When they sow the wind, they will reap a storm! A field of grain that doesn't ripen can never produce any bread. But even if it did, foreigners would eat it up.

Let those who wept as they planted their crops, gather the harvest with joy!

Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed will come back singing for joy, as they bring in the harvest.

Wicked people do not really gain anything, but if you do what is right, you are certain to be rewarded.

What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.

Do your planting in the morning and in the evening, too. You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one planting will do better than the other.

How happy everyone will be with plenty of water for the crops and safe pasture everywhere for the donkeys and cattle.

And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.

The LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, "Plow up your unplowed fields; do not plant your seeds among thorns.

Keep your covenant with me, your LORD, and dedicate yourselves to me, you people of Judah and Jerusalem. If you don't, my anger will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done. It will burn, and there will be no one to put it out."

Go to the LORD for help; and worship him continually.

Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt's vast military strength---horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the LORD, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help.

Turn to the LORD and pray to him, now that he is near.

Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.

Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the LORD, have spoken.'

The LORD says, "When that time comes, the people of both Israel and Judah will come weeping, looking for me, their God.

The LORD says to the people of Israel, "Come to me, and you will live.

Go to the LORD, and you will live. If you do not go, he will sweep down like fire on the people of Israel. The fire will burn up the people of Bethel, and no one will be able to put it out.

The LORD made the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into daylight and day into night. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the earth. His name is the LORD.

Hate what is evil, love what is right, and see that justice prevails in the courts. Perhaps the LORD will be merciful to the people of this nation who are still left alive.

Shameless nation, come to your senses

Turn to the LORD, all you humble people of the land, who obey his commands. Do what is right, and humble yourselves before the LORD. Perhaps you will escape punishment on the day when the LORD shows his anger.

"Do your best to go in through the narrow door; because many people will surely try to go in but will not be able.

Let us try to know the LORD. He will come to us as surely as the day dawns, as surely as the spring rains fall upon the earth."

May the king be like rain on the fields, like showers falling on the land.

I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it."

Whenever you plant your crops, the Lord will send rain to make them grow and will give you a rich harvest, and your livestock will have plenty of pasture.

"I will give water to the thirsty land and make streams flow on the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on your children and my blessing on your descendants.

I will send victory from the sky like rain; the earth will open to receive it and will blossom with freedom and justice. I, the LORD, will make this happen."

"I will bless them and let them live around my sacred hill. There I will bless them with showers of rain when they need it.

Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.

The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow.