Bible Reading Plan

I will not relent from punishing Moab^(a)
for three crimes, even four,
because he burned the bones
of the king of Edom to lime.^(b)
2 Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,
and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.^(c)
Moab will die with a tumult,^(d)
with shouting and the sound of the ram's horn.
³ I will cut off the judge^(e) from the land
and kill all its officials^(f) with him.
The Lord has spoken.

I will not relent from punishing Judah^(g)
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord ^(h)
and have not kept His statutes.⁽ⁱ⁾
The lies^(j) that their ancestors followed^(k)
have led them astray.
⁵ Therefore, I will send fire^(l) against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

I will not relent from punishing Israel^(m)
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.^(n)
7 They trample the heads of the poor^(o)
on the dust of the ground
and block the path of the needy.^(p)
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,^(q)
profaning My holy name.^(r)
8 They stretch out beside every altar^(s)
on garments taken as collateral,^(t)
and in the house of their God,
they drink wine obtained through fines.^(u)

⁹ Yet I destroyed the Amorite^(v) as Israel advanced;
his height^(w) was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit^(x) above and his roots beneath.
¹⁰ And I brought you from the land of Egypt^(y)
and led you 40 years in the wilderness^(z)
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.^(aa)
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets^(ab)
and some of your young men as Nazirites.^(ac)
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the Lord 's declaration.

¹² But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
"Do not prophesy."^(ad)
13 Look, I am about to crush^[a] you in your place^(ae)
as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.
¹⁴ Escape will fail the swift,^(af)
the strong one will not prevail by his strength,^(ag)
and the brave will not save his life.
¹⁵ The archer will not stand his ground,^(ah)
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.^(ai)
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day^(aj)—
this is the Lord 's declaration.

² I have known only you^(b)
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.^(c)
3 Can two walk together^(d)
without agreeing to meet?^[a]
4 Does a lion roar^(e) in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
⁵ Does a bird land in a trap on the ground
if there is no bait for it?
Does a trap spring from the ground
when it has caught nothing?
⁶ If a ram's horn^(f) is blown in a city,
aren't people afraid?^(g)
If a disaster^(h) occurs in a city,
hasn't the Lord done it?^(i)
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing His counsel
to His servants the prophets.^(j)
8 A lion has roared;^(k)
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;^(l)
who will not prophesy?^(m)

⁹ Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod⁽ⁿ⁾
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria^(o)
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.^(p)
10 The people are incapable of doing right^(q)—
this is the Lord 's declaration—
those who store up violence and destruction^(r)
in their citadels.

An enemy^(s) will surround the land;
he will destroy^(t) your strongholds
and plunder your citadels.^(u)

As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion's mouth,^(v)
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bed^(w)
or the^[b] cushion^[c] of a couch.^[d](x)

¹³ Listen and testify^(y) against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God ,
the God of Hosts.
¹⁴ I will punish the altars of Bethel^(z)
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar^(aa) will be cut off
and fall to the ground.^(ab)
15 I will demolish the winter house^(ac)
and the summer house;^(ad)
the houses inlaid with ivory^(ae) will be destroyed,
and the great houses^(af) will come to an end.
This is the Lord 's declaration.

¹ Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan^(a)
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,^(b)
who say to their husbands,
"Bring us something to drink."^(c)

Look, the days are coming^[a]
when you will be taken away with hooks,^(f)
every last one of you with fishhooks.^(g)
3 You will go through breaches in the wall,^(h)
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.
This is the Lord 's declaration.

⁴ Come to Bethel and rebel;
rebel even more at Gilgal!⁽ⁱ⁾
Bring your sacrifices every morning,^(j)
your tenths every three days.
⁵ Offer leavened bread as a thank offering,^(k)
and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings,^(l)
for that is what you Israelites love to do!^(m)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

⁶ I gave you absolutely nothing to eat^[b](n)
in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to Me.^(o)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

⁷ I also withheld the rain from you^(p)
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another.^(q)
One field received rain
while a field with no rain withered.^(r)
8 Two or three cities staggered
to another city to drink water^(s)
but were not satisfied,^(t)
yet you did not return^(u) to Me.
This is the Lord 's declaration.

⁹ I struck you with blight and mildew;^(v)
the locust devoured^(w)
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees,^(x)
yet you did not return to Me.^(y)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

¹⁰ I sent plagues like those of Egypt;^(z)
I killed your young men with the sword,^(aa)
along with your captured horses.^(ab)
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils,^(ac)
yet you did not return to Me.^(ad)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

¹¹ I overthrew some of you
as I^[c] overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,^(ae)
and you were like a burning stick
snatched from a fire,^(af)
yet you did not return to Me^(ag)—
this is the Lord 's declaration.

¹² Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,
and since I will do that to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God!^(ah)
13 He is here:
the One who forms the mountains,^(ai)
creates the wind,^(aj)
and reveals His^[d] thoughts to man,^(ak)
the One who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth.^(al)
Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.^(am)

² She has fallen;
Virgin Israel^(b) will never rise again.^(c)
She lies abandoned on her land,
with no one to raise her up.^(d)

The city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left,^(e)
and the one that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left^(f) in the house of Israel.

Seek Me and live!^(g)
5 Do not seek Bethel^(h)
or go to Gilgal⁽ⁱ⁾
or journey to Beer-sheba,^(j)
for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
⁶ Seek Yahweh^(k) and live,
or He will spread like fire^(l)
throughout the house of Joseph;
it will consume everything,
with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.^(m)
7 Those who turn justice into wormwood⁽ⁿ⁾
throw righteousness to the ground.

⁸ The One who made the Pleiades and Orion,^(o)
who turns darkness^[a] into dawn^(p)
and darkens day into night,^(q)
who summons the waters of the sea^(r)
and pours them out over the face of the earth^(s)—
Yahweh is His name.^(t)
9 He brings destruction^[b] on the strong,^[c](u)
and it falls on the stronghold.^(v)

¹⁰ They hate the one who convicts the guilty^(w)
at the city gate
and despise^(x) the one who speaks with integrity.
¹¹ Therefore, because you trample on the poor^(y)
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone^(z)
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.^(aa)
12 For I know your crimes are many
and your sins innumerable.
They oppress the righteous,^(ab) take a bribe,
and deprive the poor of justice^(ac) at the gates.
¹³ Therefore, the wise person will keep silent^[d](ad)
at such a time,
for the days are evil.

¹⁴ Seek good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the Lord , the God of Hosts,
will be with you,
as you have claimed.^(ae)
15 Hate evil and love good;^(af)
establish justice in the gate.^(ag)
Perhaps the Lord , the God of Hosts, will be gracious^(ah)
to the remnant of Joseph.^(ai)

There will be wailing in all the public squares;^(aj)
they will cry out in anguish^[e] in all the streets.
The farmer will be called on to mourn,^(ak)
and professional mourners^[f](al) to wail.
¹⁷ There will be wailing in all the vineyards,^(am)
for I will pass among you.^(an)
The Lord has spoken.

¹⁸ Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord !^(ao)
What will the Day of the Lord be for you?
It will be darkness and not light.^(ap)
19 It will be like a man who flees from a lion^(aq)
only to have a bear confront him.
He goes home and rests his hand against the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
²⁰ Won't the Day of the Lord
be darkness rather than light,^(ar)
even gloom without any brightness in it?^(as)
21 I hate, I despise your feasts!^(at)
I can't stand the stench
of your solemn assemblies.^(au)
22 Even if you offer Me
your burnt offerings and grain offerings,^(av)
I will not accept them;^(aw)
I will have no regard
for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle.^(ax)
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.^(ay)
24 But let justice flow like water,
and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.^(az)