Today's Reading

¹When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, but when he became guilty in Baal, he died.

²Now they sin more and more, and have made themselves molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, 'They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves.'

³Therefore they will be like the morning mist, and like the dew that passes away early, like the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing floor, and like the smoke out of the chimney.

⁴"Yet I am the Lord your God [that establishes the heaven, and creates the earth, whose hands have framed the whole host of heaven. But I did not show them to you that you should go after them, but I brought you up] from the land of Egypt; and you shall acknowledge no god but me, and besides me there is no savior.

⁵I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.

⁶According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore they have forgotten me.

⁷Therefore I am like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path.

⁸I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear the covering of their heart. There I will devour them like a lioness. The wild animal will tear them.

⁹You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your help.

¹⁰Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges, of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes?'

¹¹I have given you a king in my anger, and have taken him away in my wrath.

¹²The guilt of Ephraim is stored up. His sin is stored up.

¹³The sorrows of a travailing woman will come on him. He is an unwise son; for when it is time, he doesn't come to the opening of the womb.

¹⁴I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your sting? "Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, the breath of the Lord coming up from the wilderness; and his spring will become dry, and his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.

¹⁶Samaria will bear her guilt; for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open."

¹Israel, return to the Lord your God; for you have fallen because of your sin.

²Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Tell him, "Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good: so we offer our lips like bulls.

³Assyria can't save us. We won't ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, 'Our gods!' for in you the fatherless finds mercy."

⁴"I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from him.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.

⁶His branches will spread, and his beauty will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.

⁷Men will dwell in his shade. They will revive like the grain, and blossom like the vine. Their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols? I answer, and will take care of him. I am like a green fir tree; from me your fruit is found."

⁹Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them; But the rebellious stumble in them.

¹The Word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

²Hear this, you elders, And listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?

³Tell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.

⁴What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.

⁵Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

⁶For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.

⁷He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.

⁸Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!

⁹The meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from the Lord's house. The priests, the Lord's ministers, mourn.

¹⁰The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.

¹¹Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers; for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.

¹²The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.

¹³Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God's house.

¹⁴Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of the Lord, your God, and cry to the Lord.

¹⁵Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

¹⁶Isn't the food cut off before our eyes; joy and gladness from the house of our God?

¹⁷The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.

¹⁸How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

¹⁹The Lord, I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.

²⁰Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

¹My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

²And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.

³This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.

⁴One who says, "I know him," and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

⁵But whoever keeps his word, God's love has truly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him:

⁶he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.

⁷Beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard.

⁸Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.

⁹He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now.

¹⁰He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.

¹¹But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹²I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.

¹⁴I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁵Do not love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father's love is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not the Father's, but is the world's.

¹⁷The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God's will remains forever.

¹⁸Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Anti-Christ is coming, even now many anti-Christs have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.

²⁰You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

²²Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Anti-Christ, he who denies the Father and the Son.

²³Whoever denies the Son, the same does not have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.

²⁴As for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.

²⁵This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray.

²⁷As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you do not need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you remain in him.

²⁸Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of him.

¹A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of fools gush out folly.

³The Lord's eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but deceit in it crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool despises his father's correction, but he who heeds reproof shows prudence.

⁶In the house of the righteous is much treasure, but the income of the wicked brings trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so with the heart of fools.

⁸The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but he loves him who follows after righteousness.

¹⁰There is stern discipline for one who forsakes the way: whoever hates reproof shall die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon are before the Lord- how much more then the hearts of the children of men!

¹²A scoffer doesn't love to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.

¹³A glad heart makes a cheerful face; but an aching heart breaks the spirit.

¹⁴The heart of one who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are wretched, but one who has a cheerful heart enjoys a continual feast.

¹⁶Better is little, with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble.

¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a fattened calf with hatred.

¹⁸A wrathful man stirs up contention, but one who is slow to anger appeases strife.

¹⁹The way of the sluggard is like a thorn patch, but the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly is joy to one who is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding keeps his way straight.

²²Where there is no counsel, plans fail; but in a multitude of counselors they are established.

²³Joy comes to a man with the reply of his mouth. How good is a word at the right time!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the wise, to keep him from going downward to Sheol.

²⁵The Lord will uproot the house of the proud, but he will keep the widow's borders intact.

²⁶The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the thoughts of the pure are pleasing.

²⁷He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous weighs answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes out evil.

²⁹The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart. Good news gives health to the bones.

³¹The ear that listens to reproof lives, and will be at home among the wise.

³²He who refuses correction despises his own soul, but he who listens to reproof gets understanding.

³³The fear of the Lord teaches wisdom. Before honor is humility.