Bible Reading Plan

^1 [a]Call^[b] your brothers: My People
and your sisters: Compassion.

² Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.^(a)
For she is not My wife and I am not her husband.^(b)
Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face^(c)
and her adultery from between her breasts.
³ Otherwise, I will strip her naked^(d)
and expose her as she was on the day of her birth.
I will make her like a desert^(e)
and like a parched land,
and I will let her die of thirst.^(f)
4 I will have no compassion on her children^(g)
because they are the children of promiscuity.
⁵ Yes, their mother is promiscuous;
she conceived them and acted shamefully.^(h)
For she thought, "I will go after my lovers,⁽ⁱ⁾
the men who give me my food and water,
my wool and flax, my oil and drink."^(j)
6 Therefore, this is what I will do:
I will block her^[c] way^(k) with thorns;^(l)
I will enclose her with a wall,
so that she cannot find her paths.^(m)
7 She will pursue her lovers but not catch them;⁽ⁿ⁾
she will seek them but not find them.
Then she will think,
"I will go back to my former husband,^(o)
for then it was better for me than now."^(p)
8 She does not recognize^(q)
that it is I who gave her the grain,^(r)
the new wine, and the oil.
I lavished silver and gold on her,
which they used for Baal.
⁹ Therefore, I will take back My grain in its time^(s)
and My new wine in its season;
I will take away My wool and linen,
which were to cover her nakedness.
¹⁰ Now I will expose her shame^(t)
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from My hands.
¹¹ I will put an end to all her celebrations:^(u)
her feasts,^(v) New Moons,^(w) and Sabbaths—
all her festivals.
¹² I will devastate her vines and fig trees.^(x)
She thinks that these are her wages
that her lovers have given her.
I will turn them into a thicket,^(y)
and the wild animals will eat them.^(z)
13 And I will punish her for the days of the Baals^(aa)
when she burned incense to them,^(ab)
put on her rings and jewelry,^(ac)
and went after her lovers,
but forgot Me.^(ad)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

¹⁴ Therefore, I am going to persuade her,
lead her to the wilderness,^(ae)
and speak tenderly to her.^[d]
15 There I will give her vineyards back to her^(af)
and make the Valley of Achor^[e](ag)
into a gateway of hope.
There she will respond as she did
in the days of her youth,^(ah)
as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.
¹⁶ In that day—
this is the Lord 's declaration—
you will call Me, "My husband,"^(ai)
and no longer call Me, "My Baal."^[f]
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals
from her mouth;
they will no longer be remembered by their names.
¹⁸ On that day I will make a covenant for them
with the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the creatures that crawl on the ground.^(aj)
I will shatter bow, sword,
and weapons of war in the land^[g](ak)
and will enable the people to rest securely.^(al)
19 I will take you to be My wife forever.^(am)
I will take you to be My wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.^(an)
20 I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness,
and you will know Yahweh.^(ao)
21 On that day I will respond^(ap)—
this is the Lord 's declaration.
I will respond to the sky,
and it will respond to the earth.
²² The earth will respond to the grain,^(aq)
the new wine, and the oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
²³ I will sow her^[h] in the land for Myself,^(ar)
and I will have compassion^(as)
on No Compassion;
I will say^(at) to Not My People:^(au)
You are My people,^(av)
and he will say, "You are My God."

¹ Hear the word of the Lord ,^(a) people of Israel,
for the Lord has a case^(b)
against the inhabitants of the land:
There is no truth,^(c) no faithful love,^(d)
and no knowledge of God^(e) in the land!
² Cursing,^(f) lying,^(g) murder,^(h) stealing,⁽ⁱ⁾
and adultery^(j) are rampant;
one act of bloodshed follows another.^(k)
3 For this reason the land mourns,^(l)
and everyone who lives in it languishes,
along with the wild animals^(m) and the birds of the sky;
even the fish of the sea disappear.^(n)
4 But let no one dispute;^(o) let no one argue,
for My case is against you priests.^[a][b](p)
5 You will stumble by day;^(q)
the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
And I will destroy your mother.^(r)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.^(s)
Because you have rejected knowledge,^(t)
I will reject you^(u) from serving as My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,^(v)
I will also forget your sons.

⁷ The more they multiplied,^(w)
the more they sinned against Me.
I^[c] will change their honor^[d] into disgrace.^(x)
8 They feed on the sin^[e] of My people;^(y)
they have an appetite for their transgressions.^(z)
9 The same judgment will happen
to both people and priests.^(aa)
I will punish them for their ways^(ab)
and repay them for their deeds.
¹⁰ They will eat but not be satisfied;^(ac)
they will be promiscuous^(ad) but not multiply.
For they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord .^(ae)
11 Promiscuity,^(af) wine, and new wine
take away one's understanding.^(ag)

¹² My people consult their wooden idols,^(ah)
and their divining rods inform them.
For a spirit of promiscuity leads them astray;^(ai)
they act promiscuously^(aj)
in disobedience to^[f] their God.
¹³ They sacrifice on the mountaintops,^(ak)
and they burn offerings on the hills,^(al)
and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,^(am)
because their shade is pleasant.
And so your daughters act promiscuously
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters
when they act promiscuously
or your daughters-in-law
when they commit adultery,
for the men themselves go off with prostitutes^(an)
and make sacrifices with cult prostitutes.^(ao)
People without discernment are doomed.^(ap)

¹⁵ Israel, if you act promiscuously,
don't let Judah become guilty!
Do not go to Gilgal^(aq)
or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven,^[g](ar)
and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives!^(as)
16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow.^(at)
Can the Lord now shepherd them
like a lamb in an open meadow?^(au)
17 Ephraim is attached to idols;^(av)
leave him alone!^(aw)
18 When their drinking is over,
they turn to promiscuity.
Israel's leaders^[h] fervently love disgrace.^[i]
19 A wind with its wings will carry them off,^[j](ax)
and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.

¹ Hear this, priests!^(a)
Pay attention, house of Israel!
Listen, royal house!
For the judgment applies to you
because you have been a snare at Mizpah^(b)
and a net spread out on Tabor.
² Rebels^(c) are deeply involved in slaughter;^(d)
I will be a punishment for all of them.^[a]
3 I know Ephraim,^(e)
and Israel is not hidden from Me.
For now, Ephraim,^(f)
you have acted promiscuously;
Israel is defiled.
⁴ Their actions do not allow them
to return to their God,^(g)
for a spirit of promiscuity is among them,^(h)
and they do not know the Lord .^(i)
5 Israel's arrogance testifies against them.^[b](j)
Both Israel and Ephraim stumble
because of their wickedness;^(k)
even Judah will stumble with them.^(l)
6 They go with their flocks and herds
to seek the Lord ^(m)
but do not find Him;⁽ⁿ⁾
He has withdrawn from them.^(o)
7 They betrayed the Lord ;^(p)
indeed, they gave birth to illegitimate children.^(q)
Now the New Moon^(r) will devour them
along with their fields.^(s)

⁸ Blow the horn in Gibeah,^(t)
the trumpet in Ramah;^(u)
raise the war cry in Beth-aven:^(v)
After you, Benjamin!^(w)
9 Ephraim will become a desolation^(x)
on the day of punishment;^(y)
I announce what is certain
among the tribes of Israel.^(z)
10 The princes of Judah are like those
who move boundary markers;^(aa)
I will pour out My fury^(ab) on them like water.^(ac)
11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,^(ad)
for he is determined to follow what is worthless.^[c]
12 So I am like rot to Ephraim^(ae)
and like decay to the house of Judah.
¹³ When Ephraim saw his sickness
and Judah his wound,
Ephraim went to Assyria^(af)
and sent a delegation to the great king.^[d](ag)
But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.^(ah)
14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim^(ai)
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart.^(aj)
I will carry them off,
and no one can rescue them.^(ak)
15 I will depart and return to My place
until they recognize their guilt and seek My face;^(al)
they will search for Me in their distress.^(am)

¹ Come, let us return to the Lord .^(a)
For He has torn us,^(b)
and He will heal us;^(c)
He has wounded us,
and He will bind up our wounds.^(d)
2 He will revive us after two days,^(e)
and on the third day He will raise us up
so we can live in His presence.^(f)
3 Let us strive to know the Lord .^(g)
His appearance is as sure as the dawn.^(h)
He will come to us like the rain,⁽ⁱ⁾
like the spring showers that water the land.

⁴ What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?^(j)
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like the morning mist^(k)
and like the early dew that vanishes.
⁵ This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;^[a](l)
I have killed them with the words of My mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.^[b]
6 For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God^(m) rather than burnt offerings.⁽ⁿ⁾

⁷ But they, like Adam,^[c] have violated the covenant;^(o)
there they have betrayed Me.^(p)
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,^(q)
tracked with bloody footprints.^(r)
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,^(s)
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.^(t)
They commit atrocities.^(u)
10 I have seen something horrible^(v) in the house of Israel:
Ephraim's promiscuity is there;^(w) Israel is defiled.
¹¹ A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah.^(x)

When I^[d] return My people from captivity,^(y)

¹ when I heal Israel,^(a)
the sins of Ephraim^(b) and the crimes of Samaria^(c)
will be exposed.
For they practice fraud;^(d)
a thief breaks in;
a raiding party pillages outside.^(e)
2 But they never consider that I remember all their evil.^(f)
Now their sins are all around them;^(g)
they are right in front of My face.

³ They please the king with their evil,^(h)
the princes with their lies.^(i)
4 All of them commit adultery;^(j)
they are like an oven heated by a baker
who stops stirring the fire
from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
⁵ On the day of our king,
the princes are sick with the heat of wine^(k)—
there is a conspiracy with traitors.^[a]
6 For they—their hearts like an oven—
draw him into their oven.
Their anger smolders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
⁷ All of them are as hot as an oven,^(l)
and they consume their rulers.^(m)
All their kings fall;
not one of them calls on Me.^[b]

⁸ Ephraim has allowed himself to get mixed up with the nations.
Ephraim is unturned bread baked on a griddle.
⁹ Foreigners consume his strength,⁽ⁿ⁾
but he does not notice.^(o)
Even his hair is streaked with gray,
but he does not notice.
¹⁰ Israel's arrogance testifies against them,^[c](p)
yet they do not return to Yahweh their God,^(q)
and for all this, they do not seek Him.

¹¹ So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove;^(r)
they call to Egypt,^(s) and they go to Assyria.^(t)
12 As they are going, I will spread My net over them;^(u)
I will bring them down like birds of the sky.
I will discipline them in accordance
with the news that reaches^[d] their assembly.

¹³ Woe to them,^(v) for they fled from Me;^(w)
destruction to them, for they rebelled against Me!
Though I want to redeem them,^(x)
they speak lies against Me.
¹⁴ They do not cry to Me from their hearts;
rather, they wail on their beds.
They slash themselves^[e](y) for grain and new wine;^(z)
they turn away from Me.
¹⁵ I trained and strengthened their arms,^(aa)
but they plot evil against Me.^(ab)
16 They turn, but not to what is above;^[f]
they are like a faulty bow.^(ac)
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of the cursing of their tongue.^(ad)
They will be ridiculed for this in the land of Egypt.^(ae)