Bible in a Year.

On day 176, 2 Kings 8 recounts events during the reigns of Judah and Israel, while Hosea 8-10 denounces idolatry and the consequences of sin. Psalm 108 inspires confidence in God, reminding us to praise and seek refuge in Him, regardless of the difficulties around us.

1. And Eliseus spoke to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying: Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst find: for the Lord hath exiled a famine, and it shall come upon the land seven years.

2. And she arose, and did according to the word of the man of God: and going with her household, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

3. And when the seven years were ended, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to speak to the king for her house, and for her lands.

4. And the king talked with Giezi, the servant of the man of God, saying: Tell me all the great things that Eliseus hath done.

5. And when he was telling the king how he had raised one dead to life, the woman appeared, whose son he had restored to life, crying to the king for her house, and her lands. And Giezi said: My lord O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Eliseus raised to life.

6. And the king asked the woman: and she told him. And the king appointed her an eunuch, saying: Restore her all that is hers, and all the revenues of the lands, from the day that she left the land, to this present.

7. Eliseus also came to Damascus, and Benadad king of Syria was sick: and they told him, saying: The man of God is come hither.

8. And the king said to Hazael: Take with thee presents, and go to meet the man of God, and consult the Lord by him, saying: Can I recover of this my illness?

9. And Hazael went to meet him, taking with him presents, and all the good things of Damascus, the burdens of forty camels. And when he stood before him, he said: Thy son Benadad the king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying: Can I recover of this my illness?

10. And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover: bat the Lord hath shewn me that he shall surely die.

11. And he stood with him, and was troubled so far as to blush: and the man of God wept.

12. And Hazael said to him: Why doth my lord weep? And he said: Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel. Their strong cities then wilt burn with fire, and their young men thou wilt kill with the sword, and thou wilt dash their children, and rip up their pregnant women.

13. And Hazael said: But what am I thy servant a dog, that I should do this great thing? And Eliseus said: The Lord hath shewn me that thou shalt be king of Syria.

14. And when he was departed from Eliseus, he came to his master, who said to him: What saith Eliseus to thee? And he answered: He told me: Thou shalt recover.

15. And on the next day he took a blanket, and pouted water on it, and spread it upon his face: and he died, and Hazael reigned in his stead.

16. In the fifth year of Joram son of Achab king of Israel, and of Josaphat king of Juda, reigned Joram son of Josaphat king of Juda.

17. He was two and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

18. And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had walked: for the daughter of Achab was his wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

19. But the Lord would not destroy Juda, for David his servant's sake, as he had promised him, to give him a light, and to his children always.

20. In his days Edom revolted, from being under Juda, and made themselves a king.

21. And Joram came to Seira, and all the chariots with him: and he arose in the night, and defeated the Edomites that had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots, but the people fled into their tents.

22. So Edom revolted from being under Juda, unto this day. Then Lobna also revolted at the same time.

23. But the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

24. And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, and Ochozias his son reigned in Iris stead.

25. In the twelfth year of Joram son of Achab king of Israel, reigned Ochozias son of Joram king of Juda.

26. Ochozias was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Athalia the daughter of Amri king of Israel.

27. And he walked in the ways of the house of Achab: and he did evil before the Lord, as did the house of Achab: for he was the son in law of the house of Achab.

28. He went also with Joram son of Achab, to fight against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth Galaad, and the Syrians wounded Joram:

29. And he went back to be healed, in Jezrahel: because the Syrians had wounded him in Ramoth when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ochozias the son of Joram king of Juda, went down to visit Joram the son of Achab in Jezrahel, because he was sick there.

Chapter 8

1. Let there be a trumpet in thy throat like an eagle upon the house of the Lord: because they have transgressed my covenant, and have violated my law.

2. They shall call upon me: O my God, we, Israel, know thee.

3. Israel hath cast off the thing that is good, the enemy shall pursue him.

4. They have reigned, but not by me: they have been princes, and I knew not: of their silver, and their gold they have made idols to themselves, that they might perish.

5. Thy calf, O Samaria, is cast off, my wrath is kindled against them. How long will they be incapable of being cleansed ?

6. For itself also is the invention of Israel: a workman made it, and it is no god: for the calf of Samaria shall be turned to spiders' webs.

7. For they shall sow wind, and reap a whirlwind, there is no standing stalk in it, the bud shall yield no meal; end if it should yield, strangers shall eat it.

8. Israel is swallowed up: now is he become among the nations like an unclean vessel.

9. For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath given gifts to his lovers.

10. But even though they shall have hired the nations, now will I gather them together: and they shall rest a while from the burden of the king, and the princes.

11. Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin: altars are become to him unto sin.

12. I shall write to him my manifold laws, which have been accounted as foreign.

13. They shall offer victims, they shall sacrifice flesh, and shall eat it, and the Lord will not receive them: now will he remember their iniquity, and will visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

14. And Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and hath built temples: and Juda hath built many fenced cities: and I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the houses thereof.

Chapter 9

1. Rejoice not, O Israel: rejoice not as the nations do: for thou hast committed fornication against thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

2. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the wine shall deceive them.

3. They shall not dwell in the Lord's land: Ephraim is returned to Egypt, and hath eaten unclean things among the Assyrians.

4. They shall not offer wine to the Lord, neither shall they please him: their sacrifices shall be like the bread of mourners: all that shall eat it shall be defiled: for their bread is life for their soul, it shall not enter into the house of the Lord.

5. What will you do in the solemn day, in the day of the feast of the Lord?

6. For behold they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them: nettles shall inherit their beloved silver, the bur shall be in their tabernacles.

7. The days of visitation are come, the days of repaying are come: know ye, O Israel, that the prophet was foolish, the spiritual man was mad, for the multitude of thy iniquity, and the multitude of thy madness.

8. The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: the prophet is become a snare of ruin upon all his ways, madness is in the house of his God.

9. They have sinned deeply, as in the days of Gabaa: he will remember their iniquity, and will visit their sin.

10. I found Israel like grapes in the desert, I saw their fathers like the firstfruits of the fig tree in the top thereof: but they went in to Beelphegor, and alienated themselves to that confusion, and became abominable, as those things were, which they loved.

11. As for Ephraim, their glory hath flown away like a bird from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

12. And though they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men: yea, and woe to them, when I shall depart from them.

13. Ephraim, as I saw, was a Tyre founded in beauty: and Ephraim shall bring out his children to the murderer.

14. Give them, O Lord. What wilt thou give them? Give them a womb without children, and dry breasts.

15. All their wickedness is in Galgal, for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their devices I will cast them forth out of my house: I will love them no more, all their princes are revolters.

16. Ephraim is struck, their root is dried up, they shall yield no fruit. And if they should have issue, I will slay the best beloved fruit of their womb.

17. My God will cast them away, because they hearkened not to him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Chapter 10

1. Israel a vine full of branches, the fruit is agreeable to it: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath multiplied altars, according to the plenty of his land he hath abounded with idols.

2. Their heart is divided: now they shall perish: he shall break down their idols, he shall destroy their altars.

3. For now they shall say: We have no king: because we fear not the Lord: and what shall a king do to us?

4. You speak words of an unprofitable vision, and you shall make a covenant: and judgment shall spring up as bitterness in the furrows of the field.

5. The inhabitants of Samaria have worshipped the king of Bethaven: for the people thereof have mourned over it, and the wardens of its temple that rejoiced over it in its glory because it is departed from it.

6. For itself also is carried into Assyria, a present to the avenging king: shame shall fall upon Ephraim, and Israel shall be confounded in his own will.

7. Samaria hath made her king to pass as froth upon the face of the water.

8. And the high places of the idol, the sin of Israel shall be destroyed: the bur and the thistle shall grow up over their altars: and they shall say to the mountains: Cover us; and to the hills: Fall upon us.

9. From the days of Gabaa, Israel hath sinned, there they stood: the battle in Gabaa against the children of iniquity shall not overtake them.

10. According to my desire I will chastise them: and the nations shall be gathered together against them, when they shall be chastised for their two iniquities.

11. Ephraim is a heifer taught to love to tread out corn, but I passed over upon the beauty of her neck: I will ride upon Ephraim, Juda shall plough, Jacob shall break the furrows for himself.

12. Sow for yourselves in justice, and reap in the mouth of mercy, break up your fallow ground: but the time to seek the Lord is, when he shall come that shall teach you justice.

13. You have ploughed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity, you have eaten the fruit of lying: because thou hast trusted in thy ways, in the multitude of thy strong ones.

14. A tumult shall arise among thy people: and all thy fortresses shall be destroyed as Salmana was destroyed, by the house of him that judged Baal in the day of battle, the mother being dashed in pieces upon her children.

15. So hath Bethel done to you, because of the evil of your iniquities.

1. A canticle of a psalm for David himself.

2. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and will give praise, with my glory.

3. Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise in the morning early.

4. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing unto thee among the populations.

5. For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth even unto the clouds.

6. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory over all the earth:

7. that thy beloved may be delivered. Save with thy right hand and hear me.

8. God hath spoken in his holiness. I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles.

9. Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine and Ephraim the protection of my head. Juda is my king:

10. Moab the pot of my hope. Over Edom I will stretch out my shoe: the aliens are become my friends.

11. Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?

12. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our armies?

13. O grant us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.

14. Through God we shall do mightily: and he will bring our enemies to nothing.