Israel is stubborn

Like a stubborn heifer,

Can the LORD now pasture them

Like a lamb in a large field?

17 Ephraim is joined to idols;

Let him alone.

18 Their liquor gone,

They play the harlot continually;

Their rulers dearly love shame.

19 The wind wraps them in its wings,

And they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

HOSEA 5

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The People’s Apostasy Rebuked5:1 Hear this, O priests!

Give heed, O house of Israel!

Listen, O house of the king!

For the judgment applies to you,

For you have been a snare at Mizpah

And a net spread out on Tabor.

2 The revolters have gone deep in depravity,

But I will chastise all of them.

3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;

For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot,

Israel has defiled itself.

4 Their deeds will not allow them

To return to their God.

For a spirit of harlotry is within them,

And they do not know the LORD.

5 Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him,

And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;

Judah also has stumbled with them.

6 They will go with their flocks and herds

To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him;

He has withdrawn from them.

7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD,

For they have borne illegitimate children.

Now the new moon will devour them with their land.

8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,

The trumpet in Ramah.

Sound an alarm at Beth-aven:

“Behind you, Benjamin!”

9 Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke;

Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure.

10 The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary;

On them I will pour out My wrath like water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,

Because he was determined to follow man’s command.

12 Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim

And like rottenness to the house of Judah.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,

And Judah his wound,

Then Ephraim went to Assyria

And sent to King Jareb.

But he is unable to heal you,

Or to cure you of your wound.

14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim

And like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away,

I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver.

15 I will go away and return to My place

Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;

In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

PROVERBS 28

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Warnings and Instructions28:1 The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,

But the righteous are bold as a lion.

2 By the transgression of a land many are its princes,

But by a man of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.

3 A poor man who oppresses the lowly

Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,

But those who keep the law strive with them.

5 Evil men do not understand justice,

But those who seek the LORD understand all things.

6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity

Than he who is crooked though he be rich.

7 He who keeps the law is a discerning son,

But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.

8 He who increases his wealth by interest and usury

Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.

9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,

Even his prayer is an abomination.

10 He who leads the upright astray in an evil way

Will himself fall into his own pit,

But the blameless will inherit good.

11 The rich man is wise in his own eyes,

But the poor who has understanding sees through him.

12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,

But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

14 How blessed is the man who fears always,

But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

15 Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear

Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

16 A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding,

But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

17 A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood

Will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.

18 He who walks blamelessly will be delivered,

But he who is crooked will fall all at once.

19 He who tills his land will have plenty of food,

But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,

But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

21 To show partiality is not good,

Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

22 A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth

And does not know that want will come upon him.

23 He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor

Than he who flatters with the tongue.

24 He who robs his father or his mother

And says, “It is not a transgression,”

Is the companion of a man who destroys.

25 An arrogant man stirs up strife,

But he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,

But he who walks wisely will be delivered.

27 He who gives to the poor will never want,

But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves;

But when they perish, the righteous increase.

PSALM 141

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An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.A Psalm of David.
141:1 O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me!

Give ear to my voice when I call to You!

2 May my prayer be counted as incense before You;

The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;

Keep watch over the door of my lips.

4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,

To practice deeds of wickedness

With men who do iniquity;

And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;

It is oil upon the head;

Do not let my head refuse it,

For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.

6 Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock,

And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.

7 As when one plows and breaks open the earth,

Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8 For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord;

In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

9 Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me,

And from the snares of those who do iniquity.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

While I pass by safely.

PSALM 142

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Prayer for Help in Trouble.Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
142:1 I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD;

I make supplication with my voice to the LORD.

2 I pour out my complaint before Him;

I declare my trouble before Him.

3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,

You knew my path.

In the way where I walk

They have hidden a trap for me.

4 Look to the right and see;

For there is no one who regards me;

There is no escape for me;

No one cares for my soul.

5 I cried out to You, O LORD;

I said, “You are my refuge,

My portion in the land of the living.

6 “Give heed to my cry,

For I am brought very low;

Deliver me from my persecutors,

For they are too strong for me.

7 “Bring my soul out of prison,

So that I may give thanks to Your name;

The righteous will surround me,

For You will deal bountifully with me.”