The inhabitants ¹  of Samaria will lament ²  over the calf idol ³  of Beth Aven. ⁴  Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail ⁵  over it, ⁶  because its splendor will be taken from them ⁷  into exile.

Do not seek Bethel! ¹  Do not visit Gilgal! Do not journey down ²  to Beer Sheba! For the people of Gilgal ³  will certainly be carried into exile; ⁴  and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” ⁵ 

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ¹  The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: “I despise Jacob’s arrogance; I hate their ²  fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies ³  the city of Samaria ⁴  and everything in it.”

These are the ones who now take oaths ¹  in the name of the sinful idol goddess ²  of Samaria. They vow, ³  ‘As surely as your god ⁴  lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one ⁵  lives, O Beer Sheba!’ But they will fall down and not get up again.”

What good ¹  is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? ²  What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? ³  Why would its creator place his trust in it ⁴  and make ⁵  such mute, worthless things?

The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, “Let’s go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I’ll go with you.”’

I will take away their abominable religious practices; ¹  then those who survive will become a community of believers in our God, ²  like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.

And also on that day,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will remove ¹  the names of the idols from the land and they will never again be remembered. Moreover, I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

“My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me.

You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears ¹  as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ¹  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ² 

Then those who respected ¹  the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. ²  A scroll ³  was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name.

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 when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host ¹  approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’ ²  Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you.

When I was with them I kept them safe ¹  and watched over them ²  in your name ³  that you have given me. Not one ⁴  of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, ⁵  so that the scripture could be fulfilled. ⁶ 

When the meeting of the synagogue ¹  had broken up, ²  many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes ³  followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading ⁴  them ⁵  to continue ⁶  in the grace of God.

On the first day ¹  of the week, when we met ²  to break bread, Paul began to speak ³  to the people, and because he intended ⁴  to leave the next day, he extended ⁵  his message until midnight.

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian ¹  who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, ²  or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

For if someone weak sees you who possess knowledge dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience be “strengthened” ¹  to eat food offered to idols?

But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience ¹  –