Chapter 10

1 Israel was a spreading vine;

he brought forth fruit for himself.

As his fruit increased,

he built more altars;

as his land prospered,

he adorned his sacred stones.

2 Their heart is deceitful,

and now they must bear their guilt.

The Lord will demolish their altars

and destroy their sacred stones.

3 Then they will say, “We have no king

because we did not revere the Lord.

But even if we had a king,

what could he do for us?”

4 They make many promises,

take false oaths

and make agreements;

therefore lawsuits spring up

like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

5 The people who live in Samaria fear

for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.

Its people will mourn over it,

and so will its idolatrous priests,

those who had rejoiced over its splendor,

because it is taken from them into exile.

6 It will be carried to Assyria

as tribute for the great king.

Ephraim will be disgraced;

Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.

7 Samaria’s king will be destroyed,

swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.

8 The high places of wickedness will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel.

Thorns and thistles will grow up

and cover their altars.

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

9 “Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel,

and there you have remained.

Will not war again overtake

the evildoers in Gibeah?

10 When I please, I will punish them;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bonds for their double sin.

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer

that loves to thresh;

so I will put a yoke

on her fair neck.

I will drive Ephraim,

Judah must plow,

and Jacob must break up the ground.

12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes

and showers his righteousness on you.

13 But you have planted wickedness,

you have reaped evil,

you have eaten the fruit of deception.

Because you have depended on your own strength

and on your many warriors,

14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,

so that all your fortresses will be devastated—

as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,

because your wickedness is great.

When that day dawns,

the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

Chapter 11

God’s Love for Israel

1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.

2 But the more they were called,

the more they went away from me.

They sacrificed to the Baals

and they burned incense to images.

3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

taking them by the arms;

but they did not realize

it was I who healed them.

4 I led them with cords of human kindness,

with ties of love.

To them I was like one who lifts

a little child to the cheek,

and I bent down to feed them.

5 “Will they not return to Egypt

and will not Assyria rule over them

because they refuse to repent?

6 A sword will flash in their cities;

it will devour their false prophets

and put an end to their plans.

7 My people are determined to turn from me.

Even though they call me God Most High,

I will by no means exalt them.

8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboyim?

My heart is changed within me;

all my compassion is aroused.

9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,

nor will I devastate Ephraim again.

For I am God, and not a man—

the Holy One among you.

I will not come against their cities.

10 They will follow the Lord;

he will roar like a lion.

When he roars,

his children will come trembling from the west.

11 They will come from Egypt,

trembling like sparrows,

from Assyria, fluttering like doves.

I will settle them in their homes,”

declares the Lord.

Israel’s Sin

12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,

Israel with deceit.

And Judah is unruly against God,

even against the faithful Holy One.

Hosea 12

1 Ephraim feeds on the wind;

he pursues the east wind all day

and multiplies lies and violence.

He makes a treaty with Assyria

and sends olive oil to Egypt.

2 The Lord has a charge to bring against Judah;

he will punish Jacob according to his ways

and repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;

as a man he struggled with God.

4 He struggled with the angel and overcame him;

he wept and begged for his favor.

He found him at Bethel

and talked with him there—

5 the Lord God Almighty,

the Lord is his name!

6 But you must return to your God;

maintain love and justice,

and wait for your God always.

7 The merchant uses dishonest scales

and loves to defraud.

8 Ephraim boasts,

“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.

With all my wealth they will not find in me

any iniquity or sin.”

9 “I have been the Lord your God

ever since you came out of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

as in the days of your appointed festivals.

10 I spoke to the prophets,

gave them many visions

and told parables through them.”

11 Is Gilead wicked?

Its people are worthless!

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?

Their altars will be like piles of stones

on a plowed field.

12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram

Israel served to get a wife,

and to pay for her he tended sheep.

13 The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,

by a prophet he cared for him.

14 But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger;

his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed

and will repay him for his contempt.

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

1 Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

I had nearly lost my foothold.

3 For I envied the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.

5 They are free from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace;

they clothe themselves with violence.

7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity

their evil imaginations have no limits.

8 They scoff, and speak with malice;

with arrogance they threaten oppression.

9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

10 Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.

11 They say, “How would God know?

Does the Most High know anything?”

12 This is what the wicked are like—

always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.

14 All day long I have been afflicted,

and every morning brings new punishments.

15 If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

16 When I tried to understand all this,

it troubled me deeply

17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;

then I understood their final destiny.

18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;

you cast them down to ruin.

19 How suddenly are they destroyed,

completely swept away by terrors!

20 They are like a dream when one awakes;

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.

21 When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

22 I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

23 Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;

I will tell of all your deeds.

Hebrews 4

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,

‘They shall never enter my rest.’

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.