HOSEA 1

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Hosea’s Wife and Children  1:1 The word of the LORD which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
    2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.” 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 And the LORD said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
    6 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the LORD said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the LORD their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen.”
    8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. 9 And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am not your God.”
10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel

Will be like the sand of the sea,

Which cannot be measured or numbered;

And in the place

Where it is said to them,

“You are not My people,”

It will be said to them,

“You are the sons of the living God.”

11 And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together,

And they will appoint for themselves one leader,

And they will go up from the land,

For great will be the day of Jezreel.

HOSEA 2

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Israel’s Unfaithfulness Condemned  2:1 Say to your brothers, “Ammi,” and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.”

2 “Contend with your mother, contend,

For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;

And let her put away her harlotry from her face

And her adultery from between her breasts,

3 Or I will strip her naked

And expose her as on the day when she was born.

I will also make her like a wilderness,

Make her like desert land

And slay her with thirst.

4 “Also, I will have no compassion on her children,

Because they are children of harlotry.

5 “For their mother has played the harlot;

She who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,

Who give me my bread and my water,

My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

6 “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns,

And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.

7 “She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them;

And she will seek them, but will not find them.

Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,

For it was better for me then than now!’

8 “For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil,

And lavished on her silver and gold,

Which they used for Baal.

9 “Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time

And My new wine in its season.

I will also take away My wool and My flax

Given to cover her nakedness.

10 “And then I will uncover her lewdness

In the sight of her lovers,

And no one will rescue her out of My hand.

11 “I will also put an end to all her gaiety,

Her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths

And all her festal assemblies.

12 “I will destroy her vines and fig trees,

Of which she said, ‘These are my wages

Which my lovers have given me.’

And I will make them a forest,

And the beasts of the field will devour them.

13 “I will punish her for the days of the Baals

When she used to offer sacrifices to them

And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry,

And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the LORD.

Restoration of Israel14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

Bring her into the wilderness

And speak kindly to her.

15 “Then I will give her her vineyards from there,

And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.

And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,

As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16 “It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD,

“That you will call Me Ishi

And will no longer call Me Baali.

17 “For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,

So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.

18 “In that day I will also make a covenant for them

With the beasts of the field,

The birds of the sky

And the creeping things of the ground.

And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land,

And will make them lie down in safety.

19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;

Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,

In lovingkindness and in compassion,

20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.

Then you will know the LORD.

21 “It will come about in that day that I will respond,” declares the LORD.

“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,

22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil,

And they will respond to Jezreel.

23 “I will sow her for Myself in the land.

I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,

And I will say to those who were not My people,

‘You are My people!’

And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

HOSEA 3

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Hosea’s Second Symbolic Marriage  3:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.” 4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. 5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

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 140

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Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140:1 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;

Preserve me from violent men

2 Who devise evil things in their hearts;

They continually stir up wars.

3 They sharpen their tongues as a serpent;

Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.

4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;

Preserve me from violent men

Who have purposed to trip up my feet.

5 The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords;

They have spread a net by the wayside;

They have set snares for me. Selah.

6 I said to the LORD, “You are my God;

Give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.

7 “O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation,

You have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 “Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;

Do not promote his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.

9 “As for the head of those who surround me,

May the mischief of their lips cover them.

10 “May burning coals fall upon them;

May they be cast into the fire,

Into deep pits from which they cannot rise.

11 “May a slanderer not be established in the earth;

May evil hunt the violent man speedily.”

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted

And justice for the poor.

13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;

The upright will dwell in Your presence.