John 14:22–31; Revelation 2:1–17; Job 25–26; Hosea 7–8

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
John 14:22–31

22 uJudas (not Iscariot) said to him, Lord, how is it vthat you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world? 23 Jesus answered him, wIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and xwe will come to him and ymake our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And zthe word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

25 These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the aHelper, the Holy Spirit, bwhom the Father will send in my name, che will teach you all things and dbring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 ePeace I leave with you; fmy peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. gLet not your hearts be troubled, neither hlet them be afraid. 28 iYou heard me say to you, jI am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I kam going to the Father, for lthe Father is greater than I. 29 And mnow I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for nthe ruler of this world is coming. oHe has no claim on me, 31 but I do pas the Father has commanded me, qso that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.


Revelation 2:1–17

To the Church in Ephesus

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The words of ehim who holds the seven stars in his right hand, fwho walks among the seven golden lampstands.

gI know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but hhave tested those iwho call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up jfor my name’s sake, and you khave not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned lthe love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do mthe works you did at first. If not, nI will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of othe Nicolaitans, which I also hate. pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. qTo the one who conquers I will grant to eat of rthe tree of life, which is in sthe paradise of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The words of tthe first and the last, uwho died and came to life.

I know your tribulation and vyour poverty (vbut you are rich) and the slander1 of wthose who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, wthat you may be tested, and for xten days yyou will have tribulation. zBe faithful aunto death, and I will give you bthe crown of life. 11 cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. cThe one who conquers will not be hurt by dthe second death.

To the Church in Pergamum

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The words of him who has ethe sharp two-edged sword.

13 I know where you dwell, fwhere Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not gdeny my faith2 even in the days of Antipas hmy faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of iBalaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might jeat food sacrificed to idols and kpractice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of lthe Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, mI will come to you soon and nwar against them with ethe sword of my mouth. 17 cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. cTo the one who conquers I will give some of othe hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with pa new name written on the stone qthat no one knows except the one who receives it.


Job 25–26

Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous

Then oBildad the Shuhite answered and said:

Dominion and fear are with God;1

he makes peace in his high heaven.

Is there any number to his parmies?

Upon whom does his qlight not arise?

How then can man be rin the right before God?

How can he who is sborn of woman be tpure?

Behold, even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure in his eyes;

uhow much less man, who is va maggot,

and wthe son of man, who is a worm!

Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable

Then Job answered and said:

How you have xhelped him who has no power!

How you have saved ythe arm that has no strength!

How you have zcounseled him who has no wisdom,

and plentifully declared sound knowledge!

With whose help have you uttered words,

and whose breath ahas come out from you?

The bdead tremble

under the waters and their inhabitants.

Sheol is cnaked before God,2

and dAbaddon has no covering.

He estretches out the north over fthe void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

He gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

He covers the face of the full moon3

and hspreads over it his cloud.

10  He has inscribed ia circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

11  jThe pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his krebuke.

12  By his power he lstilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered mRahab.

13  nBy his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced othe fleeing serpent.

14  Behold, these are but the outskirts of his pways,

and how small qa whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?


Hosea 7–8

xwhen I would heal Israel,

the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,

and the evil deeds of ySamaria,

for zthey deal falsely;

the thief breaks in,

and the bandits raid outside.

But they do not consider

that aI remember all their evil.

Now btheir deeds surround them;

cthey are before my face.

By their evil dthey make dthe king glad,

and the princes by their treachery.

eThey are all adulterers;

they are like a heated oven

whose baker ceases to stir the fire,

from the kneading of the dough

until it is leavened.

On the day of four king, the princes

became sick with the heat of wine;

he stretched out his hand with mockers.

For with hearts like an oven gthey approach their intrigue;

all night their anger smolders;

in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

All of them are hot as an oven,

and they devour their rulers.

All htheir kings ihave fallen,

and none of them calls upon me.

Ephraim jmixes himself with the peoples;

Ephraim is a cake not turned.

kStrangers devour his strength,

and lhe knows it not;

gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,

and lhe knows it not.

10  mThe pride of Israel testifies to his face;1

nyet they do not return to the Lord their God,

nor seek him, for all this.

11  Ephraim is like a dove,

osilly and without sense,

calling to pEgypt, going to qAssyria.

12  As they go, rI will spread over them my net;

I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;

sI will discipline them taccording to the report made to their congregation.

13  uWoe to them, for they have strayed from me!

Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!

vI would redeem them,

but wthey speak lies against me.

14  xThey do not cry to me from the heart,

but ythey wail upon their beds;

for grain and wine they gash themselves;

they rebel against me.

15  Although zI trained and strengthened their arms,

yet they devise evil against me.

16  They areturn, but not upward;2

they are blike a treacherous bow;

their princes shall fall by the sword

because of cthe insolence of their tongue.

This shall be their derision din the land of Egypt.

Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind

Set ethe trumpet to your lips!

One flike a vulture is over the house of the Lord,

because gthey have transgressed my covenant

and rebelled against my law.

To me they cry,

hMy God, weIsraelknow you.

Israel has spurned the good;

the enemy shall pursue him.

iThey made kings, jbut not through me.

They set up princes, but I knew it not.

With their silver and gold they made idols

for their own destruction.

kI have3 spurned your calf, O Samaria.

My anger burns against them.

lHow long will they be incapable of innocence?

For it is from Israel;

a craftsman made it;

it is not God.

kThe calf of Samaria

mshall be broken to pieces.4

For nthey sow the wind,

and they shall reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads;

it shall yield no flour;

if it were to yield,

ostrangers would devour it.

pIsrael is swallowed up;

already they are among the nations

as qa useless vessel.

For rthey have gone up to Assyria,

sa wild donkey wandering alone;

Ephraim has hired lovers.

10  Though they hire allies among the nations,

I will soon gather them up.

And tthe king and princes ushall soon writhe

because of the tribute.

11  Because Ephraim vhas multiplied altars for sinning,

they have become to him altars for sinning.

12  wWere I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,

they would be regarded as a strange thing.

13  As for my sacrificial offerings,

xthey sacrifice meat and eat it,

but the Lord does not accept them.

yNow he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins;

zthey shall return to Egypt.

14  For aIsrael has forgotten bhis Maker

and cbuilt palaces,

and aJudah has multiplied fortified cities;

so dI will send a fire upon his cities,

and it shall devour her strongholds.