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Psalm 39

Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
¹ I said, ‘I will guard my ways
   that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
   as long as the wicked are in my presence.’
² I was silent and still;
   I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
³   my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
   then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴ ‘Lord, let me know my end,
   and what is the measure of my days;
   let me know how fleeting my life is.
⁵ You have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.
          Selah
⁶   Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
   they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

⁷ ‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
   My hope is in you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions.
   Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
⁹ I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
   for it is you who have done it.
¹⁰ Remove your stroke from me;
   I am worn down by the blows^* of your hand.

¹¹ ‘You chastise mortals
   in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
   surely everyone is a mere breath.
          Selah

¹² ‘Hear my prayer, O Lord,
   and give ear to my cry;
   do not hold your peace at my tears.
For I am your passing guest,
   an alien, like all my forebears.
¹³ Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
   before I depart and am no more.’

Hosea

1The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel.

The Family of Hosea

2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.’ ³So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 And the Lord said to him, ‘Name him Jezreel;^* for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. ⁵On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.’

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Name her Lo-ruhamah,^* for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. ⁷But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.’

8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹Then the Lord said, ‘Name him Lo-ammi,^* for you are not my people and I am not your God.’^*

The Restoration of Israel

10 ^*Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’ ¹¹The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head; and they shall take possession of^* the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”^{* 12}I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

Woes to Unrepentant Cities

13 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴But at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum,
will you be exalted to heaven?
   No, you will be brought down to Hades.

16 ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The Return of the Seventy

17 The seventy^* returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ ¹⁸He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ¹⁹See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

Jesus Rejoices

21 At that same hour Jesus^* rejoiced in the Holy Spirit^* and said, ‘I thank^* you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.^*

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters;^* only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence,^* but through love become slaves to one another. ¹⁴For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ¹⁵If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

The Works of the Flesh

16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, ²¹envy,^* drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Fruit of the Spirit

22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.