Bible Readings for December 7, 2015

Today our passages are Hosea 6:1–9:17; 3 John 1-14; Psalm 126:1-6; and Proverbs 29:12-14. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal. 

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Hosea 6-9:17 (Contemporary English Version)

Hosea 6

The LORD's People Speak

 ¹Let's return to the LORD.    He has torn us to shreds,
   but he will bandage our wounds
   and make us well.
    ²In two or three days
   he will heal us
   and restore our strength
   that we may live with him.
    ³Let's do our best
   to know the LORD.
   His coming is as certain
   as the morning sun;
   he will refresh us like rain
   renewing the earth
   in the springtime.
   

The LORD Speaks to Israel and Judah

 ⁴People of Israel and Judah,    what can I do with you?
   Your love for me disappears
   more quickly
   than mist
   or dew at sunrise.
    ⁵That's why I slaughtered you
   with the words
   of my prophets.
   That's why my judgments blazed
   like the dawning sun. ^{[a] 6}I'd rather for you to be faithful
   and to know me
   than to offer sacrifices.
    ⁷At a place named Adam,
   you ^[b] betrayed me by breaking our agreement.
    ⁸Everyone in Gilead is evil;
   your hands are stained
   with the blood of victims. ^{[c] 9}You priests are like a gang
   of robbers in ambush. ^[d] On the road to Shechem ^[e] you murder
   and commit
   other horrible crimes.
    ¹⁰I have seen a terrible thing
   in Israel--
   you are unfaithful
   and unfit to worship me.
    ¹¹People of Judah,
   your time is coming too.
   I, the LORD, would like to make
   my nation prosper again
   

Hosea 7

The LORD Wants To Help Israel

 ¹and to heal its wounds.    But then I see the crimes
   in Israel ^[f] and Samaria. Everyone is deceitful;
   robbers roam the streets.
    ²No one realizes
   that I have seen their sins
   surround them
   like a flood.
    ³The king and his officials
   take great pleasure
   in their sin and deceit.
    ⁴Everyone burns with desire--
   they are like coals in an oven,
   ready to burst into flames.
    ⁵On the day their king
   was crowned,
   his officials got him drunk,
   and he joined
   in their foolishness. ^{[g] 6}Their anger is a fire
   that smolders all night,
   then flares up at dawn.
    ⁷They are flames
   destroying their leaders.
   And their kings are powerless;
   none of them trust me.
    ⁸The people of Israel ^[h] have mixed with foreigners;
   they are a thin piece of bread
   scorched on one side.
    ⁹They don't seem to realize
   how weak and feeble they are;
   their hair has turned gray,
   while foreigners rule.
    ¹⁰I am the LORD, their God,
   but in all of their troubles
   their pride keeps them
   from returning to me.
   
   

No Help from Foreign Nations

The LORD said:

 ¹¹Israel ^[i] is a senseless bird, fluttering back and forth    between Egypt and Assyria.
    ¹²But I will catch them in a net
   as hunters trap birds;
   I threatened to punish them,
   and indeed I will. ^{[j] 13}Trouble and destruction
   will be their reward
   for rejecting me.
   I would have rescued them,
   but they told me lies.
    ¹⁴They don't really pray to me;
   they just howl in their beds.
   They have rejected me for Baal
   and slashed themselves, ^[k] in the hope that Baal
   will bless their crops.
    ¹⁵I taught them what they know,
   and I made them strong.
   Now they plot against me
    ¹⁶and refuse to obey. ^[l] They are more useless
   than a crooked arrow.
   Their leaders will die in war
   for saying foolish things.
   Egyptians will laugh at them.
   

Hosea 8

Israel Rejects the LORD

The LORD said:

 ¹Sound a warning!    Israel, you broke our agreement
   and ignored my teaching.
   Now an eagle is swooping down
   to attack my land.
    ²Israel, you say, " We claim you,
   the LORD, as our God."
    ³But your enemies
   will chase you
   for rejecting
   our good agreement. ^{[m] 4}You chose kings and leaders
   without consulting me;
   you made silver and gold idols
   that led to your downfall.
    ⁵City of Samaria, I'm angry
   because of your idol
   in the shape of a calf.
   When will you ever
   be innocent again?
    ⁶Someone from Israel built
   that idol for you,
   but only I am God.
   And so it will be smashed
   to pieces. ^{[n] 7}If you scatter wind
   instead of wheat,
   you will harvest a whirlwind
   and have no wheat.
   Even if you harvest grain,
   enemies will steal it all.
    ⁸Israel, you are ruined,
   and now the nations
   consider you worthless.
    ⁹You are like a wild donkey
   that goes its own way.
   You've run off to Assyria
   and hired them as allies.
    ¹⁰You can bargain with nations,
   but I'll catch you anyway.
   Soon you will suffer abuse
   by kings and rulers.
    ¹¹Israel, you have built
   many altars
   where you offer
   sacrifices for sin.
   But these altars have become
   places for sin.
    ¹²My instructions for sacrifices
   were written in detail,
   but you ignored them.
    ¹³You sacrifice your best animals
   and eat the sacrificial meals, ^[o] but I, the LORD,
   refuse your offerings.
   I will remember your sins
   and punish you.
   Then you will return to Egypt. ^{[p] 14}Israel, I created you,
   but you forgot me.
   You and Judah built palaces
   and many strong cities. ^[q] Now I will send fire to destroy
   your towns and fortresses.
   

Hosea 9

Israel Will Be Punished

 ¹Israel, don't celebrate    or make noisy shouts ^[r] like other nations.
   You have been unfaithful
   to your God.
   Wherever grain is threshed,
   you behave like prostitutes
   because you enjoy
   the money you receive. ^{[s] 2}But you will run short
   of grain and wine,
    ³and you will have to leave
   the land of the LORD.
   Some of you will go to Egypt;
   others will go to Assyria
   and eat unclean food.
    ⁴You won't be able to offer
   sacrifices of wine
   to the LORD.
   None of your sacrifices
   will please him--
   they will be unclean
   like food offered to the dead.
   Your food will only be used
   to satisfy your hunger;
   none of it will be brought
   to the LORD's temple.
    ⁵You will no longer be able
   to celebrate the festival
   of the LORD. ^{[t] 6}Even if you escape alive,
   you will end up in Egypt
   and be buried in Memphis. ^[u] Your silver treasures
   will be lost among weeds; ^[v] thorns will sprout in your tents.
    ⁷Israel, the time has come.
   You will get what you deserve,
   and you will know it.
   " Prophets are fools," you say.
   " And God's messengers
   are crazy."
   Your terrible guilt
   has filled you with hatred.
    ⁸Israel, the LORD sent me
   to look after you. ^[w] But you trap his prophets
   and flood his temple
   with your hatred.
    ⁹You are brutal and corrupt,
   as were the men of Gibeah. ^[x] But God remembers your sin,
   and you will be punished.
   

Sin's Terrible Results

 ¹⁰Israel, when I, the LORD,    found you long ago
   it was like finding
   grapes in a barren desert
   or tender young figs.
   Then you worshiped Baal Peor,
   that disgusting idol,
   and you became as disgusting
   as the idol you loved.
    ¹¹And so, Israel, your glory
   will fly away like birds--
   your women will no longer
   be able to give birth.
    ¹²Even if you do have children,
   I will take them all
   and leave you to mourn.
   I will turn away,
   and you will sink down
   in deep trouble.
    ¹³Israel, when I first met you,
   I thought of you as palm trees
   growing in fertile ground. ^[y] Now you lead your people out,
   only to be slaughtered.
   

Hosea's Advice

 ¹⁴Our LORD, do just one thing    for your people--
   make their women unable
   to have children
   or to nurse their babies.
   

The LORD's Judgment on Israel

 ¹⁵Israel, I first began    to hate you
   because
   you did evil at Gilgal. ^[z] Now I will chase you
   out of my house.
   No longer will I love you;
   your leaders betrayed me.
    ¹⁶Israel, you are a vine
   with dried-up roots
   and fruitless branches.
   Even if you had more children
   and loved them dearly,
   I would slaughter them all.
   

Hosea Warns Israel

 ¹⁷Israel, you disobeyed my God.    Now he will force you to roam
   from nation to nation.
   

Footnotes:

1. Hosea 6:5 That's why my. . . sun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Hosea 6:7 At. . . you: Or " Like Adam, you" or " Each one of you."
3. Hosea 6:8 your hands. . . victims: This may refer to child sacrifice.
4. Hosea 6:9 You. . . ambush: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Hosea 6:9 Shechem: This was one of the towns where people could run for safety, if they had accidentally killed someone (see Joshua 20.1-9).
6. Hosea 7:1 Israel: See the note at 4.17. Samaria was the capital city of Israel.
7. Hosea 7:5 foolishness: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
8. Hosea 7:8 Israel: Hebrew " Ephraim" (see the note at 4.17).
9. Hosea 7:11 Israel: Hebrew " Ephraim" (see the note at 4.17).
10. Hosea 7:12 I threatened. . . will: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
11. Hosea 7:14 slashed themselves: One ancient translation and some Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts " gather together." Slashing themselves was one way of worshiping Baal (see 1 Kings 18.28).
12. Hosea 7:16 and. . . obey: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13. Hosea 8:3 our good agreement: Or " me, the Good One" (referring to God).
14. Hosea 8:6 smashed to pieces: Or " destroyed by fire."
15. Hosea 8:13 sacrifice. . . sacrificial meals: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Two kinds of sacrifices are referred to: Those in which the whole animal is burned on the altar (" whole burnt offerings" in traditional translations) and those in which part is eaten by the worshipers (" fellowship offerings" in traditional translations).
16. Hosea 8:13 return to Egypt: Either as slaves or to find help against Assyria.
17. Hosea 8:14 built palaces. . . cities: They did this because they no longer trusted the LORD to protect them. " Palaces" may also mean " temples."
18. Hosea 9:1 or. . . shouts: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
19. Hosea 9:1 Wherever. . . receive: Grain was threshed on hills or other places where the wind could blow away the husks. People also met at these places to worship Baal, the god they thought had given them the grain harvest.
20. Hosea 9:5 festival of the LORD: Probably the Festival of Shelters.
21. Hosea 9:6 Memphis: An Egyptian city with a famous cemetery.
22. Hosea 9:6 Your silver. . . weeds: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
23. Hosea 9:8 Israel. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
24. Hosea 9:9 the men of Gibeah: They raped and murdered a woman (see Judges 19).
25. Hosea 9:13 Israel, when. . . ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
26. Hosea 9:15 Gilgal: See 4.15.

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3 John 1-14 (Contemporary English Version)

3 John 1

 ¹From the church leader. ^[a] To my dear friend Gaius.    I love you because we follow the truth, ²dear friend, and I pray that all goes well for you. I hope that you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit. ³It makes me very happy when the Lord's followers come by and speak openly of how you obey the truth. ⁴Nothing brings me greater happiness than to hear that my children ^[b] are obeying the truth.

Working Together

 ⁵Dear friend, you have always been faithful in helping other followers of the Lord, even the ones you didn't know before. ⁶They have told the church about your love. They say you were good enough to welcome them and to send them on their mission in a way that God's servants deserve. ⁷When they left to tell others about the Lord, they decided not to accept help from anyone who wasn't a follower. ⁸We must support people like them, so that we can take part in what they are doing to spread the truth.     ⁹I wrote to the church. But Diotrephes likes to be the number-one leader, and he won't pay any attention to us. ¹⁰So if I come, I will remind him of how he has been attacking us with gossip. Not only has he been doing this, but he refuses to welcome any of the Lord's followers who come by. And when other church members want to welcome them, he puts them out of the church.
    ¹¹Dear friend, don't copy the evil deeds of others! Follow the example of people who do kind deeds. They are God's children, but those who are always doing evil have never seen God.
    ¹²Everyone speaks well of Demetrius, and so does the true message that he teaches. I also speak well of him, and you know what I say is true.
   

Final Greetings

 ¹³I have much more to say to you, but I don't want to write it with pen and ink. ¹⁴I hope to see you soon, and then we can talk in person.     ¹⁵I pray that God will bless you with peace!
   Your friends send their greetings. Please give a personal greeting to each of our friends.
   

Footnotes:

1. 3 John 1:1 church leader: Or "elder" or "presbyter" or "priest."
2. 3 John 1:4 children: Probably persons that the leader had led to be followers of the Lord.

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Psalm 126:1-6 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 126

(A song for worship.)

Celebrating the Harvest

 ¹It seemed like a dream    when the LORD brought us back
   to the city of Zion. ^{[a] 2}We celebrated with laughter
   and joyful songs.
   In foreign nations it was said,
   "The LORD has worked miracles
   for his people."
    ³And so we celebrated
   because the LORD had indeed
   worked miracles for us.
    ⁴Our LORD, we ask you to bless
   our people again,
   and let us be like streams
   in the Southern Desert.
    ⁵We cried as we went out
   to plant our seeds.
   Now let us celebrate
   as we bring in the crops.
    ⁶We cried on the way
   to plant our seeds,
   but we will celebrate and shout
   as we bring in the crops.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 126:1 brought. . . Zion: Or " made the city of Zion prosperous again."

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Proverbs 29:12-14 (Contemporary English Version)

¹²A ruler who listens to lies
   will have corrupt officials.
    ¹³The poor and all who abuse them
   must each depend on God
   for light.
    ¹⁴Kings who are fair to the poor
   will rule forever.

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Verse of the Day

“Jesus then said, "I am the one who raises the dead to life! Everyone who has faith in me will live, even if they die.” - John 11:25

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American author best known for his inspirational book, Life's Little Instruction Book, H. Jackson Brown, Jr. wrote, “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”