Their wicked deeds do not allow them to return to their God; because a spirit of idolatry ¹  controls their heart, ²  and they do not acknowledge the Lord.

He struggled ¹  with an angel and prevailed; he wept and begged for his favor. He found God ²  at Bethel, ³  and there he spoke with him! ⁴ 

Even if you offer me burnt and grain offerings, ¹  I will not be satisfied; I will not look with favor on your peace offerings of fattened calves. ² 

Be certain of this, ¹  the time is ²  coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation! ³ 

People ¹  will stagger from sea to sea, ²  and from the north around to the east. They will wander about looking for a revelation from ³  the Lord, but they will not find any. ⁴ 

Look, the sovereign Lord is watching ¹  the sinful nation, ²  and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will not completely destroy the family ³  of Jacob,” says the Lord.

All the sinners among my people will die by the sword – the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’

So now, Lord, kill me instead, ¹  because I would rather die than live!” ² 

The Lord is a zealous ¹  and avenging ²  God; the Lord is avenging and very angry. ³  The Lord takes vengeance ⁴  against his foes; he sustains his rage ⁵  against his enemies.

Whatever ¹  you plot ²  against the Lord, he will completely destroy! ³  Distress ⁴  will not arise ⁵  a second time.

For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ¹  it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ²  Even if the message ³  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ⁴  for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man ¹  as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls ²  because of the multitude of people and animals there.

I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. ¹  I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, for there will not be enough room for them in their own land.

I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”

The Lord also will deliver the homes ¹  of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship ²  of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ¹  and the Pharisees, ²  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one. ¹ 

“Be ¹  careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. ²  Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ¹  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.