Saturday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars. 2Verse 2. Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars. 3Verse 3. Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?” 4Verse 4. They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. 5Verse 5. The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn over it with its idolatrous priests — those who rejoiced in its glory — for it has been taken from them into exile. 6Verse 6. Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols. 7Verse 7. Samaria will be carried off with her king like a twig on the surface of the water. 8Verse 8. The high places of Aven will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” 9Verse 9. Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity? 10Verse 10. I will chasten them when I please; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bondage for their double transgression. 11Verse 11. Ephraim is a well-trained heifer that loves to thresh; but I will place a yoke on her fair neck. I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, and Jacob will break the hard ground. 12Verse 12. Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain. 13Verse 13. You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men, 14Verse 14. the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children. 15Verse 15. Thus it will be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day dawns, the king of Israel will be utterly cut off.

1Verse 1. These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2Verse 2. “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” 3Verse 3. What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? 4Verse 4. Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5Verse 5. The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. 6Verse 6. The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. 7Verse 7. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow. 8Verse 8. All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. 9Verse 9. What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Verse 10. Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us. 11Verse 11. There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.