1 “If you return, O Israel,
declares the Lord,
xto me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
yand do not waver,
2 zand if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then anations shall bless themselves in him,
band in him shall they glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
c“Break up your fallow ground,
and dsow not among thorns.
4 eCircumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
flest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
gbecause of the evil of your deeds.”
Disaster from the North
5 Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
h“Blow the trumpet through the land;
cry aloud and say,
i‘Assemble, and let us go
into the fortified cities!’
6 jRaise a standard toward Zion,
flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from kthe north,
land great destruction.
7 mA lion has gone up from his thicket,
a destroyer of nations has set out;
he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
your cities will be ruins
nwithout inhabitant.
8 For this oput on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for pthe fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned back from us.”
9 “In that day, declares the Lord, qcourage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, rsurely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from sthe bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12 a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who tspeak in judgment upon them.”
13 Behold, he comes up like clouds;
uhis chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are vswifter than eagles—
woe to us, wfor we are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, xwash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?
15 For a voice ydeclares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from zMount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come afrom a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field bare they against her all around,
because she has rebelled against me,
declares the Lord.
18 Your ways and your deeds
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and cit is bitter;
it has reached your very heart.”
Anguish over Judah’s Desolation
19 dMy anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20 eCrash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
fSuddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For gmy people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
hThey are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was iwithout form and void;
jand to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on kthe mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 lI looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the mfruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before nhis fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; oyet I will not make a full end.
28 p“For this the earth shall mourn,
qand the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
rI have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
29 At the noise of horseman and archer
every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken,
and sno man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
tthat you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
uthat you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
vYour lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard wa cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
xstretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”
Cast Your Burden on the Lord
To the choirmaster: with fstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David.
1 gGive ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless hin my complaint and I imoan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they jdrop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
kthe terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 nyes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from othe raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, pdivide their tongues;
for I see qviolence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and riniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
soppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
Warning Against Idolatry
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,1 that our fathers were all under bthe cloud, and all cpassed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and dall ate the same espiritual food, 4 and fall drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for gthey were overthrown2 in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as hthey did. 7 iDo not be idolaters jas some of them were; as it is written, k“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 lWe must not indulge in sexual immorality mas some of them did, and ntwenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ3 to the test, oas some of them did and pwere destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, qas some of them did and rwere destroyed by sthe Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but tthey were written down for our instruction, uon whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore vlet anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. wGod is faithful, and xhe will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, yflee from idolatry. 15 I speak zas to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 aThe cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? bThe bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are cone body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider dthe people of Israel:4 eare not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that fan idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice gthey offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 hYou cannot drink the cup of the Lord and ithe cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and jthe table of demons. 22 kShall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? lAre we stronger than he?
Do All to the Glory of God
23 m“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 nLet no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 oEat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For p“the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, qeat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean ryour conscience, but his. For swhy should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that tfor which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or uwhatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 vGive no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to wthe church of God, 33 just as xI try to please everyone in everything I do, ynot seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
1 zBe imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Head Coverings
2 Now I commend you abecause you remember me in everything and bmaintain the traditions ceven as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that dthe head of every man is Christ, ethe head of a wife5 is her husband,6 and fthe head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife7 who prays or gprophesies hwith her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same ias if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since jhe is the image and glory of God, but kwoman is the glory of man. 8 For lman was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but mwoman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.8 11 Nevertheless, nin the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And oall things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 pIf anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do qthe churches of God.
The Lord’s Supper
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, rI hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,9 19 for sthere must be factions among you in order tthat those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, uanother gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise vthe church of God and whumiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For xI received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that ythe Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for10 you. Do this in remembrance of me.”11 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death zuntil he comes.
27 aWhoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord bin an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning cthe body and blood of the Lord. 28 dLet a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some ehave died.12 31 fBut if we judged13 ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, gwe are disciplined14 so that we may not be hcondemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers,15 when you come together to eat, wait for16 one another— 34 iif anyone is hungry, jlet him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things kI will give directions lwhen I come.
Spiritual Gifts
1 Now mconcerning17 spiritual gifts,18 brothers,19 I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that nwhen you were pagans oyou were led astray to pmute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that qno one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is raccursed!” and sno one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now tthere are varieties of gifts, but uthe same Spirit; 5 and vthere are varieties of service, but uthe same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is uthe same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 wTo each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of xwisdom, and to another the utterance of yknowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another zfaith by the same Spirit, to another agifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another bthe working of miracles, to another cprophecy, to another dthe ability to distinguish between spirits, to another evarious kinds of tongues, to another fthe interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, gwho apportions to each one individually has he wills.
One Body with Many Members
12 For just as ithe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, jso it is with Christ. 13 For kin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—lJews or Greeks, slaves20 or free—and mall were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, nGod arranged the members in the body, each one of them, oas he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,21 yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, pall rejoice together.
27 Now qyou are the body of Christ and individually rmembers of it. 28 And sGod has appointed in the church first tapostles, second uprophets, third teachers, then vmiracles, then wgifts of healing, xhelping, yadministrating, and vvarious kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But zearnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
