Mark 9:2-50; 2 Samuel 22; Hosea 2:2-23

Mark 9:2-50

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transformed in front of them,

3 and His clothes became dazzling-extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.

4 Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"-

6 because he did not know what he should say, since they were terrified.

7 A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!

8 Then suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone.

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He ordered them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

10 They kept this word to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant.

11 Then they began to question Him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

12 "Elijah does come first and restores everything," He replied. "How then is it written about the Son of Man that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

13 But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him."

14 When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing with them.

15 All of a sudden, when the whole crowd saw Him, they were amazed and ran to greet Him.

16 Then He asked them, "What are you arguing with them about?"

17 Out of the crowd, one man answered Him, "Teacher, I brought my son to You. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak.

18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't."

19 He replied to them, "You unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me."

20 So they brought him to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately convulsed the boy. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 "How long has this been happening to him?" Jesus asked his father. "From childhood," he said.

22 "And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."

23 Then Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' Everything is possible to the one who believes."

24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief."

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!"

26 Then it came out, shrieking and convulsing him violently. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, "He's dead."

27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.

28 After He went into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"

29 And He told them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer [and fasting]."

30 Then they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it.

31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise three days later."

32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

33 Then they came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"

34 But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, He called the Twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

36 Then He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,

37 "Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me."

38 John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn't following us."

39 "Don't stop him," said Jesus, "because there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name who can soon afterwards speak evil of Me.

40 For whoever is not against us is for us.

41 And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of My name, since you belong to the Messiah-I assure you: He will never lose his reward.

42 "But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me-it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

43 And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell-the unquenchable fire, [

44 where Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. ]

45 And if your foot causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell- [the unquenchable fire,

46 where Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. ]

47 And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

48 where Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

49 For everyone will be salted with fire.

50 Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with one another."

2 Samuel 22

1 David spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

2 He said: The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

3 my God, my mountain where I seek refuge. My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

4 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

5 For the waves of death engulfed me; the torrents of destruction terrified me.

6 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

7 I called to the Lord in my distress; I called to my God. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help [reached] His ears.

8 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they shook because He burned with anger.

9 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire [came] from His mouth; coals were set ablaze by it.

10 He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud beneath His feet.

11 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.

12 He made darkness a canopy around Him, a gathering of water and thick clouds.

13 From the radiance of His presence, flaming coals were ignited.

14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High projected His voice.

15 He shot arrows and scattered them; [He hurled] lightning bolts and routed them.

16 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He pulled me out of deep waters.

18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my distress, but the Lord was my support.

20 He brought me out to a wide-open place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

21 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; He repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness.

23 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind and have not disregarded His statutes.

24 I was blameless before Him and kept myself from sinning.

25 So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.

26 With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless;

27 with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd.

28 You rescue an afflicted people, but Your eyes are set against the proud- You humble them.

29 Lord, You are my lamp; the Lord illuminates my darkness.

30 With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall.

31 God-His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

32 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God.

33 God is my strong refuge; He makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like [the feet of] a deer and sets me securely on the heights.

35 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 You have given me the shield of Your salvation; Your help exalts me.

37 You widen [a place] beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

38 I pursue my enemies and destroy them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

39 I wipe them out and crush them, and they do not rise; they fall beneath my feet.

40 You have clothed me with strength for battle; You subdue my adversaries beneath me.

41 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hated me.

42 They look, but there is no one to save [them]- [they look] to the Lord, but He does not answer them.

43 I pulverize them like dust of the earth; I crush them and trample them like mud in the streets.

44 You have freed me from the feuds among my people; You have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me.

45 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly; as soon as they hear, they obey me.

46 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.

47 The Lord lives-may my rock be praised! God, the rock of my salvation, is exalted.

48 God-He gives me vengeance and casts down peoples under me.

49 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; You rescue me from violent men.

50 Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations; I will sing about Your name.

51 He is a tower of salvation for His king; He shows loyalty to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

Hosea 2:2-23

2 Rebuke your mother; rebuke [her]. For she is not My wife and I am not her husband. Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face and her adultery from between her breasts.

3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her as she was on the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and like a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.

4 I will have no compassion on her children because they are the children of promiscuity.

5 For their mother is promiscuous; she conceived them and acted shamefully. For she thought: I will go after my lovers, the men who give me my food and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink.

6 Therefore, this is what I will do: I will block her way with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so that she cannot find her paths.

7 She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find [them]. Then she will think: I will go back to my former husband, for then it was better for me than now.

8 She does not recognize that it is I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil. I lavished silver and gold on her, which they used for Baal.

9 Therefore, I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were to cover her nakedness.

10 Now I will expose her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one will rescue her from My hands.

11 I will put an end to all her celebrations: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths- all her festivals.

12 I will devastate her vines and fig trees. She thinks that these are her wages that her lovers have given her. I will turn them into a thicket, and the wild animals will eat them.

13 And I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, put on her rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but forgot Me. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

14 Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

15 There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as [she did] in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.

16 In that day- the Lord's declaration- you will call [Me]: My husband, and no longer call Me: My Baal.

17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.

18 On that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will shatter bow, sword, and weapons of war in the land and will enable the people to rest securely.

19 I will take you to be My wife forever. I will take you to be My wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.

20 I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.

21 On that day I will respond- the Lord's declaration. I will respond to the sky, and it will respond to the earth.

22 The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.

23 I will sow her in the land for Myself, and I will have compassion on No Compassion; I will say to Not My People: You are My people, and he will say: [You are] My God.