Day 321 of 365

¹Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

²"You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins."

³Do two walk together, unless they have agreed?

⁴Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

⁵Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth, where no snare is set for him? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when there is nothing to catch?

⁶Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does disaster happen to a city, unless the Lord has done it?

⁷Surely the Lord God will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.

⁸The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy?

⁹Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see what unrest is in her, and what oppression is among them."

¹⁰"Indeed they do not know to do right," says the Lord, "Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces."

¹¹Therefore thus says the Lord God: "An adversary will overrun the land; and he will pull down your strongholds, and your fortresses will be plundered."

¹²Thus says the Lord: "As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed."

¹³"Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob," says the Lord God, the God of Hosts.

¹⁴"For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground.

¹⁵I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end," says the Lord.

¹Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husbands, "Bring us drinks!"

²The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that behold, "The days shall come on you that they will take you away with hooks, and the last of you with fish hooks.

³You will go out at the breaks in the wall, everyone straight before her; and you will cast yourselves into Harmon," says the Lord.

⁴"Go to Bethel, and sin; to Gilgal, and sin more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days,

⁵offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim free will offerings and brag about them: for this pleases you, you children of Israel," says the Lord God.

⁶"I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in every town; yet you haven't returned to me," says the Lord.

⁷"I also have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One place was rained on, and the piece where it did not rain withered.

⁸So two or three cities staggered to one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet you haven't returned to me," says the Lord.

⁹"I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards; and your fig trees and your olive trees have the swarming locust devoured: yet you haven't returned to me," says the Lord.

¹⁰"I sent plagues among you like I did Egypt. I have slain your young men with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you haven't returned to me," says the Lord.

¹¹"I have overthrown some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire; yet you haven't returned to me," says the Lord.

¹²"Therefore thus will I do to you, Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel.

¹³For, behold, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought; who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the Earth: The Lord, the God of Hosts, is his name."

¹Listen to this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel.

²"The virgin of Israel has fallen; She shall rise no more. She is cast down on her land; there is no one to raise her up."

³For thus says the Lord God: "The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth one hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel."

⁴For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: "Seek me, and you will live;

⁵but do not seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and do not pass to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.

⁶Seek the Lord, and you will live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, and there be no one to quench it in Bethel.

⁷You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth:

⁸seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name,

⁹who brings sudden destruction on the strong, so that destruction comes on the fortress.

¹⁰They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly.

¹¹Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

¹²For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins- you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts.

¹³Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.

¹⁴Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you say.

¹⁵Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts. It may be that the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."

¹⁶Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Hosts, the Lord: "Wailing will be in all the broad ways; and they will say in all the streets, 'Alas! Alas!' and they will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.

¹⁷In all vineyards there will be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of you," says the Lord.

¹⁸"Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light.

¹⁹As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; Or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.

²⁰Won't the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?

²¹I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can't stand your solemn assemblies.

²²Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.

²³Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.

²⁴But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

²⁵"Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel?

²⁶You also carried the tabernacle of Moloch, and Rephan your star god, your images which you made for yourselves.

²⁷Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus," says the Lord, whose name is the God of Hosts.

¹The king rejoices in your strength, Lord! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!

²You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

³For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

⁴He asked life of you, you gave it to him, even length of days forever and ever.

⁵His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him.

⁶For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the Lord. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.

⁸Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

⁹You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.

¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men.

¹¹For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.

¹²For you will make them turn their back, when you aim drawn bows at their face.

¹³Be exalted, Lord, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but accurate weights are his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.

⁷When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.

⁸A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.

¹⁴Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.

²⁰Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.

²¹Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous will be delivered.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.

²⁶People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.

²⁹He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner!