Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 09

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 09

Hosea 11 – 12

Through My Bible – August 09

Hosea 11 – 12 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

God’s Love for Israel

Hosea 11

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.

2 The more I called to them,
    the more they went away from me. [1]
    They kept sacrificing to the Baals
    and burning incense to idols.
3 Yet I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk.
    I took them in my arms, [2]
    but they did not realize that it was I who healed them.
4 I drew them with cords suitable for a man, [3] with ropes of love.
    For them I became like someone who lifts a yoke off their neck,
    and I bent down to feed them.

5 They will not [4] return into the land of Egypt.
    Instead, an Assyrian will be their king,
    because they refused to repent.
6 The sword will slash against their cities.
    It will destroy the bars of their gates,
    and it will devour them because of their plans.

7 My people are determined to turn away from me.
    Though they call him the Most High, he certainly will not exalt them.

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 treat you like Zeboiim? [5]
    My heart is changed inside me.
    All my compassion is stirred up.
9 I will not carry out my burning anger.
    I will not destroy Ephraim again,
    because I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you.
    I will not enter a city. [6]
10 They will follow the Lord.
    He will roar like a lion.
    Yes, he will roar, and his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
    and like a dove from the land of Assyria.
    I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord.

Israel Must Repent

12 Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood,
    and the house of Israel with deceit.
    Judah still strays from [7] God,
    even from the Holy One, who is faithful. [8]

Hosea 12

1 Ephraim feeds on wind
and chases the east wind all day.
    He multiplies lies and violence.
    They make a treaty with Assyria,
    and olive oil is carried to Egypt.
2 The Lord has a case against Judah.
    He will deal with Jacob according to his ways.
    According to his deeds he will repay him.
3 In the womb Jacob grasped his brother by the heel,
    and when he was a grown man, he struggled with God.
4 He wrestled with the Angel and prevailed.
    He wept and sought his favor.
    He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him, [9]
5 namely, with the Lord, the God of Armies.
    The Lord is the name by which he is to be remembered!
6 So return to your God.
    Observe mercy and justice,
    and wait for your God continually.

7 A merchant has fraudulent scales in his hand.
    He loves to defraud others.
8 Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich.
    I have secured wealth for myself.
    Among all my possessions no one will find anything that makes me guilty of sin.”

9 But I have been the Lord your God from the time you left the land of Egypt.
    I will make you dwell in tents again,
    as in the days of the appointed festival. [10]
10 I have spoken to the prophets.
    I have given numerous visions.
    I taught meaningful lessons through the prophets.
11 Since Gilead is wicked,
    it is certain that they are worthless.
    In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls.
    Yes, their altars are like piles of stones in the furrows of a field.
12 Jacob fled to the territory of Aram.
    Israel worked as a servant to get a wife,
    and for a wife, he took care of sheep.
13 By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,
    and by a prophet he took care of Israel.
14 Ephraim has provoked bitter anger.
    Therefore his Lord will leave him bloodied by his guilt
    and bring his disgrace back on him.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 11:2 A variant reading is the more they called them, the more they went away from them.
  2. Hosea 11:3 The text of the pronouns in this verse is uncertain. The translation follows the Greek Old Testament.
  3. Hosea 11:4 Literally cords of mankind. The words translated man and love have homonyms meaning leather, so there may be a play on words here.
  4. Hosea 11:5 Not is missing from some manuscripts.
  5. Hosea 11:8 Admah and Zeboiim were daughter cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
  6. Hosea 11:9 Or come in wrath. The Hebrew is difficult.
  7. Hosea 11:12 Literally wanders with. Translations disagree whether the term is negative or positive.
  8. Hosea 11:12 English verse 11:12 is verse 12:1 in Hebrew. In chapter 12 the subsequent Hebrew verse numbers are one higher than the English numbers.
  9. Hosea 12:4 Variant us
  10. Hosea 12:9 The Festival of Shelters in the autumn




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 08

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 08

Hosea 9 – 10

Through My Bible – August 08

Hosea 9 – 10 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Days of Retribution Are Near

Hosea 9

1 Do not rejoice, Israel, with excessive celebration like the nations,
because you act promiscuously against your God.
    You love the wages you can earn as a prostitute at every threshing floor for grain.
2 The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them,
    and the new wine will fail for them.
3 They will not remain in the Lord’s land.
    Ephraim will return to Egypt,
    and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord.
    Their sacrifices will not be pleasing to him.
    For them, their bread will become like the bread eaten by mourners.
    Everyone who eats it will be unclean.
    This bread will only serve their own appetite.
    It will not enter the House of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festivals
    and on the feast days of the Lord?
6 Know this! Even if they flee from destruction,
    Egypt will gather them up.
    Memphis will bury them.
    Thistles will overgrow their silver treasures.
    Thorns will grow inside their tents.
7 The days of reckoning have come.
    The days of retribution have come.
    Israel should know this!

Israel Rejects the Prophets

    The prophet is treated like a fool,
    and the man of the Spirit is called crazy,
    because your guilt is enormous,
    and because your hostility is so great.
8 A prophet is to be a watchman over Ephraim for my God,
    but a fowler’s snare is laid for him on all of Ephraim’s paths,
    and he encounters hostility in the house of his God. [1]
9 They have become extremely corrupt,
    as they were in the days of Gibeah.
    God will remember their guilt.
    He will punish them for their sins.

Fertility Worship Brings No Fertility

10 I regarded Israel like grapes found in the wilderness.
    I regarded your forefathers like the first ripe fruit on a fig tree in its first season,
    but they went to Baal Peor, and they devoted themselves to a shameful thing,
    and they became as disgusting 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 bring up their children,
    I will deprive them of each one.
    Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!
13 I have seen Ephraim planted in a pleasant place like Tyre,
    but Ephraim will bring its children out to the executioner.
14 Give to them, Lord—but what will you give?
    Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
15 Because of all their evil in Gilgal,
    I hated them there.
    Because of their evil deeds,
    I will drive them out of my house!
    I will love them no more.
    All their officials are rebels.
16 Ephraim has been struck down.
    Their root has dried up.
    They will bear no fruit.
    Even if they give birth,
    I will put their precious offspring to death.

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 [2] vine.
He produced fruit for himself.
    The more fruit he produced, the more altars he made.
    The richer the land became, the richer he made his sacred memorial stones.

2 Their hearts are insincere, [3]
    so now they will suffer for their guilt.
    The Lord will break down their altars
    and destroy their sacred memorial stones.

Kings Cannot Save You

3 Certainly now they will say, “We have no king
    because we did not fear the Lord,
    but what could such a king do for us anyway?”
4 They speak empty words.
    With empty oaths, they make agreements.
    That is why disputes sprout like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will be terrified because of the calf [4] of Beth Aven.
    Yes, its people will mourn over it,
    and its idolatrous priests will cry out over it,
    over its lost glory, because it has gone into exile.
6 It will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the Great King. [5]
    Ephraim will be gripped with shame,
    and Israel will be ashamed of its own idol. [6]
7 Samaria, like her king, will be carried off
    like a twig on the surface of the water.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will become unusable.
    Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars.
    They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

Learn the Lesson of Gibeah

9 Israel, you have sinned ever since the days of Gibeah,
    where the evildoers took their stand.
    The war against the evildoers caught up with them at Gibeah, did it not?
10 When I see fit, I will discipline them. [7]
    Peoples will be gathered against them
        to bind them for their double guilt. [8]

11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh.
    I will put a yoke on her beautiful neck. [9]
    I will harness Ephraim.
    Judah will plow.
    Jacob will break up the ground.
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
    and reap mercy.
    Break up your fallow ground.
    It is time to seek the Lord,
    until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
13 You have plowed wickedness.
    You have reaped injustice.
    You have eaten the fruit of your lies,
    because you trusted in your own way,
    in the large number of your strong warriors.
14 Therefore the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
    as Shalman [10] devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle.
    Mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 This is what will be done to you, Bethel,
    because of your great wickedness.
    At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 9:8 This verse is difficult.
  2. Hosea 10:1 The Hebrew word may have a negative connotation like invasive.
  3. Hosea 10:2 Or divided
  4. Hosea 10:5 Variant calves
  5. Hosea 10:6 The text of the last word of the line is uncertain.
  6. Hosea 10:6 Or plan. The meaning of the last word is uncertain.
  7. Hosea 10:10 The text of the line is uncertain.
  8. Hosea 10:10 Or two crimes. The text of the line is uncertain.
  9. Hosea 10:11 The text of the line is uncertain.
  10. Hosea 10:14 The king of Assyria




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 07

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 07

Hosea 5:15 – 8:14

Through My Bible – August 07

Hosea 5:15 – 8:14 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Hosea 5

15 I will go. I will return to my place
    until they admit their guilt and seek my face.
    In their distress they will earnestly seek me.

Israel’s Need to Return to the Lord

15 Come, let us return to the Lord.
For he has torn us to pieces,
    but he will heal us.
    He has struck us,
    but he will bandage our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us.
    On the third day he will raise us up,
    so that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the Lord.
    Let us pursue knowledge of the Lord.
    As surely as the sun rises,
    the Lord will appear.
    He will come to us like a heavy rain,
    like the spring rain that waters the earth.

God’s Grief Over Israel’s Impenitence

4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
    What am I going to do with you, Judah?
    For your faithfulness [1] is like a morning mist,
    like early dew that disappears.
5 That is why I cut them to pieces by means of the prophets.
    I killed them with the words of my mouth.
    The judgments against you go forth like the light.
6 For I desire mercy, [2] and not sacrifice,
    and the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.
7 Like Adam, [3] they have broken the covenant.
    They acted treacherously against me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
    stained with bloody footprints.
9 As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man,
    so do bands of priests.
    They commit murder on the road to Shechem.
    They have committed shameful crimes.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing.
    Ephraim practices sexual immorality there.
    Israel defiles itself.
11 Judah, also for you, a harvest has been appointed,
    when I restore the fortunes of my people. [4]

Israel’s Corruption

7 Whenever I want to heal Israel,
the guilt of Ephraim is uncovered,
    and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed,
    because they deal dishonestly.
    Thieves come inside,
    and bandits raid outside.
2 In their hearts Ephraim does not realize that I remember all their wickedness.
    Now their deeds are all around them.
    They are in front of my face.
3 The people of Ephraim make the king glad with their wickedness.
    They make their officials happy with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
    burning like an oven.
    The baker does not need to stoke the fire
    from the time the dough is kneaded until it is leavened.
5 On the day [5] of our [6] king, the officials became sick from the intoxicating wine.
    He reaches out his hand to the blasphemers.
6 Indeed, their hearts are like an oven.
    They approach him, while plotting against him.
    Their anger sleeps all night,
    but in the morning it burns like a blazing fire.
7 They are all hot as an oven.
    They devour their rulers.
    All their kings have fallen.
    Not one of them calls on me.
8 Ephraim mixes itself with the nations.
    Ephraim is a flatbread not turned over.
9 Strangers have devoured his strength,
    but he does not realize it.
    There are gray hairs on his head,
    but he does not realize it.
10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against him,
    yet they have not returned to the Lord their God,
    and they have not sought him, despite all this.

Israel’s Instability

11 Ephraim is like a gullible dove, without sense.
    They call to Egypt.
    Then they appeal to Assyria.
12 When they go out, I will spread my net over them.
    I will bring them down like birds from the sky.
    I will discipline them, on the basis of the report about their assembly. [7]
13 Woe to them,
    because they have strayed from me!
    Destruction comes upon them,
    because they have rebelled against me!
    I want to redeem them,
    but they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry out to me with their hearts,
    but they howl on their beds.
    They gather together [8] for grain and new wine.
    They turn away from me.
15 Though I trained and strengthened their arms,
    they plot evil against me.
16 They return, but not upward. [9]
    They are like an unreliable bow.
    Their officials will fall by the sword because of their angry tongues.
    Because of this, they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.

The Lord’s Anger Burns Against Israel

8 Raise a ram’s horn to your lips!
A vulture is circling over [10] the Lord’s house,
    because they have broken my covenant
    and rebelled against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me,
    “My God, we acknowledge [11] you!”
3 But, in fact, Israel has rejected what is good.
    An enemy will pursue him.
4 They set up kings, but not with my approval.
    They installed officials, but I did not choose [12] them.
    From their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves,
    so they will be cut off.
5 I reject [13] your calf idol, Samaria!
    My anger burns against these people!
    How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 That thing sitting there is from Israel!
    A craftsman made it, so it is not God.
    Certainly that calf of Samaria will be smashed to pieces!
7 Because they sow the wind,
    they will reap the whirlwind.
    The standing grain forms no heads,
    so it will yield no flour.
    Even if it would yield flour, foreigners would swallow it up.
8 Israel is swallowed up.
    Now among the nations they are like a pot no one wants.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey all by itself.
    Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Even though they hire lovers among the nations,
    I will now gather them together.
    They will begin to suffer in a little while,
    because of oppression by a king with many officials.
11 Ephraim has multiplied his altars for sin offerings,
    but for him they became altars for sinning.
12 Though I wrote many teachings from my law for them,
    they regarded them as strange.
13 They offer sacrifices to me just to get the meat. [14]
    They sacrifice flesh and eat it,
    but the Lord is not pleased with them.
    Now he will remember their guilt
    and punish their sins.
    They will return to Egypt.
14 Israel has forgotten its Maker and built palaces. [15]
    Judah has multiplied its fortified cities,
    but I will send fire on its cities,
    which will devour its citadels.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 6:4 Or mercy
  2. Hosea 6:6 Or faithfulness
  3. Hosea 6:7 Or at Adam. We are aware of no act of covenant breaking at the city of Adam.
  4. Hosea 6:11 Or though I would rather restore my people from captivity. Some translations join this line with verse 7:1.
  5. Hosea 7:5 The birthday or the coronation day
  6. Hosea 7:5 The Targum reads their.
  7. Hosea 7:12 Or I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together. The meaning of the line is uncertain.
  8. Hosea 7:14 Or they cut themselves, a reference to heathen religious practices
  9. Hosea 7:16 Or not for the better. The translation above is literal. Many translations suggest the emendations return to the Most High or turn to Baal.
  10. Hosea 8:1 Or an eagle is about to swoop down on
  11. Hosea 8:2 Or know
  12. Hosea 8:4 Literally know
  13. Hosea 8:5 The Hebrew text reads he rejects. Ancient versions read reject! Sudden shifts of person are not unusual in Hosea.
  14. Hosea 8:13 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
  15. Hosea 8:14 Or temples




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 06

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 06

Hosea 4:1 – 5:14

Through My Bible – August 06

Hosea 4:1 – 5:14 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Lord’s Charges Against Israel and Its Priests

Hosea 4

1 Hear the word of the Lord, you people of Israel,

    because the Lord has charges to make against the inhabitants of the land,
    because there is no truth,
    there is no mercy,
    and there is no knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is cursing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery.
    They break out in violence, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns, [1]
    and everyone who dwells in it wastes away
    along with the wild animals and the birds in the sky.
    Even the fish of the sea have been removed.
4 Yet no one should bring charges.
    No one should accuse,
    because your people are like those who dispute with a priest. [2]
5 You will stumble by day,
    and the prophet will also stumble with you by night.
    I will also destroy your mother.
6 My people have been destroyed because of lack of knowledge.
    Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you
    from serving as a priest for me.
    Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.
7 The more they increased, the more they sinned against me.
    I changed their glory into shame. [3]
8 They feed on the sin of my people.
    They set their desire on things that make them guilty.
9 So it will be the same for people as for priests.
    I will punish them for their ways.
    I will repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not be satisfied.
    They will engage in sexual immorality, but not increase.
    This will take place because they have abandoned the Lord to devote themselves to 11 sexual sin. [4]
    Wine and new wine take away their understanding. [5]
12 My people consult their wooden idol,
    and their fortunetellers wand gives them information,
    because a promiscuous spirit has led them astray,
    and they behave like a whore instead of following their God.
13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops.
    They burn incense on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths,
    because their shade is pleasant.
    That is why your daughters commit fornication, [6]
    and your brides commit adultery.
14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit fornication,
    or your brides when they commit adultery,
    because the men consort with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes.
    So the people without understanding will come to ruin.
15 Though you, Israel, practice sexual immorality,
    Judah should not follow your guilty way.
    Do not go to Gilgal.
    Do not go up to Beth Aven.
    Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives.”
16 For Israel has become as stubborn as a heifer.
    How can the Lord feed them like a lamb in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols.
    Let him go his own way!
18 Their alcoholic drinks are used up,
    but they keep practicing sexual immorality anyway.
    Their rulers, who should be their shields, instead love shame.
19 The wings of the wind will sweep them away,
    and they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices.

Judgment on Israel’s Priests and Kings

Hosea 5

1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, house of Israel!
    Listen, O house of the king!
    For this judgment applies to you,
    because you were a trap at Mizpah
    and a net spread out on Mount Tabor.
2 The rebels sink deeper into slaughter,
    but I will discipline all of them.
3 I know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me.
    Now, Ephraim, you still practice sexual immorality.
    Israel is defiled.
4 Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God.
    For a spirit of prostitution lies within them,
    and they do not know the Lord.
5 The arrogance of Israel testifies against them.
    Israel and Ephraim will stumble over their guilt.
    Judah also will stumble with them.
6 They will go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord,
    but they will not find him.
    He has withdrawn from them.
7 They acted treacherously against the Lord.
    They even gave birth to illegitimate children.
    Now the new moon will devour them along with their allotted land.
8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah
    and the trumpet in Ramah!
    Raise a battle cry at Beth Aven: “Lead the way, Benjamin!”
9 Ephraim will become desolate ruins on the day it is punished. [7]
    What I have made known among the tribes of Israel will certainly happen.
10 The officials of Judah are like people who move a boundary stone.
    I will pour out my wrath on them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
    crushed in judgment,
    because he was determined to pursue worthless idols. [8]
12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
    and like decay to the house of Judah.
13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,
    and Judah saw his wound,
    Ephraim went to Assyria
    and sent to the Great King for help,
    but he is not able to heal you,
    and he will not cure your wound,
14 because I will be like a lion to Ephraim
    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
    Yes, I will tear him to pieces and go away.
    I will carry them off, and there will be no one who can rescue them.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 4:3 Or dries up
  2. Hosea 4:4 The verse is difficult. The translation follows the Hebrew and Greek texts. Translations that render the third line my contention is with you, O priest emend the text to obtain this rendering. The point of the verse seems to be that it is useless to bring charges against these people, because they would not accept the judgment even of a priest.
  3. Hosea 4:7 A Hebrew variant is they changed my glory for something shameful.
  4. Hosea 4:11 Or prostitution
  5. Hosea 4:11 The proper dividing point between verses 10 and 11 is uncertain. Though the words sexual sin are in verse 11 in the Hebrew text, these words belong with verse 10.
  6. Hosea 4:13 The same Hebrew word elsewhere translated sexual immorality or prostitution is used here in reference to unmarried girls, so it is translated fornication.
  7. Hosea 5:9 Or rebuked
  8. Hosea 5:11 The translation follows some ancient versions. The Hebrew reads human commands.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 05

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 05

Hosea 3

Through My Bible – August 05

Hosea 3 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Prophet’s Reconciliation With His Wife:
A Picture of the Lord’s Love

1 The Lord said to me, “Go again. Show love to a woman who is loved by another man, a woman who keeps committing adultery. Show love just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, even though they keep turning to other gods and loving the raisin cakes.” [1]

2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and nine bushels [2] of barley. 3 I said to her, “You will stay with me for many days. You must not be promiscuous. [3] You must not be with any other man, and I will also be for you.”

4 So the people of Israel will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred memorial stones, and without the special vest [4] or family idols. [5] 5 Afterward the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 3:1 Raisin cakes were sometimes shaped into images of the goddess Asherah.
  2. Hosea 3:2 A homer and a lethek, that is, six bushels plus three bushels
  3. Hosea 3:3 Or engage in prostitution
  4. Hosea 3:4 Hebrew ephod
  5. Hosea 3:4 Hebrew teraphim




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 04

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 04

Hosea 1 – 2

Through My Bible – August 04

Hosea 1 – 2 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Hosea’s Wife and Children

Hosea 1

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Be’eri, [1] in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, the king of Israel.

2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go. Take for yourself an immoral wife and children produced by sexual immorality, [2] because the land has been committing flagrant immorality, turning away from the Lord.”

3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and gave birth to a son for him.

4 The Lord said to him, “Name him Jezre’el, [3] because in a little while I will inflict punishment on the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezre’el. I will destroy the ruling power of the house of Israel. 5 In that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezre’el.”

6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter.

The Lord said to him, “Name her Lo Ruhamah, [4] because I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel. Indeed, I will certainly not forgive them. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah. I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.” [5]

8 Gomer weaned Lo Ruhamah. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son.

9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo Ammi, [6] because you are not my people, and I will not be the Lord for you.” [7]

A Promise of Future Blessing

10 Nevertheless, the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. Then, in the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” they will be told, “You are children of the living God.” 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one head for themselves, and they will go up from the land, for the day of Jezre’el will be great. [8]

Hosea 2

1 Say to your brothers, “My people,” [9]
and to your sisters, “She has been shown mercy.” [10]

Israel Rebuked, Punished, and Restored

2 Plead with [11] your mother!
    Plead with her, because she is not my wife,
    and I am not her husband.
    Let her put away her sexual immorality from her presence
    and her acts of adultery from between her breasts.
3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked
    and expose her as she was on the day she was born.
    I will make her like a wilderness.
    I will cause her to be like a dry land.
    I will cause her to die of thirst.
4 I will have no compassion on her children,
    because they are children of promiscuity,
5 because their mother has been promiscuous. [12]
    She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
    She said, “I will chase after my lovers,
        the ones who give me my food and my water,
        my wool and my flax, my olive oil and my drinks.”
6 Therefore, this is what I will do:
    I will block your [13] way with thorns.
    I will build a wall against her,
    so that she cannot find her paths.
7 She will chase after her lovers,
    but she will not reach them.
    She will seek them,
    but she will not find them.
    She will say, “I will go back to my first husband,
    because then it was better for me than it is now.”
8 But she would not acknowledge that I gave her the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil.
    I gave her large amounts of silver and gold—her people used it for Baal!
9 That is why I will take back my grain during harvest time,
    and my new wine in its season.
    I will also take away my wool and my flax that were given to cover her nakedness.
10 Then I will expose her shameful nakedness in the sight of her lovers.
    No one will deliver her from my hand.
11 I will put an end to all her celebration:
    her pilgrimage festivals, [14] her monthly new moons, and her weekly Sabbaths—
    all her appointed festivals.
12 I will devastate her vines and her fig trees,
    about which she said, “These are the payment [15] that my lovers gave me.”
    I will make them into a scrub forest,
    and the wild animals will eat the crops.
13 I will punish her for the days with the Baals, on which she repeatedly offered incense to them.
    She adorned herself with her rings [16] and her jewelry,
    and then she chased after her lovers,
    and she forgot me, declares the Lord.
14 But watch! I am going to court her.
    I will bring her into the wilderness.
    I will speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her vineyards back to her.
    The Valley of Achor [17] will be a door of hope.
    She will respond there as in the days of her youth,
    as in the day she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 In that day, declares the Lord, this is what will take place:
    You will call me “my husband.”
    You will no longer call me “my master.” [18]
17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth.
    She will no longer call them by their names. [19]
18 In that day I will make a covenant for the Israelites with the wild animals, with the birds of the sky and the things that creep on the ground.
    I will break the bow and the sword.
    I will abolish war from the land.
    I will allow the people to lie down safely. [20]
19 I will pledge you to myself in marriage forever.
    I will pledge you to myself in marriage—
    with righteousness, justice, mercy, and compassion.
20 In faithfulness I will pledge you to myself in marriage,
    and you will know the Lord.
21 In that day this is what will happen:
    I will respond, declares the Lord.
    I will respond to the heavens,
    and they will respond to the earth.
22 The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil.
    They will respond to Jezre’el.
23 I will sow her for myself in the land.
    I will have compassion for Lo Ruhamah, [21]
    and I will tell Lo Ammi, [22] “You are my people,”
    and he will say, “You are my God!”

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 1:1 The stop mark ′ indicates that Be’er – should be pronounced as two syllables.
  2. Hosea 1:2 Or prostitution. The Hebrew term includes paid prostitution, but it also includes promiscuous sexual immorality which is not done for money. It also includes sexual misconduct by perpetrators who pay their lovers instead of the other way around.
  3. Hosea 1:4 Jezre’el means God sows, and it is the name of both a valley and a city in Israel. Ahab and Jezebel murdered Naboth at the city of Jezre’e l, and Jehu destroyed the dynasty of Ahab there.
  4. Hosea 1:6 The Hebrew name Lo Ruhamah means no compassion or no pity.
  5. Hosea 1:7 Or charioteers
  6. Hosea 1:9 The Hebrew name Lo Ammi means not my people.
  7. Hosea 1:9 The Hebrew reads I am not I am for you, an allusion to the Lord’s gracious name, I am.
  8. Hosea 1:11 English verses 1:10-11 are verses 2:1-2 in the Hebrew text. All the subsequent verse numbers in chapter 2 are two numbers lower in English than they are in Hebrew.
  9. Hosea 2:1 Hebrew Ammi
  10. Hosea 2:1 Hebrew Ruhamah
  11. Hosea 2:2 Or bring charges against. Also in the next line.
  12. Hosea 2:5 Or been a prostitute or acted like a prostitute
  13. Hosea 2:6 Your is the reading of the Hebrew. The Greek and Syriac read her.
  14. Hosea 2:11 That is, Passover, Pentecost, and Shelters
  15. Hosea 2:12 Or gifts
  16. Hosea 2:13 Either earrings or nose rings
  17. Hosea 2:15 Valley of Achor means Valley of Trouble. It refers to the location of the incident caused by Achan in Joshua 7.
  18. Hosea 2:16 Hebrew my baal
  19. Hosea 2:17 Or call on their names
  20. Hosea 2:18 Or securely
  21. Hosea 2:23 The Hebrew name Lo Ruhamah means no compassion.
  22. Hosea 2:23 The Hebrew name Lo Ammi means not my people.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 03

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 03

Amos 8:4 – 9:15

Through My Bible – August 03

Amos 8:4 – 9:15 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Amos 8

Fraud and Hypocrisy on Holy Days

4 Listen to this, you who trample on the needy
        to wipe out the oppressed from the land,
5 who say, “When will the New Moon be over so that we can sell grain?
    When will the Sabbath end so that we can open the grain bins?
    Then we will make the bushel [1] smaller and make the shekel weight heavier. [2]
    We will cheat with dishonest scales.
6 We will buy the poor for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.
    We will sell the chaff with the grain.”

A Famine of the Lord’s Word

7 The Lord swears by the Pride of Jacob,
    “I will never forget any of their deeds!”
8 Because of this, the land will shake,
    and everyone living in it will mourn.
    The whole land will rise up like the Nile.
    It will surge and sink down again like the Nile of Egypt.
9 Here is what will happen on that day, declares the Lord God:
    I will make the sun set at noon,
    and I will bring darkness on the earth when it should be light.
10 I will turn your festivals into mourning
    and all of your songs into a lamentation.
    I will put sackcloth on all your waists
    and baldness on every head.
    I will make that day like the mourning for an only son,
    and it will end like a bitter day.
11 Look, the days are coming, declares the Lord God,
    when I will send a famine into the land—
    not a famine of bread
    nor a thirst for water,
    but rather a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People will stumble from sea to sea
    and from north to east.
    They will roam back and forth seeking the word of the Lord,
    but they will not find it.
13 On that day the beautiful virgins will faint,
    and the young men will grow weak from thirst.
14 Those who swear by the shameful guilt [3] of Samaria,
    those who say, “As your god lives, Dan,”
    or, “The way of Beersheba lives”—
    they will fall, and they will never rise again.

The Fifth Vision: The Lord Topples the Temple

Amos 9

1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

    Strike the capitals on top of the pillars so that the thresholds shake.
    Cut them off so that they fall on the heads of all the people,
    and those who survive I will kill with the sword.
    No one who flees from there will get away,
    and not a single fugitive from among them will escape.
2 Even if they dig down to hell, [4]
    from there my hand will seize them.
    And even if they ascend to heaven,
    from there I will bring them down.
3 Even if they hide themselves on the top of Mount Carmel,
    from there I will search for them, and I will seize them.
    Even if they hide themselves from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
    from there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them.
4 Even if they go into captivity in the presence of their enemies,
    from there I will command the sword, and it will kill them.
    And I will set my eye upon them for disaster and not for good.

The Lord Shakes the Earth

5 The Lord God of Armies is the one who touches the earth, so that it melts.
    All who dwell on it mourn.
    All of it rises like the Nile,
    and like the Nile of Egypt it sinks down again.
6 He is the one who builds his upper chambers in heaven.
    He set the foundation for his vault upon the earth.
    He is the one who summons the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the earth—
    the Lord is his name.

The Final Judgment

7 Are you not like Cushites [5] to me, you children of Israel?
    declares the Lord.
    Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt
    and the Philistines from Caphtor [6]
    and the Arameans from Kir? [7]
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
    and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
    But I will never completely destroy the house of Jacob,
    declares the Lord.
9 Listen! I am giving a command,
    and among all the nations I will shake the house of Israel
        as the contents of a sieve are shaken,
    and not even one pebble [8] will fall out to the ground. [9]
10 By a sword, all the sinners among my people will die,
    those who are saying, “Disaster will not overtake us. It will not confront us.”

The Restoration of David’s Fallen Shelter

11 In that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David.

I will repair the broken parts of its walls,

and I will raise up its ruins.

I will rebuild it as in days of old,

12 so that they will possess what remains of Edom,

that is, all the nations who are called by my name,

declares the Lord, who is doing this.

13 Look, days are coming, declares the Lord,

when the plowman will catch up with the reaper,

and the one who tramples grapes will catch up with the one sowing the seed.

The mountains will drip sweet wine, [10]

and all the hills will wave with grain. [11]

14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,

and they will rebuild the desolate cities and dwell in them.

They will plant vineyards and drink their wine,

and they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

15 I will plant them in their soil,

and they will never again be uprooted from the soil

that I have given to them,

says the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:5 Literally the ephah
  2. Amos 8:5 Merchants cheated by measuring out the grain they were selling with an undersized bushel and weighing the silver they received with an overweight shekel.
  3. Amos 8:14 Possibly a distortion of the name of the goddess Ashima/Asherah
  4. Amos 9:2 Hebrew sheol
  5. Amos 9:7 Cushites are black Africans from south of Egypt, from the territory that today is Sudan.
  6. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete or some other location in the Mediterranean
  7. Amos 9:7 The location of Kir is unknown. It is probably far to the north.
  8. Amos 9:9 Or kernel of grain
  9. Amos 9:9 The people of Israel are being sorted through a sieve. It is not clear whether those kept in the sieve are the pebbles that cannot escape judgment or the grains that are being separated from the chaff, which will be burned. The judgment is the same in either case.
  10. Amos 9:13 Sweet wine refers to wine that is still sweet because it has not yet been soured by continued fermentation.
  11. Amos 9:13 Or flow with wine




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 02

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 02

Amos 7:1 – 8:3

Through My Bible – August 02

Amos 7:1 – 8:3 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The First Vision: The Locusts

Amos 7

1 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw that he was forming a locust swarm at the time when the late crops [1] were beginning to sprout—the crops that were planted after the cuttings of hay for the king.

2 When the swarm had finished consuming the vegetation of the land, I said, “Lord God, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? Look, he is so small!”

3 The Lord changed his decree about this. “It will not happen,” said the Lord.

The Second Vision: The Fire

4 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw the Lord God calling for a trial by fire, which devoured the great deep and started to consume the land.

5 I said, “Lord God, please stop! How can Jacob stand? Look, he is so small!”

6 The Lord changed his decree about this. “This will not happen,” said the Lord God.

The Third Vision: The Plumb Line

7 This is what he showed me: I saw the Lord standing by a wall that had been constructed with a plumb line. He had a plumb line in his hand.

8 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?”

I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said:

    Look, I am about to set up a plumb line next to my people Israel.
    I will no longer overlook their sin.
9 The high places of Isaac will be desolate,
    and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined.
    I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

Amos and Amaziah

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: [2]

Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words. 11 This is what Amos says: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.”

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer, get out of here! Flee to the land of Judah. You may eat food and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”

14 Then Amos responded to Amaziah:

I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

16 But now, hear the word of the Lord, you who are saying, “Do not prophesy against Israel” and “Do not preach [3] against the house of Isaac.”

17 This is what the Lord says: “Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be parceled out with a measuring line, and as for you, you will die upon unclean soil. And Israel will certainly go into exile far away from its own soil.”

The Fourth Vision: The Basket of Summer Fruit

Amos 8

1 This is what the Lord God showed me: I saw a basket of ripe summer fruit. 2 Then he asked, “What do you see, Amos?”

I said, “A basket of ripe summer fruit.”

Then the Lord said to me, “The end is coming upon my people Israel. [4] I will no longer overlook their sin. 3 The singing women of the palace [5] will wail on that day, declares the Lord God. Many corpses—all over! Silence!”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:1 The late crops are the crops that grow at the time of the last spring rain, as the rainy season is coming to an end. Since the king has already collected all the taxes for the whole year from the first cuttings, if the spring rain fails, it is the people who will come up short.
  2. Amos 7:10 Jeroboam II ruled from about 793 to 753 bc. This encounter was probably near the end of his reign.
  3. Amos 7:16 Literally drip
  4. Amos 8:2 The Hebrew words for summer fruit and end sound alike. Just as the summer fruit is ripe, Israel is ripe for judgment.
  5. Amos 8:3 Or the songs of the temple




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 01

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – August 01

Amos 6

Through My Bible – August 01

Amos 6 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Judgment Against Complacency

1 Woe to [1] you who are complacent in Zion,
you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
    you distinguished people of the leading nation,
    to whom the house of Israel comes.
2 Travel to Kalneh and look.
    Go from there to Hamath Rabbah,
    and go down to Gath of the Philistines.
    Are you better than those kingdoms?
    Are their territories greater than your territory? [2]
3 You who are trying to put off the evil day,
    you bring near the session for violence!
4 Those who lie on ivory beds,
    sprawling upon their couches,
    eating lambs from the flock
    and calves straight from the stall,
5 improvising tunes on the lyre,
    composing music for themselves on musical instruments like David,
6 drinking large bowls of wine—
    they slather [3] themselves with the most expensive perfumed oils,
    but they do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
7 That is why they will go into exile as the first of the exiles.
    Those who sprawl out at their feasts for the dead will depart.

Certain Destruction for Proud Israel

8 The Lord God swears by himself,
    declares the Lord, the God of Armies:
    I detest the pride of Jacob,
    and I hate his citadels,
    so I will hand over the city and everything in it.

9 If ten men happen to survive in one house, they will die. 10 When a relative who burns the bodies [4] comes to take away the bones from the house, he will say to whoever remains in the recesses of the house, “Is there anyone else still with you?” And they will say, “No one.” And he will say, “Silence! For you must not invoke the name of the Lord!” [5]

11 Look, the Lord is indeed giving a command, and he will smash the largest house into fragments and the smallest house into splinters.

12 Do horses run on a rocky cliff?
    Does anyone plow the sea with an ox? [6]
    Yet you turn justice into poison
    and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.
13 You are rejoicing over Lo Debar.
    You are saying, “Was it not by our strength that we captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 Indeed, I am about to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,
    declares the Lord, the God of Armies.
    They will oppress you from Lebo Hamath to the Canyon of the Arabah. [7]

Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:1 Or how terrible it will be for
  2. Amos 6:2 The line of thought is difficult to follow here. The context seems to require that the two lines of the verse be parallel statements, each of which requires the answer “no.” The context therefore seems to call for reversing the second comparison, but there is no manuscript evidence to support such a switch.
  3. Amos 6:6 Literally anoint, but the reference is not to anointing to office.
  4. Amos 6:10 Or who prepares bodies for burial
  5. Amos 6:10 Verses 9 and 10 are difficult. Translations vary greatly.
  6. Amos 6:12 The translation follows a re-division of a word of the Hebrew text. The main Hebrew text reads does one plow with oxen, a reading which calls for the answer “yes,” but which does not fit the context. Another solution is to repeat the object rocky cliff from the first half of the verse: does one plow a rocky cliff with oxen?
  7. Amos 6:14 Lebo Hamath is far to the north in Syria. The Arabah is the rift between the mountains of Edom and the mountains of Sinai, south of Israel.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 31

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 31

Amos 5

Through My Bible – July 31

Amos 5 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Mourning for Fallen Israel

1 Listen to this word that I am raising against you as a lament, [1] O house of Israel:

2 Virgin Israel has fallen, and she will not rise again.
    She is abandoned on her own soil.
    There is no one to lift her up.
3 For this is what the Lord God says:
    A city that marches out with a thousand will have a hundred left.
    A city that marches out with a hundred will have ten left for the house of Israel.

Seek the Lord and Live!

4 Listen, this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:

    Seek me and live!
5 But do not seek Bethel.
    Do not go to Gilgal.
    Do not travel to Beersheba,
    because Gilgal surely will go into exile,
    and Bethel will become nothing.

6 Seek the Lord and live,
    or he will rush upon the house of Joseph like fire.
    The fire will consume, and no one will extinguish it for Bethel.

7 There are some who turn justice into wormwood, [2]
    who throw righteousness to the ground.

8 There is one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
    who turns the shadow of death into morning,
    who darkens day into night,
    who summons the waters of the seas,
    who pours them out upon the face of the earth—
    the Lord is his name.
9 He causes destruction to flash against a stronghold,
    and destruction comes upon a fortress.

10 There are those who hate an arbitrator [3] in the city gate. [4]
    They despise anyone who speaks honestly.
11 That is why you trample on the poor,
    and you collect taxes on their grain.
    You have built houses of cut stones,
    but you will not live in them.
    You have planted choice vineyards,
    but you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know that your rebellious deeds are many,
    and your sins are numerous,
    you who are enemies of a righteous man,
    you who take bribes.
    They thrust away needy people in the city gate.
13 That is why a prudent man will be silent in that time,
    because it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live,
    and then it will be like this for you:
    The Lord, the God of Armies, will be with you, as you claim.
15 Hate evil and love good.
    Establish justice in the city gate.
    Perhaps the Lord, the God of Armies,
        will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says,
    the God of Armies, who is the Lord:
    In the city squares there will be grief,
    and in the streets they will say, “Woe, woe!”
    They will summon the farmer to mourn
    and the professional mourners to sing laments.
17 In all the vineyards there will be grief,
    because I will pass through your midst, says the Lord.

The Day of the Lord Brings Darkness

18 Woe to those who long for the Day of the Lord!
    What good will the Day of the Lord be for you?
    It will be darkness and not light.
19 It will be as if a man flees from a lion,
    but a bear meets him,
    or he enters a house and rests his hand on a wall,
    but a snake bites him.
20 Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness and not light,
    gloom without a trace of brightness?

The Lord Hates Faithless Worship

21 I hate, I reject, your festivals!
    I do not delight in the aroma of the sacrifices at your sacred convocations.
22 Even if you offer up to me your whole burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
    I will not pay any attention to your fellowship offerings of fattened calves.
23 Get the noise of your songs away from me!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll like the waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You lifted up images of Sakkuth, your king,
    and of Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves. [5]
27 So I will exile you beyond Damascus,
    says the Lord, whose name is the God of Armies.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:1 Or sad song
  2. Amos 5:7 Wormwood is a toxic, bitter-tasting substance (absinthe).
  3. Amos 5:10 Or a mediator
  4. Amos 5:10 The city gate served as the courthouse.
  5. Amos 5:26 The form and meaning of several of the terms and names referring to gods in verse 26 are uncertain. The terms seem to refer to astral deities, most likely including Saturn.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 30

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 30

Amos 3 – 4

Through My Bible – July 30

Amos 3 – 4 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Why Amos Must Prophesy

Amos 3

1 People of Israel, listen to this word that the Lord has spoken concerning you, concerning the entire family of clans that I brought up from the land of Egypt:

2 You alone have I chosen [1] from all the clans of the earth.
    Therefore I will inflict punishment on you for all your guilt.
3 Can two people walk together without agreeing to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest if it does not have prey?
    Does a young lion growl from its den if it has not caught anything?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
    Does a trap spring up from the ground when nothing has tripped it?
6 If a ram’s horn is sounded in a city, the people become alarmed, don’t they?
    If a disaster takes place in a city, is it not the Lord who has done it?
7 Certainly the Lord God does not do anything
        without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared! Who can avoid being terrified?
    The Lord God has spoken! Who can hold back from prophesying?

Judgment Against Samaria

9 Make this known to the citadels in Ashdod
    and to the citadels in the land of Egypt.
    Tell them, “Gather yourselves together on the mountains of Samaria.
    See the great confusion [2] there
    and the oppression in her midst.”
10 They do not know how to do what is right, declares the Lord.
    They are storing up violence and destruction in their citadels.
11 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:
    An enemy is all over the land.
    He will strip your strength from you,
    and your citadels will be plundered.
12 This is what the Lord says:
    Just as a shepherd rescues two legs or a tip of an ear
    from the mouth of a lion,
    so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be rescued
    with only a corner of a bed or a piece of cloth [3] from a couch.

13 Listen and testify against the house of Jacob,
    declares the Lord God, the God of Armies.
14 Indeed, on the day when I punish the rebellious deeds of Israel,
    I will punish the altars of Bethel.
    The horns of the altar will be cut off,
    and they will fall to the ground.
15 I will strike the winter house
    along with the summer house.
    The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed,
    and the great houses will come to an end,
    declares the Lord.

Amos 4

1 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan,
who are on the mountain of Samaria,
    you women who are oppressing the poor,
    who are crushing the needy,
    who say to your husbands, “Bring us more drinks!”
2 The Lord God swears by his holiness:
    The days are surely coming against you,
    when they will drag you away with hooks,
    every last one of you with fishhooks.
3 You will go out through the broken-down walls.
    Each woman will go straight ahead,
    and you will be thrown out [4] toward Harmon, [5]
    declares the Lord.

4 Go to Bethel and rebel.
    Rebel even more at Gilgal.
    Bring your sacrifices every morning,
    your tithes every third day.
5 Burn some leavened bread as a thank offering,
    and proclaim voluntary offerings—announce them!
    For you love to do this, you people of Israel,
    says the Lord God.

Warnings Produce No Repentance

6 I am the one who gave to you clean teeth [6] in all of your cities,
    and lack of food in all your places,
    but you did not return to me,
    declares the Lord.

7 I am the one who withheld the rain from you
    while there were still three months before the harvest.
    I would send rain on one city,
    but on another city I would not send rain.
    One plot of ground would receive rain,
    but another plot, on which it did not rain, would dry up.
8 Whenever people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water to drink,
    they would not have enough,
    but you did not return to me,
    declares the Lord.

9 I struck you with blight and mildew.
    Your many gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees,
    and your olive trees were devoured by locusts,
    but you did not return to me,
    declares the Lord.

10 I sent plagues against you like the plagues in Egypt.
    I killed your best soldiers with the sword,
    together with your captured horses.
    I made the stench of your camp rise up into your nostrils,
    but you did not return to me,
    declares the Lord.

11 I overthrew some of you,
    just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
    and you became like a burning stick snatched from the fire,
    but you did not return to me,
    declares the Lord.

12 Therefore, this is what I will do to you, Israel.
    Yes, this is what I will do to you:
    Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
13 Indeed, he who forms mountains and who creates wind,
    who declares his thoughts to mankind,
    who turns dawn into darkness,
    and who treads down the high places of the earth,
    the Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:2 Literally known
  2. Amos 3:9 Or turmoil
  3. Amos 3:12 The meaning of this word is uncertain.
  4. Amos 4:3 In the Hebrew text the verb is active, you will throw. The translation follows the Greek text.
  5. Amos 4:3 The meaning of the word Harmon is uncertain. It may be a place name or mean something like garbage dump.
  6. Amos 4:6 A striking description of people who have no food to chew




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 29

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 29

Amos 1 – 2

Through My Bible – July 29

Amos 1 – 2 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Amos 1

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders [1] from Tekoa. He saw a vision concerning Israel during the days of Uzziah king of Judah and during the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 He said:
    The Lord roars from Zion.
    From Jerusalem he sends out his voice.
    The pastures of the shepherds dry up, [2]
    and the top of Mount Carmel withers.

Judgment Against Aram

3 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins [3] of Damascus,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they cut up Gilead with iron threshing boards. [4]
4 So I will send fire against the house of Hazael,
    and it will consume the fortresses of Ben Hadad.
5 I will break the bars of the gates of Damascus,
    and I will cut off the one seated in the Valley of Aven,
    and the one who holds a scepter in Beth Eden. [5]
    So the people of Aram will go into exile toward Kir. [6]
    The Lord has spoken.

Judgment Against Philistia

6 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Gaza,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they sold an entire population into exile,
    handing them over to Edom.
7 So I will send fire against the city wall of Gaza,
    and it will consume her citadels.
8 I will cut off the one seated in Ashdod,
    and the one who holds a scepter in Ashkelon.
    I will also turn my hand against Ekron,
    and what is left of the Philistines will perish.
    The Lord God has spoken.

Judgment Against Canaan

9 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Tyre,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they delivered over an entire population and exiled them to Edom,
    and they did not remember a treaty of brotherhood.
10 So I will send fire against the city wall of Tyre,
    and it will consume her citadels.

Judgment Against Edom

11 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Edom,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because he [7] pursued his brother with a sword,
    and he had no compassion. [8]
    His anger kept tearing Israel apart,
    and his fury raged without stopping.
12 So I will send fire against Teman,
    and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

Judgment Against Ammon

13 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of the Ammonites,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their own territory.
14 So I will ignite a fire against the city wall of Rabbah,
    and it will consume her citadels
        with a battle cry on the day of war,
        with a strong wind on the day of the storm.
15 Then their king will go into exile,
    he and his officials together.
    The Lord has spoken.

Judgment Against Moab

Amos 2

1 This is what the Lord says:
Because of three sins of Moab,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they burned the bones of the king of Edom to make lime.
2 So I will send fire against Moab,
    and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.
    Moab will die in an uproar,
    with a battle cry, with a blast of a ram’s horn.
3 I will cut off the judge [9] from her midst,
    and I will kill all her officials with him.
    The Lord has spoken.

Judgment Against Judah

4 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Judah,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they rejected the law of the Lord,
    and they did not keep his statutes.
    Their lying idols led them astray,
    the idols that their fathers followed.
5 So I will send fire against Judah,
    and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

Judgment Against Israel

6 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Israel,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they sell the righteous for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth,
    and they turn aside the claims of the oppressed.
    A man and his father go to the same young woman.
    In this way they profane my holy name.
8 They stretch themselves out beside every altar
        on pieces of clothing they seized as collateral.
    In the temple of their gods they drink wine obtained through fines.

9 I was the one who destroyed the Amorites in front of them,
    the Amorites, who were as tall as cedars,
    who were as strong as oaks.
    I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.
10 I myself brought you up from the land of Egypt,
    and I led you in the wilderness for forty years,
        so that you would take possession of the land of the Amorites.
11 I raised up some of your sons to be prophets,
    and some of your best young men to be Nazirites.
    Is this not so, you people of Israel? declares the Lord.
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
    and you commanded the prophets, “You must not prophesy!”

13 Look, I am weighed down under you,
    just as a cart is weighed down when it is loaded with sheaves of grain. [10]
14 There will be no escape for the swift runner.
    The powerful man will not be able to exert his strength,
    and the strong warrior will not be able to save his own life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground.
    The swift runner will not save himself,
    and the horseman will not save his own life.
16 The most courageous among the warriors will flee naked on that day,
    declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Or ranchers
  2. Amos 1:2 Or mourn
  3. Amos 1:3 Or crimes
  4. Amos 1:3 A threshing board or threshing sledge is similar to a toboggan, but it has iron teeth protruding from the bottom. It is dragged over piles of grain to cut up the straw and release the kernels of grain.
  5. Amos 1:5 Valley of Aven and Beth Eden mean Valley of Wickedness and House of Pleasure. They may be figurative names for the region around Damascus.
  6. Amos 1:5 The location of Kir is unknown. It probably lies far to the north or east.
  7. Amos 1:11 Edom is referred to by the singular he because it is also a name of Jacob’s brother Esau.
  8. Amos 1:11 Or he destroyed pregnant women
  9. Amos 2:3 Or ruler
  10. Amos 2:13 The meaning of the verse is uncertain. It may mean I will weigh you down as a cart is weighed down.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 28

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 28

Acts 28:17-31

Through My Bible – July 28

Acts 28:17-31 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 28

17 Three days later, Paul called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Gentlemen, brothers, although I had done nothing against the people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem to the Romans. 18 After they interrogated me, they wanted to release me, because there were no grounds for the death penalty in my case. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. 20 That is why I asked to see you and speak to you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”

21 They said to him, “We have not received any letters about you from Judea, and none of the brothers who came here has reported or said anything evil about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”

23 They set a day to meet with Paul, and even more of them came to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and testified about the kingdom of God. He also tried to convince them about Jesus, both from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others continued in their unbelief.

25 They were arguing with one another and began to leave after Paul made this one statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your [1] fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

26 Go to this people and say,
You will keep hearing and yet never understand;
you will keep seeing and yet never perceive.
27 For the heart of this people has grown dull,
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and turn, and I would heal them. [2]

28 “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” [3]

30 For two whole years Paul stayed in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to visit him. 31 He was preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without anyone stopping him.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 28:25 Some of the witnesses to the text read our.
  2. Acts 28:27 Isaiah 6:9-10
  3. Acts 28:28 A few witnesses to the text add 29 After he spoke these words, the Jews departed, while having a long debate among themselves.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 27

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 27

Acts 28:1-16

Through My Bible – July 27

Acts 28:1-16 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 28

Safe on Malta

1 Once we were safely on shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The natives showed us extraordinary kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all, because it had started to rain and was cold.

3 As Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and laid it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he escaped from the sea, Justice [1] has not allowed him to live.”

5 However, Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not harmed. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

7 In the nearby vicinity was an estate that belonged to a man named Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as his guests for three days. 8 The father of Publius happened to be sick in bed, suffering from a fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him.

9 After that happened, others on the island who were sick also came and were healed. 10 They honored us in many ways, and when we were going to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

On to Rome

11 After three months, we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island. Its figurehead was the Twin Brothers. [2] 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we sailed up the coast and arrived at Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers [3] and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers there heard the news about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.

God’s Witness Reaches Rome

16 When we entered Rome, [4] Paul was allowed to live by himself with a soldier who guarded him.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 28:4 Or justice. They likely meant a Greek goddess called Justice.
  2. Acts 28:11 The Twin Brothers figurehead referred to Castor and Pollux, two sons of Zeus.
  3. Acts 28:14 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
  4. Acts 28:16 Some witnesses to the text add the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 26

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 26

Acts 27:21-44

Through My Bible – July 26

Acts 27:21-44 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 27

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice and not set sail from Crete and avoided this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because there will be no loss of life among you. Only the ship will be lost. 23 In fact, last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And surely God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, because I believe God that it will be exactly the way I have been told. 26 However, we must run aground on some island.”

The Shipwreck

27 When the fourteenth night came, while we were being driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, [1] about midnight the sailors suspected that they were approaching some land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be one hundred twenty feet deep. [2] After sailing a little farther, they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. [3] 29 Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

30 The sailors tried to escape from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “If these men do not stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it fall away.

33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged them all to eat some food. He said, “This is the fourteenth day you have waited in suspense and have gone without food. You have eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food because this is important for your rescue. In fact, not a hair from any of your heads will be lost.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and took some food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten all they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

39 At daybreak, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they planned to run the ship aground if they could. 40 They cut off the anchors, leaving them in the sea, and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then, after hoisting the foresail to the wind, they headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, while the stern began to break up from the pounding of the waves.

42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one would swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion wanted to save Paul and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make their way to land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks, and some on other pieces from the ship. In this way, all of them were brought safely onto land.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:27 At that time, the Adriatic Sea included the present-day Adriatic plus a large section of the Mediterranean Sea south of it.
  2. Acts 27:28 Or twenty fathoms (a fathom is about six feet deep)
  3. Acts 27:28 Or fifteen fathoms




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 25

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 25

Acts 27:1-20

Through My Bible – July 25

Acts 27:1-20 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 27

Paul Sails for Rome

1 When it was decided that we [1] would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment. 2 After boarding a ship from Adramyttium, which was going to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

3 The next day, we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. 4 From there we put out to sea and sailed on the sheltered side of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 We crossed the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia and landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, and he put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Since the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed on the sheltered side of Crete, off Salmone. 8 With difficulty we sailed along its coast and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

9 Since so much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the Fast [2] was already over, Paul advised them, 10 “Men, it looks to me as if the voyage is going to end with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the ship than to what Paul was saying. 12 Since that harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix and winter there. (Phoenix is a harbor on Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.) 13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they could carry out their plan. They raised the anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete.

The Storm

14 But before long, a hurricane-like wind, called the “northeaster,” rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we sailed on the sheltered side of a small island called Cauda, we were barely able to secure the skiff. [3] 17 After hoisting it on board, the men tied ropes around the ship to reinforce it. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and in this way were driven along. 18 Because we were tossed around so violently by the storm, the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the violent storm kept pressing down on us, finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:1 Luke is included.
  2. Acts 27:9 The Fast refers to the Jewish Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) in the fall, just before the winter months, when sea travel was treacherous.
  3. Acts 27:16 A small service boat (also mentioned in verses 30 and 32)




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 24

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 24

Acts 26:19-32

Through My Bible – July 24

Acts 26:19-32 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 26

19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 Rather, I first told those in Damascus and Jerusalem about it, and then throughout the entire country of Judea and also the Gentiles. I told them that they should repent and turn to God, while also doing works that are consistent with repentance. 21 These are the reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

22 “But I have had help from God right up to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great. I am saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would happen, 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

24 While Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you insane.”

25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus, but I am clearly speaking words that are true and sensible. 26 Certainly the king to whom I am freely speaking knows about these things. Indeed, I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, because this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you going to persuade me to become [1] a Christian?”

29 Paul replied, “I pray God, that whether in a short time or a long time, not only you, but also all those who are listening to me today would become what I am, except for these chains.”

30 After he had said these things, [2] the king stood up, along with the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 After they had left, they said to one another in private, “This man is doing nothing worthy of death or chains.”

32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Footnotes

  1. Acts 26:28 A few witnesses to the text read to make me.
  2. Acts 26:30 Some witnesses to the text omit After he had said these things.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 23

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 23

Acts 26:1-18

Through My Bible – July 23

Acts 26:1-18 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 26

1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am going to make my defense before you today concerning all the things about which I am being accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 “All the Jews know the way I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest party of our religion.

6 “And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 the promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. I am being accused by the Jews concerning this hope, O King. 8 Why does it seem unbelievable to any of you that God raises the dead?

9 “I too was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. After receiving authority from the chief priests, I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them throughout all the synagogues. Because I was so insanely angry with them, I even pursued them to foreign cities.

12 “That is how I came to be traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At noon along the road, O King, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, [1] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ [2]

15 “Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“The Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 Now get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen [3] and to the things I will reveal to you. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you. 18 You are to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Footnotes

  1. Acts 26:14 Or Aramaic. The Greek word is Hebrew but likely refers to the Aramaic dialect spoken by the Jews at that time and place.
  2. Acts 26:14 Goads are pointed sticks used to urge or direct an animal. To kick against the goads means to resist stubbornly.
  3. Acts 26:16 A few witnesses to the text add of me.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 22

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 22

Acts 25:13-27

Through My Bible – July 22

Acts 25:13-27 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 25

Paul’s Hearing Before Agrippa

13 Some days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were going to stay there a number of days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king. He said, “There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked for a sentence of condemnation against him.

16 “I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man [1] before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation.

17 “Therefore, after they came back here with me, I did not delay. On the next day I took my place on the judicial bench and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When the accusers stood up, they charged him with none of the crimes I was expecting. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who was dead, but who Paul claimed is alive. 20 Since I was at a loss how to investigate these issues, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there concerning these charges. 21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody until his majesty the emperor would decide his case, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”

22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”

23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the courtroom together with the commanders and the most prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in.

24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all the men who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish crowd petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he has done nothing that deserves death. Yet, since he appealed to his majesty the emperor, I decided to send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write. 27 Indeed, it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating what the charges are against him.”

Footnotes

  1. Acts 25:16 Some witnesses to the text add to die.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 21

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 21

Acts 24:22 – 25:12

Through My Bible – July 21

Acts 24:22 – 25:12 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 24

22 Then Felix, [1] because he was rather well informed about the Way, adjourned the proceedings. He said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to guard Paul, but to let him have some freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from taking care of his needs.

24 Several days later, Felix appeared in public with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 While Paul instructed him about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and replied, “Leave me for now, but when it is convenient, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, [2] and for this reason he sent for him as often as possible and talked with him.

27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. But because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul on Trial Before Festus

Acts 25

1 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 Then the high priests and the leaders of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul 3 and asked Festus for the favor of transferring Paul’s case to Jerusalem. Their plan was to ambush and kill Paul along the way.

4 However, Festus replied that Paul was being held in custody at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there soon. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let some of your leaders go down with me and press charges against him, if there is anything evil about the man.”

6 After spending no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat on the judicial bench and ordered Paul to be brought in.

7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they could not prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have not committed any offense against the Jewish law, against the temple, or against Caesar.”

9 But since Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor, he said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judicial bench, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as also you yourself know very well. 11 If I am guilty and have done something worthy of death, I am not trying to escape death. But if there is nothing to the charges they are making against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

12 After Festus conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Footnotes

  1. Acts 24:22 Some witnesses to the text add when he heard these things.
  2. Acts 24:26 A few witnesses to the text add in order that he might release him.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 20

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 20

Acts 24:1-21

Through My Bible – July 20

Acts 24:1-21 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 24

Paul on Trial Before Felix

1 Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They brought formal charges against Paul to the governor.

2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “We are enjoying a long period of peace because of you, most excellent Felix, and reforms are coming to this nation because of your foresight. 3 In every way and in every place, we acknowledge this with all gratitude. 4 But in order not to detain you any longer, I beg you in your kindness to give us a brief hearing. 5 For we have found this man to be a public menace, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. 6 He even tried to desecrate the temple, so we arrested him. [1] 8 By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn from him about all these accusations we are bringing against him.”

9 The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

10 When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I gladly make my defense. 11 You can verify for yourself that it was no more than twelve days ago when I went up to worship at Jerusalem. 12 They did not find me arguing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. 13 And they cannot prove to you the accusations they are now making against me.

14 “But I do confess to you that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything written throughout the Law and in the Prophets; 15 and I have the same hope in God that these men have, that there is going to be a resurrection [2] of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 This is the reason I continue to do my best to have a clear conscience toward both God and people.

17 “After several years, I came to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. 18 While I was doing these things, they found me ceremonially purified in the temple, without a crowd or disturbance. 19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who ought to be here before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. 20 Or let these men here state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, 21 unless this is about the one thing I shouted while standing in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”

Footnotes

  1. Acts 24:6 Some witnesses to the text add and wanted to judge him according to our law. 7 But Lysias the commander came and took him out of our hands with great force, 8 commanding his accusers to come to you. By.
  2. Acts 24:15 Some witnesses to the text add of the dead.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 19

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 19

Acts 23:11-35

Through My Bible – July 19

Acts 23:11-35 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 23

11 The following night the Lord stood next to Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have solemnly testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

The Plot to Kill Paul

12 When day came, the Jews [1] formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath, saying that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who took part in this plot.

14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn oath not to taste anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin file charges with the commander so that he will bring him down to you [2] as if you were going to make a more thorough examination of his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets close to this place.”

16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, he went into the barracks and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”

18 So he brought him to the commander and said, “The prisoner Paul called for me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”

19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”

20 He said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as if they want to gain more accurate information about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you, because more than forty of their men are waiting in ambush for him. They have bound themselves under a solemn oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready right now, waiting for your consent.”

22 So the commander dismissed the young man with this order: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported these things to me.”

23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready, along with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen, to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. [3] 24 Also provide mounts so that they can put Paul on one and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 He wrote a letter as follows:

26 Claudius Lysias,

To his Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came with the soldiers and rescued him, because I learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 Since I wanted to know the charge they were bringing against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. 29 I found he was being accused concerning questions of their law, but there was no charge that deserved death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed that there would be a plot against this man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to state what they have against him before you.

Farewell. [4]

31 So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night. 32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33 When the cavalry came to Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor, and they handed Paul over to him.

34 After the governor had read the letter, he asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul should be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 23:12 Some witnesses to the text read some of the Jews.
  2. Acts 23:15 A few witnesses to the text add tomorrow.
  3. Acts 23:23 9 pm
  4. Acts 23:30 A few witnesses to the text omit Farewell.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 18

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 18

Acts 22:30 – 23:10

Through My Bible – July 18

Acts 22:30 – 23:10 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 22

Paul on Trial Before the Sanhedrin

30 The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he untied him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to meet. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

Acts 23

1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Gentlemen, [1] brothers, I have lived my life before God with a completely clear conscience to this very day.”

2 But the high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there judging me according to the law, and then you order them to strike me contrary to the law!”

4 Those who were standing nearby said, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?”

5 Paul replied, “I did not know, brothers, that he is the high priest. Indeed, it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’” [2]

6 When Paul realized that some of them were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, “Gentlemen, brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope for the resurrection of the dead!”

7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in them all.) 9 Then there was a great uproar, and some of the experts in the law who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly: “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” [3]

10 The uproar became so great that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He commanded the soldiers to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 23:1 Literally Men
  2. Acts 23:5 Exodus 22:28
  3. Acts 23:9 Some witnesses to the text add “Let us not fight against God!”




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 17

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 17

Acts 22:17-29

Through My Bible – July 17

Acts 22:17-29 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 22

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance. 18 I saw the Lord telling me: ‘Hurry, get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

19 “I said, ‘Lord, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I stood by, giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were putting him to death.’

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

22 They were listening to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he is not fit to live!”

23 When they started shouting and throwing off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be interrogated by whipping, in order to learn why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him for the whipping, Paul asked the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and who has not been found guilty by a proper trial?”

26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you about to do? [1] This man is a Roman citizen!”

27 The commander came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

He answered, “Yes.”

28 Then the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.”

Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

29 Immediately, those who were about to interrogate him moved away from him. The commander was also alarmed when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen, because he had tied him up.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 22:26 Some witnesses to the text read Pay attention to what you are going to do.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 16

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 16

Acts 21:37 – 22:16

Through My Bible – July 16

Acts 21:37 – 22:16 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 21

Paul Makes His Defense

37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

He replied, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led four thousand men of the Assassins [1] into the wilderness?”

39 Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”

40 When the commander had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When they were all silent, Paul addressed them in the Hebrew dialect. [2]

Acts 22

1 “Gentlemen, brothers, and fathers, listen to my defense, which I am now going to make to you.”

2 When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, [3] they became even more quiet.

Then he said, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict ways of the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and throwing both men and women into prisons, 5 as also the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I even received letters from them to the brothers, and I was going to Damascus to bring back those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem so that they could be punished.

6 “While I was on the way and approaching Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’

9 “Those who were with me saw the light, [4] but they did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

10 “I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’

“The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told about everything you have been assigned to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.

12 “A man named Ananias lived there. He was a devout observer of the law and highly recommended by all the Jews living there. 13 He came to me, and as he stood beside me, he said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that very moment I was able to see him.

14 “Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear the sound of his voice. 15 For you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:38 Or dagger men. This group of assassins was called the Sicarii, because of their use of the sicarius, which was a short dagger.
  2. Acts 21:40 Or Aramaic. The Greek word is Hebrew but likely refers to the Aramaic dialect spoken by the Jews at that time and place.
  3. Acts 22:2 Or Aramaic
  4. Acts 22:9 Some witnesses to the text add and were afraid.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 15

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 15

Acts 21:17-36

Through My Bible – July 15

Acts 21:17-36 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 21

17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers gave us a warm welcome. 18 The next day, Paul went with us to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he reported in detail each of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 When they heard this, they praised God. [1]

Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and all of them are zealous observers of the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, since you are telling them not to circumcise their children or follow our customs. 22 So what is to be done? [2] They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 So do what we are going to tell you.

“We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them with you, go through the ceremony of purification with them, and pay their expenses so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to the reports that have been made about you, but that you yourself are carefully following the law. 25 As for the Gentiles who believe, we have sent them a letter about the resolution [3] that they should avoid food sacrificed to idols, blood, the meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality.”

26 The next day, Paul took the men and went through the ceremony of purification with them. He entered the temple to announce the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

Paul Is Arrested

27 When the seven days were almost over, Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law, and against this place. And now he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together as a mob. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were looking for a way to kill him, a report went up to the commander of the cohort [4] that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33 Then the commander approached Paul, arrested him, and gave an order that he should be bound with two chains. He asked who Paul was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since the commander could not find out the truth because of the uproar, he ordered his men to take Paul away to the barracks. 35 When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. 36 The large number of people that was following kept shouting, “Away with him!”

Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:20 Some witnesses to the text read the Lord.
  2. Acts 21:22 Some witnesses to the text add A crowd is bound to come together, for they.
  3. Acts 21:25 Some witnesses to the text add that they should observe no such thing except.
  4. Acts 21:31 A cohort was a Roman military unit that usually consisted of six hundred men.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 14

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 14

Acts 21:1-16

Through My Bible – July 14

Acts 21:1-16 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 21

To Tyre

1 After we [1] tore ourselves away from them and set sail, we headed straight to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 When we found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing by on its south side, we sailed to Syria and put in to port at Tyre, because there the ship was to unload its cargo.

4 We located the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 5 When our time there came to an end, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. We knelt down on the beach and prayed. 6 After saying good-bye to each other, we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

To Caesarea

7 When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers [2] and stayed with them for one day. 8 The next day, we left and came to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10 After we had stayed there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he came to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘This is the way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

12 When we heard this, both we and the local residents urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Since he could not be persuaded, we said nothing more except, “May the Lord’s will be done.”

In Jerusalem

15 After those days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason, with whom we were to stay. He was from Cyprus and was one of the first disciples.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:1 Luke is included.
  2. Acts 21:7 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 13

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 13

Acts 20:17-38

Through My Bible – July 13

Acts 20:17-38 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 20

Paul Says Farewell to the Elders of Ephesus

17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said to them, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me due to the plots of the Jews. 20 You know how I did not hesitate to proclaim to you anything that would be beneficial for you or to teach you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have solemnly testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. [1]

22 “And you see, now I am going to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit keeps warning me in town after town that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. 24 However, I consider my life as of no great value to me, so that I may finish my race and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus—to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.

25 “Now take note of this too. I know that none of you among whom I went around preaching the kingdom of God will ever see my face again. 26 Therefore I solemnly declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not hesitate to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God.

28 “Always keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, [2] which he purchased with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves, who will not spare the flock, will come in among you. 30 Even from your own group men will rise up, twisting the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore be always on the alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

32 “And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which has power to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I did not covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me. 35 In every way I gave you an example that, by working hard like this, we need to help the weak and to remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

36 After Paul said these things, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept very much, as they threw their arms around Paul’s neck and kissed him. 38 They were most distressed over the statement he made, that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:21 A few witnesses to the text omit Christ.
  2. Acts 20:28 Some witnesses to the text read the Lord.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 12

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 12

Acts 20:1-16

Through My Bible – July 12

Acts 20:1-16 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 20

To Macedonia and Greece

1 After the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. After saying good-bye, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 After he had gone through those areas and had spoken many words of encouragement to the people, he came to Greece 3 and stayed there three months.

Because a plot was made against him by the Jews just as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied [1] by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, along with Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us [2] at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and within five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Eutychus Raised From the Dead

7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul spoke to the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he continued talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus. He was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking for a long time. When he was sound asleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, bent over him, threw his arms around him, and said, “Do not be alarmed, because he is alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking for a considerable time until dawn, he left. 12 They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

On to Miletus

13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had arranged it this way, since he was intending to travel there by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 From there we set sail. We arrived off Chios the next day. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and [3] on the following day we came to Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to be in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:4 Some witnesses to the text add as far as Asia.
  2. Acts 20:5 Luke is included.
  3. Acts 20:15 Some witnesses to the text add after staying at Trogyllium.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 11

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Through My Bible Yr 03 – July 11

Acts 19:21-41

Through My Bible – July 11

Acts 19:21-41 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Acts 19

21 After all this had happened, Paul resolved in his spirit [1] to go to Jerusalem by traveling through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” 22 After sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he stayed in the province of Asia for a while.

The Riot in Ephesus

23 During that time there was more than a minor disturbance about the Way. 24 A certain silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little income for the craftsmen. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this income. 26 You also see and hear that not merely in Ephesus but throughout almost the entire province of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large number of people. He says that gods made by hands are not gods at all! 27 Not only is there danger that our trade may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be considered worthless. Then she will suffer the loss of her magnificence, although she is worshipped by the whole province of Asia and the world.”

28 When they heard this, they were filled with rage and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with confusion, and with one goal in mind they rushed to the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

32 Some were shouting one thing, others another, because the assembly was in confusion. Most of them did not even know why they had come together. 33 They made Alexander come out of the crowd. [2] It was the Jews who pushed him forward. Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry rose from all of them. For about two hours, they kept shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 After the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you need to be quiet and not do anything rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our [3] goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them press charges against one another. 39 If you want to pursue something about other matters, [4] it should be settled in the legal assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, because we will not be able to give any reason for this disorderly mob.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 19:21 Or in the Spirit
  2. Acts 19:33 A few witnesses to the text read Some in the crowd gave Alexander instructions.
  3. Acts 19:37 Some witnesses to the text read your.
  4. Acts 19:39 A few witnesses to the text read If there is anything further that you want.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.