Through My Bible in Three Years | Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Bible reading for August 20, 2008

hace 15 horas 20 mins

Psalm 23-24 (New International Version)

Psalm 23 A psalm of David. 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
       through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
       I will fear no evil,
       for you are with me;
       your rod and your staff,
       they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies.
       You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
       all the days of my life,
       and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
       forever.Psalm 24 Of David. A psalm. 1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it;

2 for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.

3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. [b]

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob. [c]
Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?
       The LORD Almighty—
       he is the King of glory.
       Selah

Footnotes:

Psalm 23:4 Or through the darkest valley
Psalm 24:4 Or swear falsely
Psalm 24:6 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also Septuagint most Hebrew manuscripts face, Jacob

Bible reading for August 19, 2008

Mar, 08/19/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 22:22-31 (New International Version)

22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or disdained
       the suffering of the afflicted one;
       he has not hidden his face from him
       but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you [a] will I fulfill my vows.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
       will remember and turn to the LORD,
       and all the families of the nations
       will bow down before him,

28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.

31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.

Footnotes:

Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him

Bible reading for August 18, 2008

Lun, 08/18/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 22:1-21 (New International Version)

Psalm 22 For the director of music. To the tune of "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David. 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel. [a]

4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.

5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

8 "He trusts in the LORD;
       let the LORD rescue him.
       Let him deliver him,
       since he delights in him."

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.

10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

14 I am poured out like water,
       and all my bones are out of joint.
       My heart has turned to wax;
       it has melted away within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me [b] in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.

19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save [d] me from the horns of the wild oxen.

Footnotes:

Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
Psalm 22:15 Or / I am laid
Psalm 22:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts / like the lion,
Psalm 22:21 Or / you have heard

Bible reading for August 17, 2008

Dom, 08/17/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 20-21 (New International Version)

Psalm 20 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah

4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer [a] us when we call!Psalm 21 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!

2 You have granted him the desire of his heart
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah

3 You welcomed him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.

5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.

9 At the time of your appearing
       you will make them like a fiery furnace.
       In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,
       and his fire will consume them.

10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.

11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;

12 for you will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.

Footnotes:

Psalm 20:9 Or save / O King, answer

Bible reading for August 16, 2008

Sáb, 08/16/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 19 (New International Version)

Psalm 19 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. [a]

4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul.
       The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
       making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
       giving joy to the heart.
       The commands of the LORD are radiant,
       giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
       enduring forever.
       The ordinances of the LORD are sure
       and altogether righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
       than much pure gold;
       they are sweeter than honey,
       than honey from the comb.

11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
       may they not rule over me.
       Then will I be blameless,
       innocent of great transgression.

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Footnotes:

Psalm 19:3 Or They have no speech, there are no words; / no sound is heard from them
Psalm 19:4 Septuagint, Jerome and Syriac; Hebrew line

Bible reading for August 15, 2008

Vie, 08/15/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 18:31-50 (New International Version)

31 For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

36 You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.

39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you made my adversaries bow at my feet.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.

41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.

42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind;
I poured them out like mud in the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations;
people I did not know are subject to me.

44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me;
foreigners cringe before me.

45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.

46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!

47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,

48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from violent men you rescued me.

49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;
I will sing praises to your name.

50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.

Bible reading for August 14, 2008

Jue, 08/14/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 18:1-30 (New International Version)

Psalm 18 For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: 1 I love you, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn [a] of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave [b] coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
       I cried to my God for help.
       From his temple he heard my voice;
       my cry came before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded. [c]

14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
       and the foundations of the earth laid bare
       at your rebuke, O LORD,
       at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.

24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop [d] ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect;
       the word of the LORD is flawless.
       He is a shield
       for all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes:

Psalm 18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength.
Psalm 18:5 Hebrew Sheol
Psalm 18:13 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Samuel 22:14 most Hebrew manuscripts resounded, / amid hailstones and bolts of lightning
Psalm 18:29 Or can run through a barricade

Bible reading for August 13, 2008

Mié, 08/13/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 17 (New International Version)

Psalm 17 A prayer of David. 1 Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
       listen to my cry.
       Give ear to my prayer—
       it does not rise from deceitful lips.

2 May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.

3 Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

4 As for the deeds of men—
       by the word of your lips
       I have kept myself
       from the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.

6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

7 Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.

13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
       from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
       You still the hunger of those you cherish;
       their sons have plenty,
       and they store up wealth for their children.

15 And I—in righteousness I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Bible reading for August 12, 2008

Mar, 08/12/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 15-16 (New International Version)

Psalm 15 A psalm of David. 1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

4 who despises a vile man
       but honors those who fear the LORD,
       who keeps his oath
       even when it hurts,

5 who lends his money without usury
       and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
       He who does these things
       will never be shaken.Psalm 16 A miktam of David. [a] 1 Keep me safe, O God,
       for in you I take refuge.

2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. [b]

4 The sorrows of those will increase
       who run after other gods.
       I will not pour out their libations of blood
       or take up their names on my lips.

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, [c]
nor will you let your Holy One [d] see decay.

11 You have made [e] known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Footnotes:

Psalm 16:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 16:3 Or As for the pagan priests who are in the land / and the nobles in whom all delight, I said:
Psalm 16:10 Hebrew Sheol
Psalm 16:10 Or your faithful one
Psalm 16:11 Or You will make

Bible reading for August 11, 2008

Lun, 08/11/2008 - 1:00am

Psalm 13-14 (New International Version)

Psalm 13 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
       for he has been good to me.Psalm 14 For the director of music. Of David. 1 The fool [a] says in his heart,
       "There is no God."
       They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
       there is no one who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven
       on the sons of men
       to see if there are any who understand,
       any who seek God.

3 All have turned aside,
       they have together become corrupt;
       there is no one who does good,
       not even one.

4 Will evildoers never learn—
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD ?

5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes:

Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.

Bible reading for August 10, 2008

Dom, 08/10/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 13-14 (New International Version)

Hosea 13 The Lord 's Anger Against Israel 1 When Ephraim spoke, men trembled;
he was exalted in Israel.
But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.

2 Now they sin more and more;
       they make idols for themselves from their silver,
       cleverly fashioned images,
       all of them the work of craftsmen.
       It is said of these people,
       "They offer human sacrifice
       and kiss [a] the calf-idols."

3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist,
       like the early dew that disappears,
       like chaff swirling from a threshing floor,
       like smoke escaping through a window.

4 "But I am the LORD your God,
       who brought you out of [b] Egypt.
       You shall acknowledge no God but me,
       no Savior except me.

5 I cared for you in the desert,
in the land of burning heat.

6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.

7 So I will come upon them like a lion,
like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs,
       I will attack them and rip them open.
       Like a lion I will devour them;
       a wild animal will tear them apart.

9 "You are destroyed, O Israel,
because you are against me, against your helper.

10 Where is your king, that he may save you?
       Where are your rulers in all your towns,
       of whom you said,
       'Give me a king and princes'?

11 So in my anger I gave you a king,
and in my wrath I took him away.

12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,
his sins are kept on record.

13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him,
       but he is a child without wisdom;
       when the time arrives,
       he does not come to the opening of the womb.

14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave [c] ;
       I will redeem them from death.
       Where, O death, are your plagues?
       Where, O grave, [d] is your destruction?
       "I will have no compassion,

15 even though he thrives among his brothers.
       An east wind from the LORD will come,
       blowing in from the desert;
       his spring will fail
       and his well dry up.
       His storehouse will be plundered
       of all its treasures.

16 The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,
       because they have rebelled against their God.
       They will fall by the sword;
       their little ones will be dashed to the ground,
       their pregnant women ripped open."Hosea 14 Repentance to Bring Blessing 1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God.
       Your sins have been your downfall!

2 Take words with you
       and return to the LORD.
       Say to him:
       "Forgive all our sins
       and receive us graciously,
       that we may offer the fruit of our lips. [e]

3 Assyria cannot save us;
       we will not mount war-horses.
       We will never again say 'Our gods'
       to what our own hands have made,
       for in you the fatherless find compassion."

4 "I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
       he will blossom like a lily.
       Like a cedar of Lebanon
       he will send down his roots;

6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

7 Men will dwell again in his shade.
       He will flourish like the grain.
       He will blossom like a vine,
       and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what more have I [f] to do with idols?
       I will answer him and care for him.
       I am like a green pine tree;
       your fruitfulness comes from me."

9 Who is wise? He will realize these things.
       Who is discerning? He will understand them.
       The ways of the LORD are right;
       the righteous walk in them,
       but the rebellious stumble in them.

Footnotes:

Hosea 13:2 Or "Men who sacrifice / kiss
Hosea 13:4 Or God / ever since you were in
Hosea 13:14 Hebrew Sheol
Hosea 13:14 Hebrew Sheol
Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
Hosea 14:8 Or What more has Ephraim

Bible reading for August 9, 2008

Sáb, 08/09/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 11-12 (New International Version)

Hosea 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 I [a] called Israel,
       the further they went from me. [b]
       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;
       I lifted the yoke from their neck
       and 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 Swords will flash in their cities,
will destroy the bars of their gates
and put an end to their plans.

7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even if they call to the Most High,
he 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 Zeboiim?
       My heart is changed within me;
       all my compassion is aroused.

9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
       nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.
       For I am God, and not man—
       the Holy One among you.
       I will not come in wrath. [c]

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 trembling
       like birds from Egypt,
       like doves from Assyria.
       I will settle them in their homes,"
       declares the LORD. Israel's Sin 12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
       the house of 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 [d] 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 of renown!

6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.

7 The merchant uses dishonest scales;
he 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 am the LORD your God,
       who brought you out of [e] Egypt;
       I will make you live in tents again,
       as in the days of your appointed feasts.

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 [f] ;
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 bitterly provoked him to anger;
his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed
and will repay him for his contempt.

Footnotes:

Hosea 11:2 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew they
Hosea 11:2 Septuagint; Hebrew them
Hosea 11:9 Or come against any city
Hosea 12:2 Jacob means he grasps the heel (figuratively, he deceives ).
Hosea 12:9 Or God / ever since you were in
Hosea 12:12 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia

Bible reading for August 8, 2008

Vie, 08/08/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 9-10 (New International Version)

Hosea 9 Punishment for Israel 1 Do not rejoice, O Israel;
       do not be jubilant like the other nations.
       For you have been unfaithful to your God;
       you love the wages of a prostitute
       at every threshing floor.

2 Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;
the new wine will fail them.

3 They will not remain in the LORD's land;
Ephraim will return to Egypt
and eat unclean [a] food in Assyria.

4 They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD,
       nor will their sacrifices please him.
       Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;
       all who eat them will be unclean.
       This food will be for themselves;
       it will not come into the temple of the LORD.

5 What will you do on the day of your appointed feasts,
on the festival days of the LORD ?

6 Even if they escape from destruction,
       Egypt will gather them,
       and Memphis will bury them.
       Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers,
       and thorns will overrun their tents.

7 The days of punishment are coming,
       the days of reckoning are at hand.
       Let Israel know this.
       Because your sins are so many
       and your hostility so great,
       the prophet is considered a fool,
       the inspired man a maniac.

8 The prophet, along with my God,
       is the watchman over Ephraim, [b]
       yet snares await him on all his paths,
       and hostility in the house of his God.

9 They have sunk deep into corruption,
       as in the days of Gibeah.
       God will remember their wickedness
       and punish them for their sins.

10 "When I found Israel,
       it was like finding grapes in the desert;
       when I saw your fathers,
       it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.
       But when they came to Baal Peor,
       they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol
       and became as vile as the thing they loved.

11 Ephraim's glory will fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.

12 Even if they rear children,
       I will bereave them of every one.
       Woe to them
       when I turn away from them!

13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre,
       planted in a pleasant place.
       But Ephraim will bring out
       their children to the slayer."

14 Give them, O LORD—
       what will you give them?
       Give them wombs that miscarry
       and breasts that are dry.

15 "Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,
       I hated them there.
       Because of their sinful deeds,
       I will drive them out of my house.
       I will no longer love them;
       all their leaders are rebellious.

16 Ephraim is blighted,
       their root is withered,
       they yield no fruit.
       Even if they bear children,
       I will slay their cherished offspring."

17 My God will reject them
because they have not obeyed him;
they will be wanderers among the nations.Hosea 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. [c]
       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 wooden idols. [d]

7 Samaria and its king will float away
like a twig on the surface of the waters.

8 The high places of wickedness [e] 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, O Israel,
       and there you have remained. [f]
       Did not war 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 for yourselves righteousness,
       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 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 Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel,
       because your wickedness is great.
       When that day dawns,
       the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

Footnotes:

Hosea 9:3 That is, ceremonially unclean
Hosea 9:8 Or The prophet is the watchman over Ephraim, / the people of my God
Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a name for Bethel, which means house of God ).
Hosea 10:6 Or its counsel
Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven , a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel)
Hosea 10:9 Or there a stand was taken

Bible reading for August 7, 2008

Jue, 08/07/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 5:15-8:14 (New International Version)

15 Then I will go back to my place
       until they admit their guilt.
       And they will seek my face;
       in their misery they will earnestly seek me."Hosea 6 Israel Unrepentant 1 "Come, let us return to the LORD.
       He has torn us to pieces
       but he will heal us;
       he has injured us
       but he will bind up our wounds.

2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;
       let us press on to acknowledge him.
       As surely as the sun rises,
       he will appear;
       he will come to us like the winter rains,
       like the spring rains that water the earth."

4 "What can I do with you, Ephraim?
       What can I do with you, Judah?
       Your love is like the morning mist,
       like the early dew that disappears.

5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth;
my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 Like Adam, [a] they have broken the covenant—
they were unfaithful to me there.

8 Gilead is a city of wicked men,
stained with footprints of blood.

9 As marauders lie in ambush for a man,
       so do bands of priests;
       they murder on the road to Shechem,
       committing shameful crimes.

10 I have seen a horrible thing
       in the house of Israel.
       There Ephraim is given to prostitution
       and Israel is defiled.

11 "Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.
"Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,Hosea 7

1 whenever I would heal Israel,
       the sins of Ephraim are exposed
       and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
       They practice deceit,
       thieves break into houses,
       bandits rob in the streets;

2 but they do not realize
       that I remember all their evil deeds.
       Their sins engulf them;
       they are always before me.

3 "They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.

4 They are all adulterers,
       burning like an oven
       whose fire the baker need not stir
       from the kneading of the dough till it rises.

5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,
and he joins hands with the mockers.

6 Their hearts are like an oven;
       they approach him with intrigue.
       Their passion smolders all night;
       in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

7 All of them are hot as an oven;
       they devour their rulers.
       All their kings fall,
       and none of them calls on me.

8 "Ephraim mixes with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.

9 Foreigners sap his strength,
       but he does not realize it.
       His hair is sprinkled with gray,
       but he does not notice.

10 Israel's arrogance testifies against him,
       but despite all this
       he does not return to the LORD his God
       or search for him.

11 "Ephraim is like a dove,
       easily deceived and senseless—
       now calling to Egypt,
       now turning to Assyria.

12 When they go, I will throw my net over them;
       I will pull them down like birds of the air.
       When I hear them flocking together,
       I will catch them.

13 Woe to them,
       because they have strayed from me!
       Destruction to them,
       because they have rebelled against me!
       I long to redeem them
       but they speak lies against me.

14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts
       but wail upon their beds.
       They gather together [b] for grain and new wine
       but turn away from me.

15 I trained them and strengthened them,
but they plot evil against me.

16 They do not turn to the Most High;
       they are like a faulty bow.
       Their leaders will fall by the sword
       because of their insolent words.
       For this they will be ridiculed
       in the land of Egypt.Hosea 8 Israel to Reap the Whirlwind 1 "Put the trumpet to your lips!
       An eagle is over the house of the LORD
       because the people have broken my covenant
       and rebelled against my law.

2 Israel cries out to me,
'O our God, we acknowledge you!'

3 But Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.

4 They set up kings without my consent;
       they choose princes without my approval.
       With their silver and gold
       they make idols for themselves
       to their own destruction.

5 Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria!
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?

6 They are from Israel!
       This calf—a craftsman has made it;
       it is not God.
       It will be broken in pieces,
       that calf of Samaria.

7 "They sow the wind
       and reap the whirlwind.
       The stalk has no head;
       it will produce no flour.
       Were it to yield grain,
       foreigners would swallow it up.

8 Israel is swallowed up;
now she is among the nations
like a worthless thing.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria
like a wild donkey wandering alone.
Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.

10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations,
       I will now gather them together.
       They will begin to waste away
       under the oppression of the mighty king.

11 "Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.

12 I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something alien.

13 They offer sacrifices given to me
       and they eat the meat,
       but the LORD is not pleased with them.
       Now he will remember their wickedness
       and punish their sins:
       They will return to Egypt.

14 Israel has forgotten his Maker
       and built palaces;
       Judah has fortified many towns.
       But I will send fire upon their cities
       that will consume their fortresses."

Footnotes:

Hosea 6:7 Or As at Adam ; or Like men
Hosea 7:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint They slash themselves

Bible reading for August 6, 2008

Mié, 08/06/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 4-5:14 (New International Version)

Hosea 4 The Charge Against Israel 1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
       because the LORD has a charge to bring
       against you who live in the land:
       "There is no faithfulness, no love,
       no acknowledgment of God in the land.

2 There is only cursing, [a] lying and murder,
       stealing and adultery;
       they break all bounds,
       and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Because of this the land mourns, [b]
       and all who live in it waste away;
       the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
       and the fish of the sea are dying.

4 "But let no man bring a charge,
       let no man accuse another,
       for your people are like those
       who bring charges against a priest.

5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother-

6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
       "Because you have rejected knowledge,
       I also reject you as my priests;
       because you have ignored the law of your God,
       I also will ignore your children.

7 The more the priests increased,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged [c] their [d] Glory for something disgraceful.

8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.

9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds.

10 "They will eat but not have enough;
       they will engage in prostitution but not increase,
       because they have deserted the LORD
       to give themselves 11 to prostitution,
       to old wine and new,
       which take away the understanding 12 of my people.
       They consult a wooden idol
       and are answered by a stick of wood.
       A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;
       they are unfaithful to their God.

13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops
       and burn offerings on the hills,
       under oak, poplar and terebinth,
       where the shade is pleasant.
       Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution
       and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

14 "I will not punish your daughters
       when they turn to prostitution,
       nor your daughters-in-law
       when they commit adultery,
       because the men themselves consort with harlots
       and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—
       a people without understanding will come to ruin!

15 "Though you commit adultery, O Israel,
       let not Judah become guilty.
       "Do not go to Gilgal;
       do not go up to Beth Aven. [e]
       And do not swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives!'

16 The Israelites are stubborn,
       like a stubborn heifer.
       How then can the LORD pasture them
       like lambs in a meadow?

17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!

18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
       and their sacrifices will bring them shame.Hosea 5 Judgment Against Israel 1 "Hear this, you priests!
       Pay attention, you Israelites!
       Listen, O royal house!
       This judgment is against you:
       You have been a snare at Mizpah,
       a net spread out on Tabor.

2 The rebels are deep in slaughter.
I will discipline all of them.

3 I know all about Ephraim;
       Israel is not hidden from me.
       Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
       Israel is corrupt.

4 "Their deeds do not permit them
       to return to their God.
       A spirit of prostitution is in their heart;
       they do not acknowledge the LORD.

5 Israel's arrogance testifies against them;
the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin;
Judah also stumbles with them.

6 When they go with their flocks and herds
       to seek the LORD,
       they will not find him;
       he has withdrawn himself from them.

7 They are unfaithful to the LORD;
       they give birth to illegitimate children.
       Now their New Moon festivals
       will devour them and their fields.

8 "Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,
       the horn in Ramah.
       Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven [f] ;
       lead on, O Benjamin.

9 Ephraim will be laid waste
       on the day of reckoning.
       Among the tribes of Israel
       I proclaim what is certain.

10 Judah's leaders are like those
       who move boundary stones.
       I will pour out my wrath on them
       like a flood of water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment,
intent on pursuing idols. [g]

12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
like rot to the people of Judah.

13 "When Ephraim saw his sickness,
       and Judah his sores,
       then Ephraim turned to Assyria,
       and sent to the great king for help.
       But he is not able to cure you,
       not able to heal your sores.

14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
       like a great lion to Judah.
       I will tear them to pieces and go away;
       I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.

Footnotes:

Hosea 4:2 That is, to pronounce a curse upon
Hosea 4:3 Or dries up
Hosea 4:7 Syriac and an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text I will exchange
Hosea 4:7 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition my
Hosea 4:15 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a name for Bethel, which means house of God ).
Hosea 5:8 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a name for Bethel, which means house of God ).
Hosea 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Bible reading for August 5, 2008

Mar, 08/05/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 3 (New International Version)

Hosea 3 Hosea's Reconciliation With His Wife 1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels [a] of silver and about a homer and a lethek [b] of barley. 3 Then I told her, "You are to live with [c] me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with [d] you."

4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

Footnotes:

Hosea 3:2 That is, about 6 ounces (about 170 grams)
Hosea 3:2 That is, probably about 10 bushels (about 330 liters)
Hosea 3:3 Or wait for
Hosea 3:3 Or wait for

Bible reading for August 4, 2008

Lun, 08/04/2008 - 1:00am

Hosea 1-2 (New International Version)

Hosea 1 1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash [a] king of Israel: Hosea's Wife and Children 2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD." 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 Then the LORD said to Hosea, "Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel."

6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea, "Call her Lo-Ruhamah, [b] for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God."

8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the LORD said, "Call him Lo-Ammi, [c] for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

10 "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.Hosea 2

1 "Say of your brothers, 'My people,' and of your sisters, 'My loved one.' Israel Punished and Restored 2 "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
       for she is not my wife,
       and I am not her husband.
       Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
       and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

3 Otherwise I will strip her naked
       and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
       I will make her like a desert,
       turn her into a parched land,
       and slay her with thirst.

4 I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.

5 Their mother has been unfaithful
       and has conceived them in disgrace.
       She said, 'I will go after my lovers,
       who give me my food and my water,
       my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.'

6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.

7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
       she will look for them but not find them.
       Then she will say,
       'I will go back to my husband as at first,
       for then I was better off than now.'

8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
       who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
       who lavished on her the silver and gold—
       which they used for Baal.

9 "Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
       and my new wine when it is ready.
       I will take back my wool and my linen,
       intended to cover her nakedness.

10 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.

11 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.

12 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
       which she said were her pay from her lovers;
       I will make them a thicket,
       and wild animals will devour them.

13 I will punish her for the days
       she burned incense to the Baals;
       she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
       and went after her lovers,
       but me she forgot,"
       declares the LORD.

14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.

15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
       and will make the Valley of Achor [d] a door of hope.
       There she will sing [e] as in the days of her youth,
       as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

16 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master. [f] '

17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.

18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
       with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
       and the creatures that move along the ground.
       Bow and sword and battle
       I will abolish from the land,
       so that all may lie down in safety.

19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in [g] righteousness and justice,
in [h] love and compassion.

20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.

21 "In that day I will respond,"
       declares the LORD—
       "I will respond to the skies,
       and they will respond to the earth;

22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel. [i]

23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
       I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. [j] '
       I will say to those called 'Not my people, [k] ' 'You are my people';
       and they will say, 'You are my God.' "

Footnotes:

Hosea 1:1 Hebrew Joash , a variant of Jehoash
Hosea 1:6 Lo-Ruhamah means not loved .
Hosea 1:9 Lo-Ammi means not my people .
Hosea 2:15 Achor means trouble .
Hosea 2:15 Or respond
Hosea 2:16 Hebrew baal
Hosea 2:19 Or with ; also in verse 20
Hosea 2:19 Or with
Hosea 2:22 Jezreel means God plants .
Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ruhamah
Hosea 2:23 Hebrew Lo-Ammi

Bible reading for August 3, 2008

Dom, 08/03/2008 - 1:00am

Amos 8:4-9:15 (New International Version)

4 Hear this, you who trample the needy
and do away with the poor of the land,

5 saying,
       "When will the New Moon be over
       that we may sell grain,
       and the Sabbath be ended
       that we may market wheat?"—
       skimping the measure,
       boosting the price
       and cheating with dishonest scales,

6 buying the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.

7 The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done.

8 "Will not the land tremble for this,
       and all who live in it mourn?
       The whole land will rise like the Nile;
       it will be stirred up and then sink
       like the river of Egypt.

9 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD,
"I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.

10 I will turn your religious feasts into mourning
       and all your singing into weeping.
       I will make all of you wear sackcloth
       and shave your heads.
       I will make that time like mourning for an only son
       and the end of it like a bitter day.

11 "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD,
       "when I will send a famine through the land—
       not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
       but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.

12 Men will stagger from sea to sea
       and wander from north to east,
       searching for the word of the LORD,
       but they will not find it.

13 "In that day
"the lovely young women and strong young men
will faint because of thirst.

14 They who swear by the shame [a] of Samaria,
       or say, 'As surely as your god lives, O Dan,'
       or, 'As surely as the god [b] of Beersheba lives'—
       they will fall,
       never to rise again."Amos 9 Israel to Be Destroyed 1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
       "Strike the tops of the pillars
       so that the thresholds shake.
       Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
       those who are left I will kill with the sword.
       Not one will get away,
       none will escape.

2 Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, [c]
       from there my hand will take them.
       Though they climb up to the heavens,
       from there I will bring them down.

3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
       there I will hunt them down and seize them.
       Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
       there I will command the serpent to bite them.

4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
       there I will command the sword to slay them.
       I will fix my eyes upon them
       for evil and not for good."

5 The Lord, the LORD Almighty,
       he who touches the earth and it melts,
       and all who live in it mourn—
       the whole land rises like the Nile,
       then sinks like the river of Egypt-

6 he who builds his lofty palace [d] in the heavens
       and sets its foundation [e] on the earth,
       who calls for the waters of the sea
       and pours them out over the face of the land—
       the LORD is his name.

7 "Are not you Israelites
       the same to me as the Cushites [f] ?"
       declares the LORD .
       "Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
       the Philistines from Caphtor [g]
       and the Arameans from Kir?

8 "Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD
       are on the sinful kingdom.
       I will destroy it
       from the face of the earth—
       yet I will not totally destroy
       the house of Jacob,"
       declares the LORD.

9 "For I will give the command,
       and I will shake the house of Israel
       among all the nations
       as grain is shaken in a sieve,
       and not a pebble will reach the ground.

10 All the sinners among my people
       will die by the sword,
       all those who say,
       'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.' Israel's Restoration 11 "In that day I will restore
       David's fallen tent.
       I will repair its broken places,
       restore its ruins,
       and build it as it used to be,

12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear my name, [h] "
declares the LORD, who will do these things.

13 "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
       "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
       and the planter by the one treading grapes.
       New wine will drip from the mountains
       and flow from all the hills.

14 I will bring back my exiled [i] people Israel;
       they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
       They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
       they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
       never again to be uprooted
       from the land I have given them,"
       says the LORD your God.

Footnotes:

Amos 8:14 Or by Ashima ; or by the idol
Amos 8:14 Or power
Amos 9:2 Hebrew to Sheol
Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of men / and all the nations that bear my name may seek the Lord
Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my

Bible reading for August 2, 2008

Sáb, 08/02/2008 - 1:00am

Amos 7-8:3 (New International Version)

Amos 7 Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line 1 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!"

3 So the LORD relented.
"This will not happen," the LORD said.

4 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I cried out, "Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!"

6 So the LORD relented.
"This will not happen either," the Sovereign LORD said.

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?"
"A plumb line," I replied.
Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

9 "The high places of Isaac will be destroyed
       and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;
       with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam." Amos and Amaziah 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
       " 'Jeroboam will die by the sword,
       and Israel will surely go into exile,
       away from their native land.' "

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom."

14 Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' 16 Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say,
" 'Do not prophesy against Israel,
and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.'

17 "Therefore this is what the LORD says:
       " 'Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
       and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
       Your land will be measured and divided up,
       and you yourself will die in a pagan [a] country.
       And Israel will certainly go into exile,
       away from their native land.' "Amos 8 A Basket of Ripe Fruit 1 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2 "What do you see, Amos?" he asked.
      "A basket of ripe fruit," I answered.
      Then the LORD said to me, "The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

3 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. [b] Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!"

Footnotes:

Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean
Amos 8:3 Or "the temple singers will wail

Bible reading for August 1, 2008

Vie, 08/01/2008 - 1:00am

Amos 6 (New International Version)

Amos 6 Woe to the Complacent 1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
       and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
       you notable men of the foremost nation,
       to whom the people of Israel come!

2 Go to Calneh and look at it;
       go from there to great Hamath,
       and then go down to Gath in Philistia.
       Are they better off than your two kingdoms?
       Is their land larger than yours?

3 You put off the evil day
and bring near a reign of terror.

4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory
       and lounge on your couches.
       You dine on choice lambs
       and fattened calves.

5 You strum away on your harps like David
and improvise on musical instruments.

6 You drink wine by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;
       your feasting and lounging will end. The LORD Abhors the Pride of Israel 8 The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares:
       "I abhor the pride of Jacob
       and detest his fortresses;
       I will deliver up the city
       and everything in it."

9 If ten men are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if a relative who is to burn the bodies comes to carry them out of the house and asks anyone still hiding there, "Is anyone with you?" and he says, "No," then he will say, "Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD."

11 For the LORD has given the command,
and he will smash the great house into pieces
and the small house into bits.

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
       Does one plow there with oxen?
       But you have turned justice into poison
       and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness-

13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar [a]
and say, "Did we not take Karnaim [b] by our own strength?"

14 For the LORD God Almighty declares,
       "I will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel,
       that will oppress you all the way
       from Lebo [c] Hamath to the valley of the Arabah."

Footnotes:

Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing .
Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns ; horn here symbolizes strength.
Amos 6:14 Or from the entrance to