Hosea 8 - 9 - Legacy Standard Bible

Hosea 8 - 9

Israel Reaps the Whirlwind

Put the trumpet to your mouth!

Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of Yahweh

Because they have trespassed against My covenant

And transgressed against My law.

They cry out to Me,

“My God, we of Israel know You!”

Israel has rejected the good;

The enemy will pursue him.

They have set up kings, but not by Me;

They have appointed princes, but I did not know it.

With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves,

That they might be cut off.

He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying,

“My anger burns against them!”

How long will they be incapable of innocence?

For from Israel is even this!

A craftsman made it, so it is not God;

Surely the calf of Samaria will be smashed to splinters.

For they sow the wind,

And they reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no growth;

It makes no flour.

Should it make anything, strangers would swallow it up.

Israel is swallowed up;

They are now among the nations

Like a vessel in which no one delights.

For they have gone up to Assyria

Like a wild donkey all alone;

Ephraim has hired lovers.

Even though they hire allies among the nations,

Now I will gather them up;

And they will begin to diminish

Because of the burden of the king of princes.

Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin,

They have become altars of sinning for him.

Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law,

They are counted as a strange thing.

As for My sacrificial gifts,

They sacrifice the flesh and eat it,

But Yahweh has not accepted them.

Now He will remember their iniquity

And punish them for their sins;

They will return to Egypt.

So Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;

And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,

But I will send a fire on its cities that it may consume its palatial dwellings.

Days of Punishment Have Come

Do not be glad, O Israel, with rejoicing like the peoples!

For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God.

You have loved harlots’ earnings on every threshing floor.

Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them,

And the new wine will deceive them.

They will not remain in the land of Yahweh,

But Ephraim will return to Egypt,

And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to Yahweh;

Their sacrifices will not please Him.

Their bread will be like mourners’ bread;

All who eat of it will be defiled,

For their bread will be for themselves alone;

It will not enter the house of Yahweh.

What will you do on the day of the appointed festival

And on the day of the feast of Yahweh?

For behold, they will go because of destruction;

Egypt will gather them up; Memphis will bury them.

Weeds will possess their desirable items of silver;

Thorns will be in their tents.

The days of punishment have come;

The days of recompense have come;

Let Israel know this!

The prophet is an ignorant fool,

The inspired man has madness,

Because of the abundance of your iniquity

And because your hostility has abounded.

Ephraim 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.

They have dug deep in corruption

As in the days of Gibeah;

He will remember their iniquity;

He will punish their sins.

Grapes in the Wilderness

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;

I saw your fathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season.

But they came to Baal‑peor and devoted themselves to shame,

And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird—

No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!

Though they bring up their children,

Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left.

Surely, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

Ephraim, as I have seen,

Is planted in a pasture like Tyre;

But Ephraim will bring out his children for killing.

Give them, O Yahweh—what will You give?

Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

All their evil is at Gilgal;

Indeed, I came to hate them there!

Because of the evil of their deeds

I will drive them out of My house!

I will love them no more;

All their princes are rebels.

Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up;

They will bear no fruit.

Even though they bear children,

I will put to death the desirable ones of their womb.

My God will despise them

Because they have not listened to Him;

And they will be those who flee among the nations.

Mark 13:28 - 14:72

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, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation 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 But 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, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. 34 It 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, stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Stay awake!’”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

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

The Costly Perfume

3 And while He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster jar of perfume of very costly pure nard; and she broke the jar and poured it over His head. 4 But 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 denarii and given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She did a good work to Me. 7 For you always have the 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; she anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman did will also be spoken of in memory of her.” 10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 And 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 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 13 And 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; 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest 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.” 16 And the disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. 17 And when it was evening He *came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—the one who is eating with Me.” 19 They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” 20 And 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 by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

22 And while they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, 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 And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ 28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” 30 And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that today, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31 But 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 Then they *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” 33 And He *took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34 And He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” 37 And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. 41 And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed 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 And 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. 44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him away under guard.” 45 And after coming, Judas, having immediately gone to Him, *said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 46 And they laid hands on Him and seized Him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And 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 in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has taken place in order that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left Him and fled. 51 And a young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they *seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.

Jesus Before His Accusers

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

Peter’s Denials

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

Psalm 32

You Forgave the Iniquity of My Sin

Of David. A Maskil.

How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh will not take into account,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

When I kept silent about my sin, my bones wasted away

Through my groaning all day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. Selah.

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I did not cover up;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Therefore, let every holy one pray to You at a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

You are my hiding place; You guard me from trouble;

You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

I will give you insight and teach you in the way which you should go;

I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

Do not be as 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.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

But he who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him.

Be glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones;

And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.