Hosea 8 - 9, Mark 13:28-14:72, Psalm 32

Israel Reaps the Whirlwind

8^aPut the trumpet to your ¹mouth!^bLike an eagle the enemy comes ^cagainst the house of YahwehBecause they have ^dtrespassed against My covenantAnd transgressed against My ^elaw.²^aThey cry out to Me,“My God, ^bwe of Israel know You!”³Israel has rejected the good;The enemy will pursue him.⁴^aThey have set up kings, but not by Me;They have appointed princes, but I did not know it.With their ^bsilver and gold they have made idols for themselves,That ¹they might be cut off.⁵¹He has rejected your ^acalf, O Samaria, saying,“My anger burns against them!”How long will they be incapable of ^binnocence?⁶For from Israel is even this!A ^acraftsman made it, so it is not God;Surely the calf of Samaria will be smashed to splinters.⁷For ^athey sow the wind,And they reap the ^bwhirlwind.The standing grain has no growth;It makes ^cno flour.Should it make anything, strangers would swallow it up.⁸Israel is ^aswallowed up;They are now among the nationsLike a ^bvessel in which no one delights.⁹For they have gone up to ^aAssyriaLike ^ba wild donkey all alone;Ephraim has ^chired ¹lovers.¹⁰Even though they hire allies among the nations,Now I will ^agather them up;And they will begin ^bto ¹diminishBecause of the burden of the ^cking of princes.¹¹Since Ephraim has ^amultiplied altars for sin,They have become altars of sinning for him.¹²Though ^aI wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My ^blaw,They are counted as a strange thing.¹³As for My ^asacrificial gifts,They ^bsacrifice the flesh and eat it,But Yahweh has not accepted them.Now He will ^cremember their iniquityAnd ^dpunish them for their sins;They will return to ^eEgypt.¹⁴So Israel has ^aforgotten his Maker and ^bbuilt palaces;And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,But I will send a ^cfire on its cities that it may consume its palatial dwellings.

Days of Punishment Have Come

9^aDo not be glad, O Israel, ¹with rejoicing like the peoples!For you have ^bplayed the harlot, ²forsaking your God.You have loved harlots’ earnings on ³every threshing floor.²Threshing floor and wine press will ^anot feed them,And the new wine will deceive ¹them.³They will not remain in ^athe land of Yahweh,But Ephraim will return to ^bEgypt,And in ^cAssyria they will eat ^dunclean food.⁴They will not pour out drink offerings of ^awine to Yahweh;^bTheir sacrifices will not please Him.Their bread will ¹be like ²mourners’ bread;All who eat of it will be ^cdefiled,For their bread will be for ³themselves alone;It will not enter the house of Yahweh.⁵^aWhat will you do on the day of the appointed festivalAnd on the day of the ^bfeast of Yahweh?⁶For behold, they will go because of destruction;Egypt will gather them up; ^aMemphis will bury them.Weeds will possess their desirable items of silver;^bThorns will be in their tents.⁷The days of ^apunishment have come;The days of ^brecompense have come;¹Let Israel know this!The prophet is an ^cignorant fool,The ²inspired man has ^dmadness,Because of the abundance of your ^einiquityAnd because your hostility has abounded.⁸Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet;Yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways,And there is only hostility in the house of his God.⁹They have dug ^adeep ¹in corruptionAs in the days of ^bGibeah;He will ^cremember their iniquity;He will punish their sins.

Grapes in the Wilderness

¹⁰I found Israel like ^agrapes in the wilderness;I saw your fathers as the ^bearliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.But they came to ^cBaal-peor and devoted themselves to ¹^,^dshame,And they became as ^edetestable as that which they loved.¹¹As for Ephraim, their ^aglory will fly away like a bird—No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!¹²Though they bring up their children,Yet I will bereave them ¹until not a man is left.Surely, ^awoe to them indeed when I depart from them!¹³Ephraim, as I have seen,Is planted in a pasture like ^aTyre;But Ephraim will bring out his children for killing.¹⁴Give them, O Yahweh—what will You give?Give them a ¹^,^amiscarrying womb and dry breasts.¹⁵All their evil is at ^aGilgal;Indeed, I came to hate them there!Because of the ^bevil of their deedsI will drive them out of My house!I will love them no more;All their princes are ^crebels.¹⁶^aEphraim is stricken; their root is dried up;They will bear ^bno fruit.Even though they bear children,I will put to death the ^cdesirable ones of their womb.¹⁷My God will despise themBecause they have ^anot listened to Him;And they will be ^bthose who flee among the nations.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹“Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, ¹recognize that ²He is near, right at the ³door. ³⁰“Truly I say to you, this ¹generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ³²“^aBut of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³“See to it, ^akeep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time ¹will come. ³⁴“^aIt is like a man away on a journey, who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves—each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵“Therefore, ^astay awake—for you do not know when the ¹master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or ^bwhen the rooster crows, or ^cin the morning— ³⁶lest he come suddenly and find you ^asleeping. ³⁷“And what I say to you I say to all, ‘^aStay awake!’”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14^aNow ^bthe Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes ^cwere seeking how, after seizing Him in secret, they might kill Him; ²for they were saying, “Not during the festival, lest there be a riot of the people.”

The Costly Perfume

³^aAnd while He was in ^bBethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster jar of perfume of very ^ccostly pure ¹nard; and she broke the jar and poured it over His head. ⁴But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵“For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred ¹denarii and given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. ⁶But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She did a good work to Me. ⁷“For you always have ^athe poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. ⁸“She has done what she could; ^ashe anointed My body beforehand for the burial. ⁹“And truly I say to you, ^awherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman did will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

¹⁰^aThen Judas Iscariot, ^bwho was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests in order to ¹betray Him to them. ¹¹And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

The Passover Meal

¹²^aAnd on the first day of ^bUnleavened Bread, when ¹the Passover lamb was being ^csacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹³And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; ¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My ^aguest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹⁵“And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶And the disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷^aAnd when it was evening He *came with the twelve. ¹⁸And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will ¹betray Me—the one who is eating with Me.” ¹⁹They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” ²⁰And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips with Me in the bowl. ²¹“For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man ¹by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good ²for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

²²^aAnd while they were eating, He took some bread, and ¹after a ^bblessing, He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” ²³And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ²⁴And He said to them, “This is My ^ablood of the ^bcovenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵“Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶^aAnd after singing a hymn, they went out to ^bthe Mount of Olives.

²⁷^aAnd Jesus *said to them, “You will all ¹fall away, because it is written, ‘^bI will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ ²⁸“But after I have been raised, ^aI will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may ¹fall away, yet I will not.” ³⁰And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that ^atoday, this very night, before ^ba rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” ³¹But Peter kept saying insistently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³²^aThen they *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” ³³And He *took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very ^adistressed and troubled. ³⁴And He *said to them, “^aMy soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” ³⁵And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, ^athe hour might pass from Him. ³⁶And He was saying, “^aAbba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; ^byet not what I will, but what You will.” ³⁷And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ³⁸“^aKeep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹And again He went away and prayed, saying the same ¹words. ⁴⁰And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. ⁴¹And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “¹Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; ^athe hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being ²betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²“Get up, let us go; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴³^aAnd immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, *came up, and with him was a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away ¹under guard.” ⁴⁵And after coming, Judas, having immediately gone to Him, *said, “^aRabbi!” and kissed Him. ⁴⁶And they laid hands on Him and seized Him. ⁴⁷But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and ¹cut off his ear. ⁴⁸And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as you would against a robber? ⁴⁹“Every day I was with you ^ain the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place in order that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰And they all left Him and fled.

⁵¹And a young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him. ⁵²But he ¹pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus Before His Accusers

⁵³^aThen they led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes *gathered together. ⁵⁴And Peter followed Him at a distance, ^aright into ^bthe courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the ¹officers and ^cwarming himself at the ²fire. ⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the whole ¹^,^aSanhedrin were seeking to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. ⁵⁶For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. ⁵⁷And some, standing up, were giving false testimony against Him, saying, ⁵⁸“We ourselves heard Him say, ‘^aI will destroy this ¹sanctuary made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹And not even in this way was their testimony consistent. ⁶⁰And the high priest stood up in their midst and questioned Jesus, saying, “You answer nothing? What are these men testifying against You?” ⁶¹^aBut He kept silent and did not answer. ^bAgain the high priest was questioning Him and *said to Him, “Are You the ¹Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶²And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see ^athe Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and ^bcoming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³^aAnd tearing his tunics, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴“You have heard the ^ablasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. ⁶⁵And some began to ^aspit at Him, and ¹^,^bto blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “^cProphesy!” And the officers ²received Him with ³slaps in the face.

Peter’s Denials

⁶⁶^aAnd as Peter was below in ^bthe courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest *came, ⁶⁷and seeing Peter ^awarming himself, she looked at him and *said, “You also were with the ^bNazarene, Jesus.” ⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.” And he ^awent out into the entryway.¹ ⁶⁹And when the servant-girl saw him, she began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!” ⁷⁰But again ^ahe was denying it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, ^bfor you are also a Galilean.” ⁷¹But he began to ¹curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!” ⁷²And immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said the statement to him, “Before ^aa rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” ¹And throwing himself down, he began to cry.

You Forgave the Iniquity of My Sin

Of David. A ¹Maskil.

^aHow blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,Whose sin is covered!²How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh ^awill not take into account,And in whose spirit there is ^bno deceit!³When ^aI kept silent about my sin, ^bmy ¹bones wasted awayThrough my ²^,^cgroaning all day long.⁴For day and night ^aYour hand was heavy upon me;My ¹^,^bvitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. ² Selah.⁵I ^aacknowledged my sin to You,And my iniquity I ^bdid not cover up;I said, “^cI will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;”And You ^dforgave the ¹iniquity of my sin. Selah.⁶Therefore, let every holy one pray to You ¹^,^aat a time when You may be found;Surely ^bin a flood of great waters they will not reach him.⁷You are ^amy hiding place; You ^bguard me from trouble;You surround me with ¹^,^csongs of deliverance. Selah.⁸I will ^agive you insight and teach you in the way which you should go;I will counsel you ^bwith My eye upon you.⁹Do not be ^aas the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,Whose harness are bit and bridle to control them,Otherwise they will not come near you.¹⁰Many are the ^asorrows of the wicked,But ^bhe who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him.¹¹Be ^aglad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones;And shout for joy, all you who are ^bupright in heart.