Wednesday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity. 2Verse 2. Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. 3Verse 3. Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.” 4Verse 4. I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them. 5Verse 5. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon. 6Verse 6. His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon. 7Verse 7. They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. 8Verse 8. O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me. 9Verse 9. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.

1Verse 1. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,” 2Verse 2. before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain, 3Verse 3. on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly, 4Verse 4. when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint, 5Verse 5. when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels — for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. 6Verse 6. Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, 7Verse 7. before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8Verse 8. “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!” 13Verse 13. When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. 14Verse 14. For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.