0:00

Come, let us return to the Lord, for

0:02

He has torn us, that He may heal us. He

0:05

has struck us down, and He will bind us up. After

0:08

two days He will revive us, on

0:10

the third day He will raise us up,

0:12

that we may live before Him. Let

0:16

us know, let us press on to know the

0:18

Lord. His going out is sure

0:20

as the dawn. He will come

0:22

to us as the showers, as the

0:24

spring rains that water the earth. What

0:28

shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What

0:30

shall I do with you, O Judah? Your

0:33

love is like a morning cloud, like

0:35

the dew that goes early away. Therefore

0:38

I have hewn them by the prophets. I

0:41

have slain them by the words of my mouth, and

0:44

my judgment goes forth as the light. For

0:47

I desire steadfast love and not

0:49

sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather

0:51

than burnt offerings. But

0:54

like Adam they transgressed the covenant,

0:56

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

0:59

Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked

1:01

with blood. As robbers

1:03

lie in wait for a man, so the

1:06

priests band together. They murder on

1:08

the way to Shechem, they commit villainy. In

1:11

the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing.

1:15

Ephraim's haordom is there, Israel

1:17

is defiled. For

1:19

you also, O Judah, a harvest

1:21

is appointed, when I restore the fortunes

1:23

of my people. When

1:26

I would heal Israel the iniquity of

1:28

Ephraim is revealed, and the

1:30

evil deeds of Samaria, for they

1:32

deal falsely, the thief breaks in,

1:34

and the bandits raid outside. But

1:37

they do not consider that I remember all their

1:39

evil. Now their deeds

1:42

surround them, they are before my

1:44

face. By their

1:46

evil they make the king glad, and

1:48

the princes by their treachery. They

1:51

are all adulterers. They

1:53

are like a heated oven whose baker ceases

1:55

to stir the fire from the kneading of

1:57

the dough until it is leavened. On

2:00

the day of our king the princes became sick

2:02

with the heat of wine. He

2:05

stretched out his hand with mockers. For

2:08

with hearts like an oven they approach their

2:10

intrigue. All night their anger

2:12

smolders. In the morning it

2:14

blazes like a flaming fire. All

2:17

of them are hot as an oven, and they

2:19

devour their rulers. All their

2:21

kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon

2:23

me. Ephraim

2:26

mixes himself with the peoples. Ephraim's

2:29

a cake not turned. Strangers

2:31

devour his strength, and he knows it not.

2:35

Gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he

2:37

knows it not. The

2:39

pride of Israel testifies to his face,

2:42

yet they do not return to the Lord their God

2:44

nor seek him for all this. Ephraim

2:47

is like a dove, silly and

2:50

without sense, calling to Egypt,

2:52

going to Assyria. As

2:55

they go I will spread over them my net. I

2:57

will bring them down like birds of the heavens.

3:00

I will discipline them according to the report

3:02

made to their congregation. Woe

3:05

to them, for they have strayed from me. Destruction

3:08

to them, for they have rebelled

3:10

against me. I

3:12

would redeem them, but they speak lies against

3:14

me. They do

3:16

not cry to me from the heart,

3:18

but they wail upon their beds, for

3:20

grain and wine they gash themselves, they

3:22

rebel against me. Although

3:25

I trained and strengthened their arms, yet

3:28

they devise evil against me. They

3:31

return, but not upward. They

3:33

are like a treacherous bow. Their

3:35

princes shall fall by the sword because

3:37

of the insolence of their tongue. This

3:41

shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. Set

3:44

the trumpet to your lips. One

3:46

like a vulture is over the house of the Lord, because

3:49

they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled

3:51

against my law. To

3:54

me they cry, My God,

3:56

we Israel know you. Israel

3:59

has spurned. the good, the enemy shall pursue

4:01

him. They made kings,

4:03

but not through me. They set

4:06

up princes, but I knew it not. With

4:08

their silver and gold they made idols for their

4:11

own destruction. I have

4:13

spurned your calf, O Samaria. My

4:15

anger burns against them. How

4:18

long will they be incapable of innocence? For

4:21

it is from Israel a craftsman made it. It

4:23

is not God. The calf

4:25

of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. For

4:28

they sow the wind, and they shall reap

4:31

the whirlwind. The standing grain

4:33

has no heads. It shall

4:35

yield no flower. If it were

4:37

to yield, strangers would devour it. Israel

4:41

has swallowed up. Already they are among

4:43

the nations as a useless vessel. For

4:46

they have gone up to Assyria, a

4:48

wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim

4:51

has hired lovers. Though

4:53

they hire allies among the nations, I

4:56

will soon gather them up, and the

4:58

kings and princes shall soon writhe because of

5:00

the tribute. Because

5:03

Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they

5:05

have become to him altars for sinning.

5:09

Were I to write for him my laws

5:11

by the ten thousands, they would be regarded

5:13

as a strange thing. As

5:16

for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat

5:18

and eat it, but the Lord does

5:20

not accept them. Now

5:22

he will remember their iniquity and punish their

5:24

sins. They shall return to

5:26

Egypt. For Israel

5:29

has forgotten his maker and built

5:31

palaces, and Judah has

5:33

multiplied fortified cities. So

5:35

I will send a fire upon his cities,

5:37

and it shall devour her stronghold. Rejoice

5:40

not, O Israel. Exalt

5:43

not like the peoples. For

5:45

you have played the whore, forsaking your

5:47

God. You have loved

5:49

a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors.

5:53

Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,

5:55

and the new wine shall fail them. They

5:58

shall not remain in the land of the Lord. dry

8:00

breasts. Every evil

8:02

of theirs is in Gilgal. There

8:04

I began to hate them. Because of

8:06

the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them

8:09

out of my house. I will

8:11

love them no more. All their

8:13

princes are rebels. Ephraim

8:15

is stricken. Their root is dried up. They

8:18

shall bear no fruit. Even though

8:20

they give birth, I will put their beloved

8:22

children to death. My

8:25

God will reject them because they have not listened

8:27

to Him. They shall be

8:29

wanderers among the nations. By

8:33

the waters of Babylon there we sat

8:35

down and wept when we remembered

8:37

Zion. On the

8:40

willows there we hung up our lairs. For

8:43

there our captors required of

8:45

us songs and our tormentors

8:47

mirth, saying, Sing us

8:49

one of the songs of Zion. How

8:53

shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign

8:55

land? If I

8:57

forget you, O Jerusalem, let my

8:59

right hand forget its skill. Let

9:02

my tongue stick to the roof of my

9:05

mouth if I do not remember you, if

9:07

I do not set Jerusalem above my highest

9:09

joy. Remember,

9:11

O Lord, against the Edomites the

9:13

day of Jerusalem how they said, Lay

9:17

it bare, lay it bare down to its

9:19

foundations. O

9:21

daughter of Babylon, doomed to

9:23

be destroyed, blessed shall

9:25

he be who repays you with what you

9:27

have done to us. Blessed

9:30

shall he be who takes your little ones

9:33

and dashes them against the rock. Likewise,

9:37

wives, be subject to your own

9:40

husbands, so that even if some

9:42

do not obey the word they may

9:44

be one without a word by the conduct

9:46

of their wives when they see your respectful

9:48

and pure conduct. Do

9:50

not let your adorning be external, the

9:53

braiding of hair and the putting on of

9:55

gold jewelry or the clothing you wear, but

9:58

let your adorning be the hidden person. that

12:00

he might bring us to God, being

12:02

put to death in the flesh, but

12:04

made alive in the Spirit, in which

12:06

he went and proclaimed to the spirits in

12:09

prison, because they formerly did not obey, when

12:11

God's patience waited in the days of Noah,

12:14

while the ark was being prepared, in

12:16

which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought

12:18

safely through water. Baptism

12:21

which corresponds to this, now saves you, not

12:23

as a removal of dirt from the body,

12:26

but as an appeal to God for

12:28

a good conscience, through the resurrection of

12:30

Jesus Christ, who has gone

12:32

into heaven and is at the right

12:34

hand of God, with angels, authorities, and

12:37

powers having been subjected to Him. Since

12:40

therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm

12:43

yourselves with the same way of thinking, for

12:45

whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased

12:48

from sin, so as to live for

12:50

the rest of the time in the flesh, no

12:52

longer for human passions, but for the will of

12:54

God. For the

12:56

time that is past suffices for doing what the

12:58

Gentiles want to do, living

13:00

in sensuality, passions, drunkenness,

13:02

orgies, drinking parties, and

13:05

lawless idolatry. With

13:07

respect to this, they are surprised when you do

13:09

not join them in the same flood of debauchery,

13:11

and they malign you. But

13:13

they will give account to Him who is ready to judge

13:15

the living and the dead. For

13:18

this is why the gospel was preached even to those

13:20

who are dead, that though judged

13:22

in the flesh the way people are, they

13:24

might live in the Spirit the way God

13:26

does. The end

13:28

of all things is at hand. Therefore

13:32

be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake

13:34

of your prayers. Above

13:36

all, keep loving one another earnestly,

13:39

since love covers a multitude of

13:41

sins. Show hospitality

13:43

to one another without grumbling. As

13:46

each has received a gift, use

13:48

it to serve one another as good stewards

13:50

of God's varied ness. Whoever

13:53

speaks as one who speaks oracles of

13:55

God, whoever Serves as one

13:57

who serves by the strength that God has given us.

14:00

The supplies. In order

14:02

that in everything God may be

14:04

glorified through Jesus Christ. To.

14:06

Him Belong. glory and dominion

14:08

forever and ever. Amen. Beloved.

14:13

Do not be surprised that the fiery Trial when

14:15

it comes upon you to test you. As

14:17

though something strange were happening to you. But.

14:20

Rejoice insofar as you share Christ

14:23

sufferings that you may also rejoice

14:25

and be glad when his glory

14:27

as revealed. If you

14:29

are insulted for the name of Christ, you

14:31

are blessed. Because. The spirit

14:33

of glory and of God rests upon you.

14:37

But. Let none of your suffer as a murderer

14:39

or a thief or an evil doer, or as

14:41

a medlar. Yet.

14:43

If any one suffers as a christian, Let.

14:45

Him: not be ashamed. But. Let

14:48

him glorify God and that name. For.

14:51

It is time for judgment to begin at

14:53

the Household of God. and it it begins

14:55

with us. What? Will be the

14:57

outcome for those who do not obey the gospel

14:59

of God. And. Yes,

15:02

the righteous is scarcely saved. What?

15:04

Will become of the ungodly and the center. Therefore,

15:08

let those who suffer according to

15:10

God's will interest their souls to

15:12

a faithful creator while doing good.

15:15

So. I exhort the elders among you as

15:17

a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings

15:19

of Christ as well as a partake or

15:21

and the glory that is going to be

15:23

revealed. Shepherd. The flock of

15:25

God that is among you. Exercising.

15:27

Oversight. Not. Under compulsion

15:29

but willingly as God would have

15:32

you not for same full game

15:34

but eagerly. Not.

15:36

Domineering over those and your charge,

15:38

but being examples to the flock.

15:41

And. When the chief shepherd appears, you

15:43

will receive the unseating crown of glory.

15:46

Likewise, you who are younger be subject to

15:48

the elders. Closed yourselves all

15:50

of you with humility toward one

15:53

another, for God opposes the proud

15:55

but gives grace to the humble.

15:58

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty

16:00

hand of God. So. That

16:02

at the proper time he may

16:04

exalt you. casting all your anxieties

16:06

on him because he cares for

16:09

you. Be

16:11

sober minded. Be. Watchful, Your.

16:13

Adversary, The Devil prowls around

16:15

like a roaring lion seeking

16:17

someone to devour. Resist.

16:20

Him from and your faith. Knowing.

16:22

That the same kinds of suffering are

16:24

being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the

16:26

world? And. After you

16:28

have suffered a little while the God of

16:31

All Grace who has call due to his

16:33

eternal glory and Christ. Will. Himself,

16:36

Restore, confirm, strengthen, and

16:38

establish You. To.

16:40

Him be the Dominion forever and ever.

16:43

Amen. By.

16:46

Sylvain us a faithful brother as I regard

16:48

him. I. Have written briefly to

16:50

you, exhorting and declaring that this is

16:52

the true Grace of God. Stand.

16:55

Firm in it, She.

16:57

Who was at Babylon? Who is like

17:00

was chosen. Sends. You greetings.

17:02

And so does Mark. my son. Great

17:05

one another with the kiss of love. Peace.

17:09

To all of you who were and Christ.