ת (Tav) As if it were a feast day, you call ¹  enemies ²  to terrify me ³  on every side. ⁴  On the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has finished off those healthy infants whom I bore ⁵  and raised. ⁶ 

My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ¹  you. ²  For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, ³  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. ⁴  Then you will know that I am the Lord!

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ¹  ‘Hear the word of the Lord!

Then the Lord said to Hosea, ¹  “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish ²  the dynasty ³  of Jehu on account of the bloodshed ⁴  in the valley of Jezreel, ⁵  and I will put an end to the kingdom ⁶  of Israel. ⁷ 

Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ¹  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ²  from the land of Egypt:

He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end ¹  has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins. ² 

So I ¹  began to shepherd the flock destined for slaughter, the most afflicted ²  of all the flock. Then I took two staffs, ³  calling one “Pleasantness” ⁴  and the other “Binders,” ⁵  and I tended the flock.

For he is the one about whom Isaiah the prophet had spoken: ¹  “The voice ²  of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ³  his paths straight.’” ⁴ 

The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, ¹  “Hosanna ²  to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ³  Hosanna in the highest!”

Then ¹  Jesus ²  called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ³  he must deny ⁴  himself, take up his cross, ⁵  and follow me.

Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them.

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice ¹  of one shouting in the wilderness: ²  ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ³  his paths straight.

Fear ¹  seized them all, and they began to glorify ²  God, saying, “A great prophet ³  has appeared ⁴  among us!” and “God has come to help ⁵  his people!”

But the father said to his slaves, ¹  ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, ²  and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger ³  and sandals ⁴  on his feet!

I no longer call you slaves, ¹  because the slave does not understand ²  what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything ³  I heard ⁴  from my Father.

and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. ¹  Then ²  they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

For when we were in the flesh, ¹  the sinful desires, ²  aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body ³  to bear fruit for death.

even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election ¹  would stand, not by works but by ²  his calling) ³  –

because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord ¹  and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

I recall ¹  your sincere faith ²  that was alive first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am sure ³  is in you.