Today’s Reading :  Hosea  1 - 4  and  Matthew 21   (KJV)     

 

 

Hosea  1

Hos 1:1  The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

Hos 1:2  The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

Hos 1:3  So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bore him a son.

Hos 1:4  And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

Hos 1:5  And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

Hos 1:6  And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.

Hos 1:7  But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

Hos 1:8  Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.

Hos 1:9  Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

Hos 1:10  Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Hos 1:11  Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

 

Hosea  2

Hos 2:1  Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.

Hos 2:2  Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Hos 2:3  Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

Hos 2:4  And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

Hos 2:5  For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

Hos 2:6  Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

Hos 2:7  And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

Hos 2:8  For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

Hos 2:9  Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

Hos 2:10  And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

Hos 2:11  I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

Hos 2:12  And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Hos 2:13  And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the LORD.

Hos 2:14  Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

Hos 2:15  And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

Hos 2:16  And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

Hos 2:17  For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

Hos 2:18  And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

Hos 2:19  And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

Hos 2:20  I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

Hos 2:21  And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

Hos 2:22  And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

Hos 2:23  And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

 

Hosea  3

Hos 3:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

Hos 3:2  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley:

Hos 3:3  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

Hos 3:4  For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

Hos 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

 

Hosea  4

Hos 4:1  Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

Hos 4:2  By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

Hos 4:3  Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Hos 4:4  Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Hos 4:5  Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

Hos 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Hos 4:7  As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

Hos 4:8  They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

Hos 4:9  And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

Hos 4:10  For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.

Hos 4:11  Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

Hos 4:12  My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

Hos 4:13  They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

Hos 4:14  I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

Hos 4:15  Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.

Hos 4:16  For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.

Hos 4:17  Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.

Hos 4:18  Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.

Hos 4:19  The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

 

Matthew  21

Mat 21:1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

Mat 21:2  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

Mat 21:3  And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

Mat 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Mat 21:6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

Mat 21:7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

Mat 21:8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way.

Mat 21:9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

Mat 21:10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

Mat 21:11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Mat 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

Mat 21:15  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

Mat 21:16  And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise

Mat 21:17  And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

Mat 21:18  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

Mat 21:19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

Mat 21:20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

Mat 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Mat 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Mat 21:23  And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

Mat 21:24  And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Mat 21:25  The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

Mat 21:26  But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

Mat 21:27  And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Mat 21:28  But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.

Mat 21:29  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

Mat 21:30  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

Mat 21:31  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Mat 21:32  For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

Mat 21:33  Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

Mat 21:34  And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

Mat 21:35  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

Mat 21:36  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

Mat 21:37  But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

Mat 21:38  But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

Mat 21:39  And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

Mat 21:40  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

Mat 21:41  They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Mat 21:43  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Mat 21:45  And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

Mat 21:46  But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.