“Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me.

It will be the most insignificant of the kingdoms; it will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small that they will not rule over the nations.

The water made it grow; underground springs made it grow tall. Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted, while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field. ¹ 

I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly, ¹  as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out.

I know Ephraim all too well; ¹  the evil of ²  Israel is not hidden from me. For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim; Israel has defiled itself. ³ 

and they cast lots for my people. They traded ¹  a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. ² 

Archers ¹  will not hold their ground; ²  fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses. ³ 

You will plant crops, but will not harvest them; you will squeeze oil from the olives, ¹  but you will have no oil to rub on your bodies; ²  you will squeeze juice from the grapes, but you will have no wine to drink. ³ 

Because of his success ¹  he offers sacrifices to his throw net and burns incense to his dragnet; ²  for because of them he has plenty of food, ³  and more than enough to eat. ⁴ 

“As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals – I took them away from you; they became tribute and were a source of shame to you. ¹ 

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.

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

So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

But the centurion replied, ¹  “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Instead, just say the word and my servant will be healed.

Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ ¹  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹ 

They ¹  all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ ¹  You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, ²  but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.

He ¹  said to them, “Not everyone can accept this statement, except those to whom it has been given.