Bible Reading for December 14 and 15
World English Bible
Dec.
14
Hosea
9-12
Hos
9:1 Don't rejoice, Israel, to jubilation like the nations; for you
were unfaithful to your God. You love the wages of a prostitute at
every grain threshing floor.
Hos
9:2 The threshing floor and the winepress won't feed them, and the
new wine will fail her.
Hos
9:3 They won't dwell in Yahweh's land; but Ephraim will return to
Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
Hos
9:4 They won't pour out wine offerings to Yahweh, neither will they
be pleasing to him. Their sacrifices will be to them like the bread
of mourners; all who eat of it will be polluted; for their bread will
be for their appetite. It will not come into the house of Yahweh.
Hos
9:5 What will you do in the day of solemn assembly, and in the day
of the feast of Yahweh?
Hos
9:6 For, behold, they have gone away from destruction. Egypt will
gather them up. Memphis will bury them. Nettles will possess their
pleasant things of silver. Thorns will be in their tents.
Hos
9:7 The days of visitation have come. The days of reckoning have
come. Israel will consider the prophet to be a fool, and the man who
is inspired to be insane, because of the abundance of your sins, and
because your hostility is great.
Hos
9:8 A prophet watches over Ephraim with my God. A fowler's snare is
on all of his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.
Hos
9:9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah.
He will remember their iniquity. He will punish them for their sins.
Hos
9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your
fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at its first season; but
they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated themselves to the shameful
thing, and became abominable like that which they loved.
Hos
9:11 As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird. There
will be no birth, none with child, and no conception.
Hos
9:12 Though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave them,
so that not a man shall be left. Indeed, woe also to them when I
depart from them!
Hos
9:13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place;
but Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.
Hos
9:14 Give them--Yahweh what will you give? Give them a miscarrying
womb and dry breasts.
Hos
9:15 "All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated
them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out
of my house! I will love them no more. All their princes are rebels.
Hos
9:16 Ephraim is struck. Their root has dried up. They will bear no
fruit. Even though they bring forth, yet I will kill the beloved ones
of their womb."
Hos
9:17 My God will cast them away, because they did not listen to him;
and they will be wanderers among the nations.
Hos
10:1 Israel is a luxuriant vine that puts forth his fruit. According
to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars. As their
land has prospered, they have adorned their sacred stones.
Hos
10:2 Their heart is divided. Now they will be found guilty. He will
demolish their altars. He will destroy their sacred stones.
Hos
10:3 Surely now they will say, "We have no king; for we don't
fear Yahweh; and the king, what can he do for us?"
Hos
10:4 They make promises, swearing falsely in making covenants.
Therefore judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of
the field.
Hos
10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria will be in terror for the calves of
Beth Aven; for its people will mourn over it, Along with its priests
who rejoiced over it, for its glory, because it has departed from it.
Hos
10:6 It also will be carried to Assyria for a present to a great
king. Ephraim will receive shame, and Israel will be ashamed of his
own counsel.
Hos
10:7 Samaria and her king float away, like a twig on the water.
Hos
10:8 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be
destroyed. The thorn and the thistle will come up on their altars.
They will tell the mountains, "Cover us!" and the hills,
"Fall on us!"
Hos
10:9 "Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah. There
they remained. The battle against the children of iniquity doesn't
overtake them in Gibeah.
Hos
10:10 When it is my desire, I will chastise them; and the nations
will be gathered against them, when they are bound to their two
transgressions.
Hos
10:11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will
put a yoke on her beautiful neck. I will set a rider on Ephraim.
Judah will plow. Jacob will break his clods.
Hos
10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to
kindness. Break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Yahweh,
until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
Hos
10:13 You have plowed wickedness. You have reaped iniquity. You have
eaten the fruit of lies, for you trusted in your way, in the
multitude of your mighty men.
Hos
10:14 Therefore a battle roar will arise among your people, and all
your fortresses will be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth Arbel in
the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces with her children.
Hos
10:15 So Bethel will do to you because of your great wickedness. At
daybreak the king of Israel will be destroyed.
Hos
11:1 "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my
son out of Egypt.
Hos
11:2 They called to them, so they went from them. They sacrificed to
the Baals, and burned incense to engraved images.
Hos
11:3 Yet I taught Ephraim to walk. I took them by his arms; but they
didn't know that I healed them.
Hos
11:4 I drew them with cords of a man, with ties of love; and I was
to them like those who lift up the yoke on their necks; and I bent
down to him and I fed him.
Hos
11:5 "They won't return into the land of Egypt; but the
Assyrian will be their king, because they refused to repent.
Hos
11:6 The sword will fall on their cities, and will destroy the bars
of their gates, and will put an end to their plans.
Hos
11:7 My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to
the Most High, he certainly won't exalt them.
Hos
11:8 "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over,
Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like
Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
Hos
11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of my anger. I will not
return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in
the midst of you; and I will not come in wrath.
Hos
11:10 They will walk after Yahweh, who will roar like a lion; for he
will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
Hos
11:11 They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt, and like a
dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will settle them in their
houses," says Yahweh.
Hos
11:12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood, and the house of Israel
with deceit. Judah still strays from God, and is unfaithful to the
Holy One.
Hos
12:1 Ephraim feeds on wind, and chases the east wind. He continually
multiplies lies and desolation. They make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried into Egypt.
Hos
12:2 Yahweh also has a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob
according to his ways; according to his deeds he will repay him.
Hos
12:3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood
he contended with God.
Hos
12:4 Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed; he wept,
and made supplication to him. He found him at Bethel, and there he
spoke with us,
Hos
12:5 even Yahweh, the God of Armies; Yahweh is his name of renown!
Hos
12:6 Therefore turn to your God. Keep kindness and justice, and wait
continually for your God.
Hos
12:7 A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to
defraud.
Hos
12:8 Ephraim said, "Surely I have become rich, I have found
myself wealth. In all my wealth they won't find in me any iniquity
that is sin."
Hos
12:9 "But I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt. I will
yet again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn
feast.
Hos
12:10 I have also spoken to the prophets, and I have multiplied
visions; and by the ministry of the prophets I have used parables.
Hos
12:11 If Gilead is wicked, surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they
sacrifice bulls. Indeed, their altars are like heaps in the furrows
of the field.
Hos
12:12 Jacob fled into the country of Aram, and Israel served to get
a wife, and for a wife he tended flocks and herds.
Hos
12:13 By a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a
prophet he was preserved.
Hos
12:14 Ephraim has bitterly provoked anger. Therefore his blood will
be left on him, and his Lord will repay his contempt.
Dec.15
Hosea
13, 14
Hos
13:1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in
Israel, but when he became guilty in Baal, he died.
Hos
13:2 Now they sin more and more, and have made themselves molten
images of their silver, even idols according to their own
understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen. They say of
them, 'They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves.'
Hos
13:3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, and like the dew
that passes away early, like the chaff that is driven with the
whirlwind out of the threshing floor, and like the smoke out of the
chimney.
Hos
13:4 "Yet I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt; and you
shall acknowledge no god but me, and besides me there is no savior.
Hos
13:5 I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
Hos
13:6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were
filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten
me.
Hos
13:7 Therefore I am like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk
by the path.
Hos
13:8 I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and
will tear the covering of their heart. There I will devour them like
a lioness. The wild animal will tear them.
Hos
13:9 You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against
your help.
Hos
13:10 Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your
cities? And your judges, of whom you said, 'Give me a king and
princes?'
Hos
13:11 I have given you a king in my anger, and have taken him away
in my wrath.
Hos
13:12 The guilt of Ephraim is stored up. His sin is stored up.
Hos
13:13 The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an
unwise son; for when it is time, he doesn't come to the opening of
the womb.
Hos
13:14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them
from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your
destruction? "Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
Hos
13:15 Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will
come, the breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; and his
spring will become dry, and his fountain will be dried up. He will
plunder the storehouse of treasure.
Hos
13:16 Samaria will bear her guilt; for she has rebelled against her
God. They will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in
pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open."
Hos
14:1 Israel, return to Yahweh your God; for you have fallen because
of your sin.
Hos
14:2 Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, "Forgive
all our sins, and accept that which is good: so we offer our lips
like bulls.
Hos
14:3 Assyria can't save us. We won't ride on horses; neither will we
say any more to the work of our hands, 'Our gods!' for in you the
fatherless finds mercy."
Hos
14:4 "I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely;
for my anger is turned away from him.
Hos
14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the
lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
Hos
14:6 His branches will spread, and his beauty will be like the olive
tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.
Hos
14:7 Men will dwell in his shade. They will revive like the grain,
and blossom like the vine. Their fragrance will be like the wine of
Lebanon.
Hos
14:8 Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols? I answer, and
will take care of him. I am like a green fir tree; from me your fruit
is found."
Hos
14:9 Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is
prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of Yahweh are right, and
the righteous walk in them; But the rebellious stumble in them.
Dec. 14
1 John
4
1Jn 4:1
Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether
they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the
world.
1Jn 4:2
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
1Jn 4:3
and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of
whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.
1Jn 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because
greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
1Jn 4:5
They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the
world hears them.
1Jn 4:6
We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God
doesn't listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the
spirit of error.
1Jn 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone
who loves is born of God, and knows God.
1Jn 4:8
He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
1Jn 4:9
By this God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and
only Son into the world that we might live through him.
1Jn
4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1Jn
4:11 Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one
another.
1Jn
4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God
remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
1Jn
4:13 By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he
has given us of his Spirit.
1Jn
4:14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as
the Savior of the world.
1Jn
4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in
him, and he in God.
1Jn
4:16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is
love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in
him.
1Jn
4:17 In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have
boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in
this world.
1Jn
4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in
love.
1Jn
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
1Jn
4:20 If a man says, "I love God," and hates his brother,
he is a liar; for he who doesn't love his brother whom he has seen,
how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jn
4:21 This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should
also love his brother.
Dec. 15
1 John
5
1Jn 5:1
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Whoever
loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him.
1Jn 5:2
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God
and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His
commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory
that has overcome the world: your faith.
1Jn 5:5
Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is
the Son of God?
1Jn 5:6
This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the
water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who
testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
1Jn 5:7
For there are three who testify:
1Jn 5:8
the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one.
1Jn 5:9
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for
this is God's testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.
1Jn
5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.
He who doesn't believe God has made him a liar, because he has not
believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
1Jn
5:11 The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son.
1Jn
5:12 He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn't have God's Son
doesn't have the life.
1Jn
5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and
that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
1Jn
5:14 This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask
anything according to his will, he listens to us.
1Jn
5:15 And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know
that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.
1Jn
5:16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death,
he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not
leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that
he should make a request concerning this.
1Jn
5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to
death.
1Jn
5:18 We know that whoever is born of God doesn't sin, but he who was
born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn't touch him.
1Jn
5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the
power of the evil one.
1Jn
5:20 We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an
understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is
true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal
life.
1Jn
5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
