Thursday in Season after Pentecost

9Verse 9. As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD, because of His holy words. 10Verse 10. For the land is full of adulterers — because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up — their course is evil and their power is misused. 11Verse 11. “For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” 12Verse 12. “Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” 13Verse 13. “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. 14Verse 14. And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.” 15Verse 15. Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.” 16Verse 16. This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17Verse 17. They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’ 18Verse 18. But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and obeyed it? 19Verse 19. Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked. 20Verse 20. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly. 21Verse 21. I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22Verse 22. But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”

2Verse 2. The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all. 3Verse 3. The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences. 4Verse 4. The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life. 5Verse 5. Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them. 6Verse 6. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 7Verse 7. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. 8Verse 8. He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed. 9Verse 9. A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. 10Verse 10. Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease. 11Verse 11. He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips will have the king for a friend. 12Verse 12. The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but He frustrates the words of the faithless. 13Verse 13. The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!” 14Verse 14. The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it. 15Verse 15. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. 16Verse 16. Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.