1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.God's Wrath Against Nineveh2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;    the Lord is avenging and wrathful;the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries    and keeps wrath for his enemies.3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,    and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.His way is in whirlwind and storm,    and t...  Read More

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;    and what does the Lord require of youbut to do justice, and to love kindness,    and to walk humbly with your God?Micah 6:8 After detailing the injustice and corruption of those who should be leveraging their resources for good, Micah offers a poetic verse on how to walk out the Good News of God's redemption plan. In a world of endless self-improvement ad...  Read More

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me    one who is to be ruler in Israel,whose coming forth is from of old,    from ancient days.3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time    when she who is in labor has given birth;then the rest of his brothers shall return    to the people of Israel.4 And he shall stand and ...  Read More

11 Its heads give judgment for a bribe;    its priests teach for a price;    its prophets practice divination for money;yet they lean on the Lord and say,    “Is not the Lord in the midst of us?    No disaster shall come upon us.”Micah 3:11 “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”That’s a bold claim. “God is on our side,” these leaders say. Now, Scripture shows that Go...  Read More

14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;    I shall redeem them from Death.O Death, where are your plagues?    O Sheol, where is your sting?    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.Hosea 6:1-11 This passage is both full of judgment and hope. Hosea uses the Exodus story to give background to God and Israel’s relationship and why they should expect both judgment and future restoration. To briefl...  Read More

The Lord's Love for Israel1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,    and out of Egypt I called my son.2 The more they were called,    the more they went away;they kept sacrificing to the Baals    and burning offerings to idols.3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;    I took them up by their arms,    but they did not know that I healed them.4 I led them with cords of kindness,    with the band...  Read More

Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant1 “Come, let us return to the Lord;    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.2 After two days he will revive us;    on the third day he will raise us up,    that we may live before him.3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;    his going out is sure as the dawn;he will come to us as the showers,    as the ...  Read More

Hosea’s Wife and Children2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house o...  Read More

The Restoration of Israel11 “In that day I will raise up    the booth of David that is fallenand repair its breaches,    and raise up its ruins    and rebuild it as in the days of old,12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom    and all the nations who are called by my name,”    declares the Lord who does this.Amos 9:11-12 Today, we close out our look at the Book of Amos by examining the last t...  Read More

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:“Seek me and live;5 but do not seek Bethel,and do not enter into Gilgal    or cross over to Beersheba;for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,    and Bethel shall come to nothing.”6 Seek the Lord and live,    lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,    and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,7 O you who turn justice to wormwood[a]  ...  Read More

Judgment on Israel6 Thus says the Lord:“For three transgressions of Israel,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they sell the righteous for silver,    and the needy for a pair of sandals—7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth    and turn aside the way of the afflicted;a man and his father go in to the same girl,    so that my holy name is profaned...  Read More

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is bet...  Read More