Luke Cross References - ISV

¹ Luke’s Dedication to TheophilusSince many people have attempted to write an orderly account of the events that have transpired among us, ² just as they were passed down to us by those who had been eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning, ³ I, too, have carefully investigated everything from the beginning and have decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
⁵ The Birth of John the Baptist is ForetoldDuring the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both of them were righteous before God, having lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord. ⁷ They had no children because Elizabeth was barren and because both of them were getting old.
⁸ When Zechariah was serving with his division of priests in God’s presence, ⁹ he was chosen by lot to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense, according to the custom of the priests. ¹⁰ And the entire congregation of people was praying outside at the time when the incense was burned.
¹¹ An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled, and fear overwhelmed him. ¹³ But the angel told him, “Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John. ¹⁴ You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ because he will be great in the Lord’s presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring many of Israel’s descendants back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord.”
¹⁸ Then Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this, since I am an old man, and my wife is getting older?”
¹⁹ The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to announce this good news to you. ²⁰ But because you did not believe my announcement, which will be fulfilled at its proper time, you will become silent and unable to speak until the day this happens.”
²¹ Meanwhile, the people kept waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed in the sanctuary so long. ²² But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them but remained unable to speak. ²³ When the days of his service were over, he went home.
²⁴ After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for five months. She said, ²⁵ “This is what the Lord did for me when he looked favorably on me and took away my public disgrace.”
²⁶ The Birth of Jesus is ForetoldNow in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” ²⁹ Startled by his statement, she tried to figure out what his greeting meant.
³⁰ Then the angel told her, “Stop being afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God. ³¹ Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
³⁴ Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen, since I have not had relations with a man?”
³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And listen! Elizabeth, your relative, has herself conceived a son in her old age, this woman who was rumored to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷ Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God’s promises.”
³⁸ Then Mary said, “Truly I am the Lord’s servant. Let everything you have said happen to me.” Then the angel left her.
³⁹ Mary Visits ElizabethLater on, Mary set out for a Judean city in the hill country. ⁴⁰ She went into Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby jumped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and she loudly exclaimed, “How blessed are you among women, and how blessed is the infant in your womb! ⁴³ Why should this happen to me, to have the mother of my Lord visit me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. ⁴⁵ How blessed is this woman for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!”
⁴⁶ Mary’s Song of PraiseThen Mary said, “My soul praises the greatness of the Lord! ⁴⁷ My spirit exults in God, my Savior, ⁴⁸ because he has looked favorably on his humble servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, ⁴⁹ because the Almighty has done great things for me. His name is holy. ⁵⁰ His mercy lasts from generation to generation for those who fear him. ⁵¹ He displayed his mighty power with his arm. He scattered people who were proud in mind and heart. ⁵² He pulled powerful rulers from their thrones and lifted up humble people. ⁵³ He filled hungry people with good things and sent rich people away with nothing. ⁵⁴ He helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors— to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
⁵⁶ Now Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
⁵⁷ The Birth of John the BaptistWhen the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹ On the eighth day they went to circumcise the child. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother said, “Absolutely not! He must be named John.”
⁶¹ Their friends told her, “None of your relatives has that name.”
⁶² So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name him. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And everyone was amazed.
⁶⁴ Suddenly, Zechariah could open his mouth, his tongue was set free, and he began to speak and to praise God. ⁶⁵ Fear came over all their neighbors, and throughout the hill country of Judea all these things were being discussed. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard about it kept thinking what had happened and asked, “What will this child become?” because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.
⁶⁷ The Prophecy of ZechariahThen his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: ⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! He has taken care of his people and has set them free. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a mighty Savior for us from the family of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he promised long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets ⁷¹ that he would save us from our enemies and from the grip of all who hate us. ⁷² He has shown mercy to our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. He granted us ⁷⁴ deliverance from our enemies’ grip so that we could serve him without fear ⁷⁵ and be holy and righteous before him all of our days. ⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way ⁷⁷ and to give his people knowledge of salvation through forgiveness of their sins. ⁷⁸ Because of the tender mercy of our God, his light from on high has visited us, ⁷⁹ to shine on those who sit in darkness and in death’s shadow, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
⁸⁰ Now the child continued to grow and to become spiritually strong. He lived in the wilderness until the day he appeared in Israel.

³¹ But these have been recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that through believing you may have life in his name.

¹ IntroductionIn my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, ² up to the day when he was taken up to heaven after giving orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After he had suffered, he had shown himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during a period of 40 days and telling them about the kingdom of God.

¹⁶ By common confession, the secret of our godly worship is great: In flesh was he revealed to sight, kept righteous by the Spirit’s might, adored by angels singing. To nations was he manifest, believing souls found peace and rest, our Lord in heaven reigning!

¹⁷ However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles could hear it. I was rescued out of a lion’s mouth.

¹⁶ Pay Attention to God’s WordWhen we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we did not follow any clever myths. Rather, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For he received honor and glory from God the Father when these words from the Majestic Glory were spoken about him: “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹ Therefore we regard the message of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp that is shining in a gloomy place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

¹ John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus
This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

¹⁴ The farmer sows the word.

⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

²⁷ You will testify also, because you have been with me from the beginning.

³ After he had suffered, he had shown himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during a period of 40 days and telling them about the kingdom of God.

⁸ But you’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you’ll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

²¹ who was one of the men associated with us all the time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, ²² beginning when he was baptized by John until the day he was taken up from us. Therefore, someone like this must become a witness with us to his resurrection.”

²⁰ for we cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

³⁹ We are witnesses of everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem.
“They hung him on a tree and killed him, ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear— ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet, because I’ve appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you to be my servant and witness of what you’ve seen and of what I’ll show you.

¹⁶ to be a minister of the Messiah Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering brought by gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹ Faithful Servants of the MessiahThink of us as servants of the Messiah and as servant managers entrusted with God’s secrets.

⁷ I have become a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the gentiles the immeasurable wealth of the Messiah

¹¹ And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah

²³ However, you must remain firmly established and steadfast in the faith, without being moved from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
²⁴ Paul’s Service in the ChurchNow I am rejoicing while suffering for you as I complete in my flesh whatever remains of the Messiah’s sufferings on behalf of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I became its servant as God commissioned me to work for you, so that I may complete my ministry of the word of God.

³ how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

¹ Be Shepherds of God’s FlockTherefore, as a fellow elder, a witness of the Messiah’s sufferings, and one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

¹⁶ Pay Attention to God’s WordWhen we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we did not follow any clever myths. Rather, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

¹ Jesus, the Word of LifeWhat existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life! ² This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. ³ What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.

⁵ LORD, my God, You have done great things: marvelous works and your thoughts toward us. There is no one who compares to you! I will try to recite your actions, even though there are too many to number.

²¹ These things you did, and I kept silent, because you assumed that I was like you. But now I am going to rebuke you, and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.”

⁹ ConclusionsMoreover, besides being wise himself, the Teacher taught people what he had learned by listening, making inquiries, and composing many proverbs.

¹ Luke’s Dedication to TheophilusSince many people have attempted to write an orderly account of the events that have transpired among us,

¹ IntroductionIn my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning,

⁴ Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said,

¹⁹ “Therefore, I have decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God.

²⁵ So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul,

²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any burden but these essential requirements:

²⁶ “From: Claudius Lysias
To: Governor Felix
Greetings, Your Excellency:

³ we always and everywhere acknowledge it with profound gratitude.

²⁵ But Paul said, “I’m not out of my mind, Your Excellency Festus. I’m reporting what is absolutely true.

⁴⁰ However, in my opinion she will be happier if she stays as she is. And in saying this, I think that I, too, have God’s Spirit.

¹² Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but he was not inclined to do so just now. However, he will visit you when the time is right.

²⁵ He had been instructed in the Lord’s way, and with spiritual fervor he kept speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only about John’s baptism.

¹⁸ and know his will, and approve of what is best because you have been instructed in the Law;

¹⁹ But in church I would rather speak five words with my mind to instruct others than 10,000 words in a foreign language.

⁶ The person who is taught the word should share all his goods with his teacher.

¹⁵ And I will make every effort to see that you will always remember these things after I am gone.
¹⁶ Pay Attention to God’s WordWhen we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, we did not follow any clever myths. Rather, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

¹⁰ the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah,

¹⁹ These were appointed to enter the Temple of the LORD according to their protocols established by their ancestor Aaron, as commanded by the LORD God of Israel.

⁴ Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,

¹⁷ of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;

¹ The Visit of the Wise MenAfter Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men arrived in Jerusalem from the east

⁹ Noah Obeys GodThese are the family records of Noah: Noah was a righteous man. Blameless during his times, Noah communed with God.

¹ Entering the ArkThen the LORD told Noah, “Come—you and all your household—into the ark, because I’ve seen that you alone are righteous in this generation.

¹ God Appears to AbramWhen Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, “I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I’m always with you, and be blameless.

⁴ “Now as for you, if you commune with me like your father did, with an upright heart of integrity and doing everything that I’ve commanded you and keeping my statutes and ordinances,

³ “Remember me, LORD,” he said, “how I have walked in your presence with integrity, with an undivided heart, and I have accomplished what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept deeply.

¹ Job’s FaithfulnessThere once was a man in the land of Uz named Job. The man was blameless as well as upright. He feared God and kept away from evil.

⁸ Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on earth. The man is blameless as well as upright. He fears God and keeps away from evil.”

² “Indeed, I’m fully aware that this is so, but how can a person become right with God?

⁶ Then I will not be ashamed, since my eyes will be fixed on all of your commands.

¹⁵ So he told them, “You try to justify yourselves in front of people, but God knows your hearts, because what is highly valued by people is detestable to God.

¹ Paul Defends HimselfPaul looked straight at the Council and said, “Brothers, with a clear conscience I have done my duty before God up to this very day.”

¹⁶ Therefore, I always do my best to have a clear conscience before God and people.

⁹ What, then, does this mean? Are we Jews any better off? Not at all! For we have already accused everyone, both Jews and Greeks, of being under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written, “Not even one person is righteous. ¹¹ No one understands. No one searches for God. ¹² All have turned away. They have become completely worthless. No one shows kindness, not even one person! ¹³ Their throats are open graves. With their tongues they deceive. The venom of poisonous snakes is under their lips. ¹⁴ Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. ¹⁵ They run swiftly to shed blood. ¹⁶ Ruin and misery characterize their lives. ¹⁷ They have not learned the path to peace. ¹⁸ They don’t fear God.
¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says applies to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore, God will not justify any human being by means of the actions prescribed by the Law, for through the Law comes the full knowledge of sin.
²¹ God Gives Us Righteousness through FaithBut now, apart from the Law, God’s righteousness is revealed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets— ²² God’s righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah— for all who believe. For there is no distinction among people, ²³ since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory. ²⁴ By his grace they are justified freely through the redemption that is in the Messiah Jesus, ²⁵ whom God offered as a place where atonement by the Messiah’s blood would occur through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because he had waited patiently to deal with sins committed in the past.

² I praise you for remembering everything I told you and for holding to the traditions that I passed on to you.

¹² Paul’s Reason for BoastingFor this is what we boast about: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world with pure motives and godly sincerity, without earthly wisdom but with God’s grace—especially toward you.

¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and innocent, God’s children without any faults among a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world

⁶ As for my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church. As far as righteousness in the Law is concerned, I was blameless.
⁷ But whatever things were assets to me, these I now consider a loss for the sake of the Messiah. ⁸ What is more, I continue to consider all these things to be a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish in order to gain the Messiah ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness of the Messiah, the righteousness that comes from God and that depends on faith.

²² he has now reconciled by the death of his physical body, so that he may present you holy, blameless, and without fault before him.

¹³ Then your hearts will be strong, blameless, and holy in the presence of God, who is our Father, when our Lord Jesus appears with all his saints.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. ¹² It trains us to renounce ungodly living and worldly passions so that we might live sensible, honest, and godly lives in the present age ¹³ as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah. ¹⁴ He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.

³ After all, we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and misled. We were slaves to many kinds of lusts and pleasures, spending our days in malice and jealousy. We were despised, and we hated one another. ⁴ In grace our Savior God appeared, to make his love for mankind clear. ⁵ ‘Twas not for deeds that we had done, but by his steadfast love alone, he saved us through a second birth, renewed us by the Spirit’s work, ⁶ and poured him out upon us, too, through Jesus the Messiah our Savior true. ⁷ And so, made heirs by his own grace, eternal life we now embrace.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault.

³ This is how we can be sure that we have come to know him: if we continually keep his commandments.

²⁹ Since you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by God.

⁷ Little children, don’t let anyone deceive you. The person who practices righteousness is righteous, just as the Messiah is righteous.

² But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, what can you give me since I continue to be childless, and the heir of my household is Eliezer from Damascus? ³ Look!” Abram said, “You haven’t given me any offspring, so a servant born in my house is going to be my heir.”

¹ Sarai, Hagar, and IshmaelNow Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne a child for him. She had an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai told Abram, “You are well aware that the LORD has prevented me from giving birth to a child. Go have sex with my servant, so that I may possibly bear a son through her.”
Abram listened to Sarai’s suggestion,

¹⁷ Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and told himself, “Can a child be born to a 100-year-old man? Can a 90-year-old Sarah give birth?”

¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old—really old—and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.

²¹ Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, since she was unable to conceive children, and the LORD responded to him—his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

¹ Rachel’s Children by BilhahRachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, “If you don’t give me sons, I’m going to die!”

² There was one man from Zorah, from the family of the descendants of Dan, whose name was Manoah. Since his wife was infertile, she hadn’t borne children. ³ One day the angel of the LORD presented himself to the woman. “Hello!” he greeted her. “Though you are infertile at this time and haven’t borne a child, you’re about to conceive and give birth to a son.

² He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

⁵ but he would give twice as much to Hannah because he loved her.
Now the LORD had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival would provoke her severely so that she complained loudly because the LORD had closed her womb. ⁷ Elkanah would do this year after year, as often as Hannah went up to the house of the LORD. Likewise, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would cry and would not eat. ⁸ Elkanah her husband told her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why don’t you eat? Why are you upset? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

¹ Adonijah’s Attempted CoupWhen David had grown very old, they covered him with blankets, but he could not keep warm,

¹⁴ He responded, “What, then, is to be done on her behalf?”
Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son and her husband is growing old.”

¹⁹ His faith did not weaken when he thought about his own body (which was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old) or about Sarah’s inability to have children,

¹¹ By faith Sarah, even though she was old and barren, received the strength to conceive, because she was convinced that the one who had made the promise was faithful.

¹ The Garments for the Priests“You are to bring your brother Aaron, along with his sons, from among the Israelis so they can serve as priests for me: that is, Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁴¹ You are to put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and you are to anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them to serve as my priests.

¹ The Consecration of the Priests“This is what you are to do to them in order to consecrate them to serve me as priests: Take a young bull, two rams without blemish,

⁹ You are to gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and tie headdresses on them. The priesthood is to belong to them by perpetual ordinance, and you are to ordain Aaron and his sons.

⁴⁴ I’ll consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and I’ll consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as my priests.

³⁰ You are to anoint Aaron and his sons, and you are to consecrate them to serve as my priests.

⁷ Now you and your sons with you are to maintain your priestly duties and all matters that concern the altar and what is housed within the veil. You are to perform these services. I’m giving you the priesthood as a gift of service, but any unauthorized person who approaches is to be put to death.”

² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, leaving no sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar became priests.

¹⁴ Following proscriptions laid down by his father David, Solomon appointed divisions of priests for their service as well as descendants of Levi for duties of praise and ministry before the priests consistent with the daily rules. Furthermore, because David, the man of God, had commanded it, Solomon also appointed gatekeepers to serve by divisions at every gate of the Temple.

¹⁴ because the descendants of Levi left their pasture lands and their property to live in Judah and Jerusalem, since Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from participating in priestly services to the LORD.

² Hezekiah Continues His ReformsHezekiah appointed the priestly divisions and the divisions of the descendants of Levi, each according to their service duties, including both priests and descendants of Levi who offered morning and evening burnt offerings, peace offerings, general ministry, thanksgiving, and praise in the gateways to the LORD’s campgrounds.

¹⁹ Furthermore, with respect to the descendants of Aaron, that is, the priests who lived out in the country away from the cities, or who lived in each and every city, men were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone who had been enrolled by genealogy among the descendants of Levi.

¹⁸ Furthermore, they established the priests in their divisions and the descendants of Levi in their positions for the service of God conducted at Jerusalem, as is proscribed in the Book of Moses.

⁵ The Birth of John the Baptist is ForetoldDuring the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

⁷ Aaron is to offer fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he trims the lamps he is to offer it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he is to offer it as a continual incense offering in the LORD’s presence throughout your generations.

²⁵ The Altar for IncenseHe made the altar for burning incense of acacia wood, a square, one cubit long, one cubit wide, and two cubits high, with its horns of one piece with it. ²⁶ He overlaid it with pure gold—its top, its sides all around, and its horns—and he made a gold molding around it. ²⁷ He made two gold rings for it under its molding, on its two opposite sides, as holders for poles by which to carry it. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ²⁹ And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure aromatic incense, the work of a perfumer.

⁴⁰ to serve as a memorial to the Israelis, a reminder that no unauthorized person, who isn’t a descendant of Aaron, is to attempt to burn incense in the LORD’S presence, so that he may not become like Korah and his group, just as the LORD had spoken by the authority of Moses.

²⁸ that I had chosen him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer up burnt offerings on my altar, burn incense, and carry the ephod in my presence? And did I not give to your ancestors’ family all the Israeli fire-offerings?

⁴⁹ Meanwhile, Aaron and his sons presented offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, carrying out the work of the Most Holy Place, making atonement for Israel in accordance with everything that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

¹³ The descendants of Amram included Aaron and Moses. Aaron had been set apart to consecrate the most holy things, with the intent that he and his sons should present offerings in the LORD’s presence forever, ministering to him and pronouncing blessings in his name forever.

¹⁶ Uzziah’s Arrogance and Apostasy
But after he had become strong, in his arrogance he acted corruptly and became unfaithful to the LORD his God, and he dared to enter the LORD’s Temple to burn incense on the incense altar.

¹¹ Please don’t be careless, you descendants of Aaron, because the LORD has chosen you to minister in his presence, to serve him, to be his ministers, and to burn incense.”

⁶ When everything had been arranged like this, the priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties.

¹⁷ “No person is to be there when he enters the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the sacred place, until he comes out and has made atonement on account of himself, his household, and the entire assembly of Israel.

¹⁴ Our Compassionate High PriestTherefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us live our lives consistent with our confession of faith.

²⁴ For the Messiah did not go into a sanctuary made by human hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God’s presence on our behalf.

³ Another angel came with a gold censer and stood at the altar. He was given a large quantity of incense to offer on the gold altar before the throne, along with the prayers of all the saints.

¹ The Altar of Incense“You are to make an altar for burning incense. You are to make it of acacia wood. ² It is to be a square, one cubit long and one cubit wide, and it is to be two cubits high, with its horns of one piece with it. ³ You are to overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides all around, and its horns, and you are to make a molding of gold all around it.
⁴ “You are to make two gold rings for it under its molding. You are to make them on its two opposite sides, and they are to be holders for poles by which to carry it. ⁵ You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ You are to put the altar in front of the curtain that is over the Ark of the Testimony, in front of the Mercy Seat that is over the Testimony where I’ll meet with you. ⁷ Aaron is to offer fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he trims the lamps he is to offer it, ⁸ and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he is to offer it as a continual incense offering in the LORD’s presence throughout your generations. ⁹ You are not to offer strange incense, a burnt offering, or a grain offering on it, nor are you to pour out a libation on it. ¹⁰ Each year Aaron is to make atonement on its horns with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. He is to make atonement on it each year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

²⁶ He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain ²⁷ and burned aromatic incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹³ “Then he is to place the incense over the fire in the LORD’s presence, ensuring that the smoke from the incense covers the Mercy Seat, according to regulation, so he won’t die.

³ One day the angel of the LORD presented himself to the woman. “Hello!” he greeted her. “Though you are infertile at this time and haven’t borne a child, you’re about to conceive and give birth to a son.

⁹ God listened to Manoah’s request, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting out in the pasture. But her husband Manoah wasn’t with her,

¹⁹ The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to announce this good news to you.

²⁸ The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!”

¹⁰ Then the angel told them, “Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

¹⁹ But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel told them,

³ One day, about three in the afternoon, he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
⁴ He stared at the angel in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel answered him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder to God.

¹⁴ All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren’t they?

³ Another angel came with a gold censer and stood at the altar. He was given a large quantity of incense to offer on the gold altar before the throne, along with the prayers of all the saints. ⁴ The smoke from the incense and the prayers of the saints went up from the angel’s hand to God.

¹³ The Vision of the Sixth TrumpetWhen the sixth angel blew his trumpet, I heard a voice from the four horns of the gold altar in front of God.

²² God Reassures GideonWhen Gideon realized that he had seen the angel of the LORD himself, he cried out, “Oh no! Lord GOD! I’ve been looking right at the angel of the LORD—and face-to-face at that!”

²² Then Manoah told his wife, “We’re going to die for sure, because we’ve seen God!”

¹⁴ A fear fell upon me, along with trembling that caused all my bones to shake in terror. ¹⁵ A spirit glided past me and made the hair on my skin to bristle.

⁷ “Now I, Daniel, was the only one to receive the vision—the men who were with me didn’t see it. However, an enormous fear overwhelmed them, so they ran away to hide,

⁵ As they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were utterly astonished.

²⁹ Startled by his statement, she tried to figure out what his greeting meant.

⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ Then the angel told them, “Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

⁴ He stared at the angel in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel answered him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder to God.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. But he placed his right hand on me and said, “Stop being afraid! I am the first and the last,

¹⁰ Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised.

¹⁹ But God replied, “No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son, and you are to name him Isaac. I’ll confirm my covenant with him as an eternal covenant for his descendants.

¹⁴ Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the time set for it, I will return to you—about a year from now—and Sarah will have a son.”

²³ “Calm down! Don’t be afraid.” the LORD replied. “You’re not going to die!”

³ One day the angel of the LORD presented himself to the woman. “Hello!” he greeted her. “Though you are infertile at this time and haven’t borne a child, you’re about to conceive and give birth to a son. ⁴ So be sure that you don’t drink wine or anything intoxicating, and don’t eat anything unclean ⁵ because—surprise!—you’re going to conceive and give birth to a son! Don’t put a razor to his head, because the young man will be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from inside the womb. He will begin to deliver Israel from domination by the Philistines.”

²⁰ By the time of the next year’s sacrifice, Hannah had become pregnant and had borne a son. She named him Samuel because she said, “I asked the LORD for him.”
²¹ Hannah Dedicates Samuel to the LORDThen Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the yearly sacrifice to the LORD and pay his vow. ²² Hannah did not go up because she had told her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the LORD’s presence and remain there forever.
²³ “Do what you want,” Elkanah told her. “Stay until you have weaned him, only may the LORD bring about what you’ve said.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²¹ The LORD took note of Hannah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel continued to grow, and the LORD was constantly with him.

¹⁶ and he told her, “About this time next year you will be embracing a son.”
“No, sir! Please, as a godly man, don’t mislead your servant!” ¹⁷ But the woman did conceive and did bear a son at that very same time the next year, just as Elisha had told her.

⁹ He makes the barren woman among her household a happy mother of joyful children. Hallelujah!

²¹ I will praise you because you have answered me and have become my deliverer.

³ Children are a gift from the LORD; a productive womb, the LORD’s reward. ⁴ As arrows in the hand of a warrior, so also are children born during one’s youth. ⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be ashamed as they confront their enemies at the city gate.

³ After this, I was intimate with the prophetess and she conceived. Later, she bore a son, and then the LORD told me, “Call him ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’

¹² “‘Don’t be afraid, Daniel,’ he told me, ‘because from the first day that you committed yourself to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I’ve come in answer to your prayers.

⁴ Naming the ChildrenThe LORD told Hosea, “Name the child ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I’ll avenge the blood that was shed by Jehu’s dynasty at Jezreel. I’ll put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

⁶ Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, so the LORD told Hosea, “Name her ‘Lo-ruhamah,’ because I will no longer be showing mercy to the house of Israel, nor will I forgive them.

⁹ so the LORD told Hosea, “Name him ‘Lo-ammi,’ because you are not my people, and I will not be your God. ¹⁰ Despite this, the number of the people of Israel will be like ocean sand, which can neither be measured nor counted. And the time will come when instead of it being said, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”

²⁷ “Have courage!” Jesus immediately told them. “It’s me. Stop being afraid!”

⁵ Responding to the women, the angel said, “Stop being frightened! I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

⁶ But he told them, “Stop being astonished! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here. Look at the place where they laid him.

³⁰ Then the angel told her, “Stop being afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.

⁶⁰ but his mother said, “Absolutely not! He must be named John.”
⁶¹ Their friends told her, “None of your relatives has that name.”
⁶² So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name him. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And everyone was amazed.

²¹ Jesus is CircumcisedAfter eight days had passed, the infant was circumcised and named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

³⁶ Jesus Appears to the Disciples
While they were all talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and told them, “Peace be with you.”
³⁷ They were startled and terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸ But Jesus told them, “What’s frightening you? And why are you doubting? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet, because it’s really me. Touch me and look at me, because a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard. God has remembered your gifts to the poor,

⁶ Now Sarah had said, “God has caused me to laugh, and all who hear about it will laugh with me.”

²⁰ A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.

¹⁵ On Listening to Your ParentsMy son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will greatly rejoice.

²⁴ The father of a righteous person will greatly rejoice; whoever fathers a wise son will be glad because of him.

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

² I’ll make a great nation of your descendants, I’ll bless you, and I’ll make your reputation great, so that you will be a blessing.

¹⁹ But his father refused. “I know,” he said. “I know. He’s going to produce a large nation, and he’s going to be very great. However, his younger brother will become even greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”

² “Tell the Israelis that a man or woman who commits to the vow of the Nazirite, is to be separated to the LORD, ³ then is to remain separate from wine and strong drink. He is not to drink vinegar or strong drink made from wine. He is not to drink grape juice or eat grapes, whether fresh or dried. ⁴ During the entire time of his dedication, he is not to eat any product from the grapevine, from the seed to the skin.

⁷ The LORD Addresses JoshuaAt this point, the LORD told Joshua, “Today I’m going to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they’ll be sure that I’m going to be with you just as I was with Moses.

¹⁴ That day, the LORD exalted Joshua in the presence of all Israel so that they revered him just as they had revered Moses throughout his life.

⁴ So be sure that you don’t drink wine or anything intoxicating, and don’t eat anything unclean ⁵ because—surprise!—you’re going to conceive and give birth to a son! Don’t put a razor to his head, because the young man will be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from inside the womb. He will begin to deliver Israel from domination by the Philistines.”
⁶ Then the woman went to tell her husband. She said, “A man of God appeared to me. He looked like what an angel of God would look like—very frightening. I didn’t ask him where he had come from and he didn’t tell me his name.

⁸ “‘“Furthermore, I have remained with you everywhere you have gone, annihilating all your enemies right in front of you. I will make your reputation great, like the reputation of the great ones who have lived on earth.

¹² Both wealth and honor proceed from you, and you are ruling over them all. You control power— you control who is made great, and how everyone becomes strong.

⁹ Yet, you are the one who took me from the womb, and kept me safe on my mother’s breasts.

⁵ “I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me before you were born; I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

¹⁵ The LORD of the Heavenly Armies will defend them; they will devour and conquer those who sling stones. They will drink and be boisterous like those who are drunk. They will be filled to the brim with blood, like the corners of the altar.

⁹ Really, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! ¹⁰ This is the man about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
¹¹ I tell all of you with certainty, among those born of women no one has appeared who is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom from heaven is greater than he.
¹² “From the days of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom from heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people have been attacking it, ¹³ because the Law and all the Prophets prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ Let the person who has ears listen!
¹⁶ “To what can I compare the people living today? They’re like little children who sit in the marketplaces and shout to each other, ¹⁷ ‘A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.’
¹⁸ Because John didn’t come eating or drinking, yet people say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Absolved from every act of sin, is wisdom by her kith and kin.”

²⁸ I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

³³ Because John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, yet you say, ‘He has a demon!’

³⁵ That man John was a lamp that burns and brightly shines, and for a while you were willing to rejoice in his light.

⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages as the Spirit gave them that ability.

¹⁴ Peter Addresses the CrowdThen Peter stood up among the eleven apostles and raised his voice to address them:
“Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand something, so pay close attention to my words. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶ Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸ In those days I will even pour out my Spirit on my slaves, men and women alike, and they will prophesy.

¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased

¹⁸ Stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit.

³ A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; and in the desert a straight highway for our God.’ ⁴ Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be lowered; the rough ground will become level, and the mountain ridges made a plain. ⁵ Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity will see it at once; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

⁶ he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Israel and bring back those of Jacob I have preserved. I’ll also make you as a light to the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.

³ Those who manifest wisdom will shine like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever.

¹ The Coming of the Messenger“Watch out! I’m sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly, the LORD you are looking for will come to his Temple. He is the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Watch out! He is coming!” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

¹ John the Baptist Prepares the Way
About this time, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the Judean wilderness, ² “Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!” ³ He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, “He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!’” ⁴ John had clothing made of camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey.
⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region along the Jordan began flocking to him, ⁶ being baptized by him in the Jordan River while they confessed their sins.

³² John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds at last and believe him.”

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way

⁵ Samuel said, “Bring all Israel together at Mizpah, and I’ll pray to the LORD on your behalf.”

¹ Elijah Calls for a DroughtElijah the foreigner, who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain these next several years, except when I say so.”

¹⁸ But Elijah replied, “I’m no destroyer of Israel. But you and your ancestor’s household have been doing that, because you have abandoned the LORD’s commandments and have followed the Baals.

²⁰ Later on, Ahab asked Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
But Elijah answered, “I’ve found you because you sold yourself to do what the LORD considers to be evil!

⁴ Now therefore this is what the LORD says: “You won’t be getting up from that bed of yours on which you’re lying. You will most certainly die!”’” So Elijah got up and went.
⁵ The messengers returned to the king and he asked them, “What’s this? You’ve come back?”
⁶ They replied, “We met a man who told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and ask him, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re going to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you won’t be getting up from that bed on which you’re lying. You will most certainly die!”’”

¹⁶ Then Elijah spoke to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Since you sent messengers to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel with whom to consult regarding his word?—therefore you’re not getting up from the bed on which you’re lying. You certainly will die!’”

¹⁸ LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep your purposes and thoughts constantly in the hearts of your people and direct their hearts toward you,

³⁶ Hezekiah and all of the people were ecstatic with joy because of what God had done for the people, since everything had come about so suddenly.

¹⁷ LORD, you heard the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen them, you will listen carefully,

⁸ They will not be like the rebellious generation of their ancestors, a rebellious generation, whose heart was not steadfast, and whose spirits were unfaithful to God.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; sound understanding belongs to those who practice it. Praise of God endures forever.

²⁴ Moreover, those who go astray in spirit will gain understanding, and those who complain will accept instruction.’”

¹² “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I am about to do this, prepare to be summoned to your God, Israel!”

⁵ “Pay attention! I’m sending Elijah the prophet to you before the great and dreadful Day of the LORD comes, ⁶ and he will turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I’ll come, strike the land, and utterly destroy it.”

⁴ John had clothing made of camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of grasshoppers and wild honey.

⁷ But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! ⁹ Don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have father Abraham!’ because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰ The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree that isn’t producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I am baptizing you with water as evidence of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.”

¹⁴ If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

⁴ John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

¹¹ He answered them, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, yet people did not recognize him and treated him just as they pleased. In the same way, the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”

²⁹ His son replied, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did the father’s will?”
They answered, “The first one.”
Jesus told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s kingdom ahead of you! ³² John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds at last and believe him.”

¹¹ So they asked him, “Don’t the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
¹² He told them, “Elijah is indeed coming first and will restore all things. Why, then, is it written that the Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be treated shamefully? ¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has come, yet people treated him just as they pleased, as it is written about him.”

¹⁶ He will bring many of Israel’s descendants back to the Lord their God.

⁷ John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have father Abraham!’ because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! ⁹ The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”
¹⁰ The crowds kept asking him, “What, then, should we do?”
¹¹ He answered them, “The person who has two coats must share with the one who doesn’t have any, and the person who has food must do the same.”
¹² Even some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
¹³ He told them, “Stop collecting more money than the amount you are told to collect.”
¹⁴ Even some soldiers were asking him, “And what should we do?”
He told them, “Never extort money from anyone by threats or blackmail, and be satisfied with your pay.”

¹³ who were born, not merely in a genetic sense, nor from lust, nor from man’s desire, but from the will of God.

²¹ So they asked him, “Well then, are you Elijah?”
John said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
²² “Who are you?” they asked him. “We must give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
²³ He replied, “I am ‘…a voice crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the Lord’s highway,”’as the prophet Isaiah said.”
²⁴ Now those men had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are not the Messiah, or Elijah, or the Prophet?”
²⁶ John answered them, “I am baptizing with water, but among you stands a man whom you do not know, ²⁷ the one who is coming after me, whose sandal straps I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This happened in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
²⁹ The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks above me, because he existed before me.’

³⁴ I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

²⁸ You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’

³³ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. All of us are here now in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has ordered you to say.”

²³ Can’t he also reveal his glorious riches to the objects of his mercy that he has prepared ahead of time for glory—

⁹ You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don’t you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, ¹⁰ thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God.

¹² and might thank the Father, who has enabled us to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.

²¹ Therefore, if anyone stops associating with these people, he will become a special utensil, set apart for the owner’s use, prepared for every good action.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deeds of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, think of the kind of holy and godly people you ought to be ¹² as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault.

²⁸ Abide in HimEven now, little children, abide in him. Then, when he appears, we will have confidence and will not turn away from him in shame when he comes.

⁴ The Vision of the First ResurrectionThen I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years.

⁸ But he replied, “Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?”

¹² That’s why Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I’m so old and my husband is old, too, am I going to have sex?”

²¹ Moses Doubts God’s AbilityMoses responded, “I’m with 600,000 people on foot and you’re saying I am to give them enough meat to eat for a whole month? ²² What if we were to slaughter our entire inventory of flocks and herds for them? Would that be enough? What if we could gather all the fish in the sea in nets for them? Would that be enough, either?”
²³ God Rebukes MosesBut the LORD responded to Moses, “Is the LORD short on power? You’re now going to witness whether what I say will come to pass or not.”

³⁶ Gideon Asks for a Sign from GodThen Gideon told God, “If you intend to deliver Israel by my efforts as you’ve said, ³⁷ then take a look at this wool fleece that I’m placing on the threshing floor. If dew appears only on the fleece—and it’s dry on the ground all around it—then I’ll know that you’ll deliver Israel by my efforts like you’ve said.” ³⁸ And that is what happened: When he got up early the next morning, he wrung out the fleece to drain the dew from it and extracted a bowl full of water.
³⁹ Then Gideon told God, “Don’t let yourself be angry with me! I want to ask you once again: please let me make a test with the fleece just once more. Cause it to be dry only on the fleece, but let there be dew all around on the ground.” ⁴⁰ And God did it just like that later that night. It was dry only on the fleece, but dew was all around on the ground.

² But the royal attendant on whom the king depended responded to the man of God: “Look here! Even if the LORD were to open a window in the sky, how could this happen?”
He replied, “No, you look! You’ll see it with your eyes, but you won’t eat any of it!”

²² Hezekiah also had asked, “What will be the sign for me to go up to the LORD’s Temple?”

⁷ They had no children because Elizabeth was barren and because both of them were getting old.

³⁴ Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen, since I have not had relations with a man?”

¹⁶ I heard the voice of a man calling out from the Ulai Canal, ‘Gabriel, interpret what that fellow has been seeing.’

²¹ while I was still speaking, Gabriel the man of God whom I had seen in the previous vision, appeared to me about the time of the evening offering. ²² He gave instructions, and this is what he spoke to me: ‘Daniel, I’ve now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ Because you’re highly regarded, the answer was issued when you began your prayer, and I’ve come to tell you. Pay attention to my message and you’ll understand the vision.

¹⁰ “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, because I tell you, their angels in heaven always have access to my Father in heaven.

²⁶ The Birth of Jesus is ForetoldNow in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

¹⁰ Then one of them said, “I will certainly return to you in about a year’s time. By then, your wife Sarah will have borne a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were old—really old—and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing. ¹² That’s why Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I’m so old and my husband is old, too, am I going to have sex?”
¹³ The LORD asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and think, ‘Am I really going to bear a child, since I’m so old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything impossible for the LORD? At the time set for it, I will return to you—about a year from now—and Sarah will have a son.”
¹⁵ But Sarah denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she claimed, because she was afraid.
The LORD replied, “No! You did laugh!”

¹¹ Then God asked him, “Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes him unable to speak, or deaf, or able to see, or blind, or lame? Is it not I, the LORD?

¹² The LORD Disciplines MosesBut the LORD rebuked Moses and Aaron, telling Moses: “Because you both didn’t believe me, because you didn’t consecrate me as holy in the presence of the Israelis, you won’t be the ones to bring this congregation into the land that I’m about to give them.”

¹⁹ But the royal attendant on whom the king depended responded to the man of God: “Look here! Even if the LORD were to make a window in the sky, how could this happen?”
He replied, “No, you look! You’ll see it with your eyes, but you won’t eat any of it!”

⁹ Furthermore, Ephraim’s head is Samaria, and Remaliah’s son is its king. If all of you don’t keep on believing,
you’ll never remain loyal.’”

²⁶ Meanwhile, I’ll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you’ll be mute and unable to reprove them, since they’re a rebellious group.

²⁷ Your mouth will freely speak to the fugitive. You won’t be silent any longer. You’ll be a sign to them. Then they’ll know that I am the LORD.”

¹⁹ Jesus told them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”

¹⁴ Jesus Commissions His Disciples
Finally he appeared to his eleven disciples while they were eating. He rebuked them for their unbelief and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen.

²² But when he did come out, he was unable to speak to them. Then they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them but remained unable to speak.

⁴⁵ How blessed is this woman for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!”

³ What if some of the Jews were unfaithful? Their unfaithfulness cannot cancel God’s faithfulness, can it?

¹³ Our faith may fail, his never wanes— That’s who he is, he cannot change!

² which is based on the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.

¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

¹⁹ I correct and discipline those whom I love, so be serious and repent!

²³ “Teach Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelis: ²⁴ May the LORD bless you and guard you. ²⁵ May the LORD’s face enlighten you and bestow favor on you. ²⁶ May the LORD turn to face you, lavishing peace on you!
²⁷ They are to pour out my name to the Israelis while I continue to bless them.”

⁶² So they motioned to the baby’s father to see what he wanted to name him.

²⁴ So Simon Peter motioned to this man to ask Jesus about whom he was speaking.

¹⁷ He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet, and then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He added, “Tell this to James and the brothers.” Then he left and went somewhere else.

³³ Some of the crowd concluded it was because of Alexander, since the Jews had pushed him to the front. So Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.

⁴⁰ The tribune gave him permission, and Paul, standing on the steps, motioned for the people to be silent. When everyone had quieted down, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language:

⁵ He ordered them: “Here’s what we’ll do: A third of you will enter here on this coming Sabbath dressed as guardians of the watch for the king’s palace, ⁶ with a third of you at the Sur gate, and a third at the gate behind the guards. Keep watch over the palace and defend it. ⁷ Two of you who enter here on this coming Sabbath are to stand watch at the LORD’s Temple,

²⁵ Their relatives who lived in their villages were required to visit every seven days to be with them in turn,

¹ Isaac is BornThe LORD came to Sarah, just as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the very time that God had told him.

²² Rachel’s Son Joseph is BornThen God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, ²³ so she conceived, bore a son, and remarked, “God has removed my shame.”

⁶ Her rival would provoke her severely so that she complained loudly because the LORD had closed her womb.

¹⁹ They got up early the next morning and worshipped in the LORD’s presence, and then they returned and came to their house at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰ By the time of the next year’s sacrifice, Hannah had become pregnant and had borne a son. She named him Samuel because she said, “I asked the LORD for him.”

²¹ The LORD took note of Hannah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel continued to grow, and the LORD was constantly with him.
²² Judgment against Eli’s SonsNow Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to the Israelis, and how they lay with the women who were serving regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

¹ “At that time, seven women will cling tightly to one man and will make him this offer: ‘We’ll provide our own bread. We’ll provide our own clothes. Just let us marry you so we won’t be stigmatized anymore.’”

¹ The Coming Glory of Israel “Sing, you barren woman, even the one who never bore a child! Burst into song and shout for joy, even you who were never in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married,” says the LORD. ² “Enlarge the location of your tent, let the curtains of your dwellings be stretched wide, and don’t hold back. Lengthen your cords; strengthen your stakes. ³ For you will spread out to the right hand and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will populate the deserted towns. ⁴ “Don’t be afraid, because you won’t be ashamed; don’t fear shame, for you won’t be humiliated— because you will forget the disgrace of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

¹³ But the angel told him, “Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.

²³ and settled in a town called Nazareth in order to fulfill what was said by the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

⁴ Joseph, too, went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the City of David (called Bethlehem), because he was a descendant of the household and family of David.

⁴⁵ Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
⁴⁶ Nathaniel asked him, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”

⁴¹ while others were saying, “This is the Messiah!”
But some were saying, “The Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?

¹⁵ “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”

¹⁴ “Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Watch! The virgin is conceiving a child, and will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

²² How long will you go this way and that, rebellious daughter? Indeed, the LORD will create a new thing on the earth; a woman will protect a man.

¹⁶ Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

¹⁸ The Birth of Jesus
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they lived together she was discovered to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ After he had thought about it, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” he said, “don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”

²³ “See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,”
which means, “God with us.”

⁴ Joseph, too, went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the City of David (called Bethlehem), because he was a descendant of the household and family of David. ⁵ He went there to be registered with Mary, who had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

²⁴ “Blessed above all women is Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite; most blessed is she among women who live in tents!

¹² The angel of the LORD appeared to him and told him, “The LORD is with you, you valiant warrior!”

²⁹ “Many women have done wonderful things,” he says, “but you surpass all of them!” ³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty fades; but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised. ³¹ Reward her for her work— let her actions result in public praise.

⁵ The Regathering of Israel“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you; I’ll bring your children from the east, and gather you from the west.

¹⁸ “As for me, today I’m making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. ¹⁹ They’ll fight against you, but they won’t prevail against you, because I am with you,” declares the LORD, “to deliver you.”

¹⁹ and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, man highly regarded. Be at peace, and be strong.’
“As soon as he spoke to me, I gained strength and replied, ‘Sir, please speak, now that you’ve strengthened me.’

² Bring a prepared speech with you as you return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Take away all our iniquity, and accept what is good. Then we will present the fruit of our lips.

⁴⁸ He asked the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

⁴² and she loudly exclaimed, “How blessed are you among women, and how blessed is the infant in your womb!

²⁷ True BlessednessAs Jesus was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and told him, “How blessed is the womb that gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you!”
²⁸ But he said, “Instead, how blessed are those who hear God’s word and obey it!”

¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you or harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

⁶ so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One.

¹³ But Gideon replied, “Right… Sir, if the LORD is with us, then why has all of this happened to us? And where are all of his miraculous works that our ancestors recounted to us when they said, ‘The LORD brought us up from Egypt, didn’t he?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us over to Midian!”
¹⁴ The LORD looked straight at him and replied, “Go with this determination of yours and deliver Israel from Midian’s domination. I’ve directed you, haven’t I?”
¹⁵ “Right…,” Gideon responded. “Sir, how will I deliver Israel? Look—my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the youngest in my father’s household.”

²⁰ Now as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, don’t give any thought to them, because they’ve been found. Meanwhile, to whom is all Israel looking, if not to you and all of your father’s household?”
²¹ Saul answered: “Am I not a descendant of Benjamin from the least of the tribes of Israel? Isn’t my family the least important of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why have you spoken to me like this?”

⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and began to scream. ⁵⁰ All of them saw him and were terrified. Immediately he told them, “Have courage! It’s me. Stop being afraid!”

⁵ As they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were utterly astonished. ⁶ But he told them, “Stop being astonished! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here. Look at the place where they laid him.

¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was startled, and fear overwhelmed him.

⁶⁶ Everyone who heard about it kept thinking what had happened and asked, “What will this child become?” because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.

¹⁹ However, Mary continued to treasure all these things in her heart and to ponder them.

⁵¹ Then he went back with them, returning to Nazareth and remaining in submission to them. His mother continued to treasure all these things in her heart.

¹⁷ While Peter was still at a loss to know what the vision he had seen could mean, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon’s house and went to the gate.

¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you; don’t be anxious, because I am your God. I keep on strengthening you; I’m truly helping you. I’m surely upholding you with my victorious right hand.”

¹⁴ Don’t be afraid, you little worm Jacob, and you insects of Israel! I myself will help you,’ declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”

¹ The Future Redemption of Israel But now this is what the LORD says, the one who created you, Jacob, the one who formed you, Israel: “Do not be afraid, because I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called you by name; you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I’ll be with you; and through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you. when you walk through fire you won’t be scorched, and the flame won’t set you ablaze. ³ “I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Redeemer. And I’ve given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and the people of Seba in exchange for you. ⁴ Since you’re precious in my sight and honored, and because I love you, I’m giving up people in your place, and nations in exchange for your life.”

² This what the LORD says, the one who made you, formed you from the womb, and who will help you: “Don’t be afraid, Jacob my servant, and Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³² Stop being afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

⁹ One night, the Lord told Paul in a vision, “Stop being afraid to speak out! Don’t remain silent! ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you or harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

²⁴ and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul! You must stand before the emperor. Indeed, God has given to you the lives of everyone who is sailing with you.’

³¹ Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s LoveWhat, then, can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

⁶ Hence we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

²⁵ He did not have marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.

²⁷ to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

⁴ But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the Law,

¹¹ when I had commanded judges to administer my people Israel. I’ll also grant you relief from all your enemies.”’ “‘The LORD also announces to you: “The LORD will himself build a house for you. ¹² When your life is complete and you go to join your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who will come forth from your body, and I will fortify his kingdom. ¹³ He will build a Temple dedicated to my Name, and I will make the throne of his kingdom last forever.

¹⁶ Your dynasty and your kingdom will remain forever in my presence—your throne will be secure forever.”’”

¹¹ The LORD made an oath to David from which he will not retreat: “One of your sons I will set in place on your throne.

⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

⁵ then a throne will be established in gracious love, and there will sit in faithfulness— in the Tent of David— one who judges, seeks justice, and is swift to do what is right.”

⁵ “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I’ll raise up a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who rules wisely, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’

¹⁵ In those days and at that time I’ll cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he will uphold justice and righteousness in the land. ¹⁶ At that time Judah will be delivered and Jerusalem will dwell in safety. And this is the name people will call it, “The LORD is Our Righteousness.”’ ¹⁷ For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never be without a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel,

²² The Transplanted VineThis is what the Lord GOD says, “I’m also going to take a shoot from the top of a cedar and plant it. I’ll pluck off its delicate twigs and transplant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ I’ll transplant it on Israel’s land, and it will grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. All sorts of birds will rest under it, and they’ll settle down in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the fields will know that I, the LORD, bring down the lofty tree and exalt the lowly tree. I dry up the green tree and cause the dry tree to bud. I the LORD have spoken this, and I will fulfill it.”

²³ God’s Shepherd: His Servant David“‘Then I’ll install one shepherd for them—my servant David—and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd. ²⁴ I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will rule among them as Prince.’ I, the LORD, have spoken this.

²⁴ David’s Rule as King“‘“My servant King David will be there for them, and one shepherd will be appointed for them. They will live according to my decrees, keep my regulations, and practice them. ²⁵ They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob and on which your ancestors lived. They will live in that land, along with their children and grandchildren, forever. David my servant will be their everlasting leader.

¹¹ Israel to be Restored“At that time I will restore David’s fallen tent, restoring its torn places. I will restore its ruins, rebuilding it as it was long ago, ¹² so my people may inherit the remnant of Edom and all of the nations that bear my name,” declares the LORD who is bringing this about.

¹ An Introduction to Jesus the MessiahThis is a record of the life of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

¹¹ I am baptizing you with water as evidence of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

⁴² The queen of the south will stand up and condemn the people living today, because she came from so far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look! Something greater than Solomon is here!”

¹⁸ Then Jesus approached them and told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

⁷ screaming in a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you in the name of God never to torment me!”

⁶¹ But he kept silent and didn’t answer at all. The high priest asked him again, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

¹⁵ because he will be great in the Lord’s presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

³⁵ The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

¹⁶ John replied to all of them, “I’m baptizing you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

³⁵ Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. ³⁶ The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

²¹ Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he chooses. ²² The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, ²³ so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
²⁴ “Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, whoever hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has passed from death to life. ²⁵ Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the time approaches, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. ²⁶ Just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself, ²⁷ and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Don’t be amazed at this, because the time is approaching when everyone in their graves will hear the Son of Man’s voice ²⁹ and will come out—those who have done what is good to the resurrection that leads to life, and those who have practiced what is evil to the resurrection that ends in condemnation.

⁶⁹ Besides, we have believed and remain convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

³⁴ Then the crowd answered him, “We have learned from the Law that the Messiah remains forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

³⁰ Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him with an oath to put one of his descendants on his throne,

³⁶ “Therefore, let all the people of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”

⁴⁸ However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says,

¹⁷ She would follow Paul and us and shout, “These men are servants of the Most High God and are proclaiming to you a way of salvation!”

⁴ and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness—Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

²⁰ which he brought about in the Messiah when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm. ²¹ He is far above every ruler, authority, power, dominion, and every name that can be named, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. ²² God has put everything under the Messiah’s feet and has made him the head of everything for the good of the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills everything in every way.

⁹ Now lifted up by God to heaven, a name above all others given, this matchless name possessing. ¹⁰ And so, when Jesus’ name is called, the knees of everyone should fall, wherever they’re residing. ¹¹ Then every tongue in one accord, will say that Jesus the Messiah is Lord, while God the Father praising.

² has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe. ³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty ⁴ and became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is better than theirs.
⁵ God’s Son is Superior to the AngelsFor to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? ⁶ And again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” ⁷ Now about the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”
⁸ But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.

⁷ The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia“To the messenger of the church in Philadelphia, write: ‘The one who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens a door that no one can shut, and who shuts a door that no one can open, ‘says this:

⁶ Your throne, God, exists forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.

³⁵ I have sworn by my holiness once for all: I will not lie to David. ³⁶ His dynasty will last forever and his throne will be like the sun before me. ³⁷ It will be established forever like the moon, a faithful witness in the sky.” Interlude

⁴⁴ “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

¹³ The Vision of the Son of Man“I continued to observe the night vision—and look!—someone like the Son of Man was coming, accompanied by heavenly clouds. He approached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ To him dominion was bestowed, along with glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages are to serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion—it will never pass away—and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

¹⁸ But the saints of the Highest will receive the kingdom forever, inheriting it forever and ever.’

²⁷ Then the kingdom, authority, and magnificence of all nations of the earth will be given to the people who are the saints of the Highest One. His kingdom will endure forever, and all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

²¹ Deliverers will assemble on Mount Zion to judge Esau’s Mountain, and to the LORD will the kingdom belong!”

⁷ I will transform the lame into survivors, and those who were scattered into a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion, now and forever.”

⁶ Now it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all Israelis truly belong to Israel,

²⁴ Then the end will come, when after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power, the Messiah hands over the kingdom to God the Father. ²⁵ For he must rule until God puts all the Messiah’s enemies under his feet.

²⁹ And if you belong to the Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants indeed, and heirs according to the promise.

¹⁶ Now may peace be on all those who live by this principle, and may mercy be on the Israel of God.

³ For it is we who are the circumcision—we who worship in the Spirit of God and find our joy in the Messiah Jesus. We have not placed any confidence in the flesh,

⁸ But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.

¹⁵ The Vision of the Seventh Angel Blowing His TrumpetWhen the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The world’s kingdom has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever.”

⁴ The Vision of the First ResurrectionThen I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled with the Messiah for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ How blessed and holy are those who participate in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and the Messiah, and will rule with him for a thousand years.

³ There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him ⁴ and see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night, and they will not need any light from lamps or the sun because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule forever and ever.

⁸ So Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, Lord, have the man of God whom you sent before come again so he can instruct us what to do on behalf of the child who is to be born.”
⁹ God listened to Manoah’s request, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting out in the pasture. But her husband Manoah wasn’t with her, ¹⁰ so the woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Look! The man who came the other day appeared to me!”
¹¹ So Manoah got up quickly and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he told him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
He replied, “I am.”
¹² Manoah asked, “Now, when what you’ve said occurs, what is to be the young man’s way of life and work?”

⁶ Now get up, go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

⁴ Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean thing? No one!

¹⁶ then how much less is one who is abhorred and corrupted, such as a man who drinks injustice like water?”

⁴ How can a human being become right with God? How can a human being be pure?

⁷ The Anointed King SpeaksLet me announce the decree of the LORD that he told me: “You are my son, today I have become your father.

⁵ Indeed, in iniquity I was brought forth; in sin my mother conceived me.

²⁰ After he had thought about it, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” he said, “don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

³ Then the tempter came. “Since you are the Son of God,” he said, “tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

³³ Then the men in the boat began to worship Jesus, saying, “You certainly are the Son of God!”

⁶³ But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest told him, “I command you by the living God to tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God!”
⁶⁴ Jesus told him, “You have said so. Nevertheless I tell you, from now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the other things that were taking place, they were terrified and said, “This man certainly was the Son of God!”

²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

³¹ Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

⁴⁹ Nathaniel replied to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

³⁶ As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s some water. What keeps me from being baptized?”

²⁰ I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me, and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

³ Indeed, all of us once behaved like them in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and senses. By nature we were destined for wrath, just like everyone else.

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Instead, we have one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet he never sinned.

²⁶ We need such a high priest—one who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need to offer sacrifices every day like high priests do, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he sacrificed himself. ²⁸ For the Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the promised oath, which came after the Law, results in a Son who is eternally perfect.

²³ God Rebukes MosesBut the LORD responded to Moses, “Is the LORD short on power? You’re now going to witness whether what I say will come to pass or not.”

² What you know, I know, too; I’m not inferior to you.

¹⁷ ‘LORD! Look, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!

²⁷ “Look, I am the LORD, the God who rules over all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me?”

⁶ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘It may seem impossible to the survivors of this people, but is it impossible for me?’ declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans it’s impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

²⁷ Jesus replied, “The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.”

²¹ He will change our unassuming bodies and make them like his glorious body through the power that enables him to bring everything under his authority.

²⁵ “And now, LORD God, let what you have spoken concerning your servant and his household be done—and let it be done just as you’ve promised. ²⁶ May your name be made great forever with the result that it is said that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is God over Israel, and that the household of your servant David may be established before you. ²⁷ For you, LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, telling him, ‘I will build a dynasty for you,’ so that your servant has found fortitude to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ “Now therefore, Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have spoken to your servant these good things. ²⁹ So may it please you to bless the household of your servant, so that it might remain forever in your presence, because you, Lord GOD, have spoken, and from your blessing may the household of your servant be blessed forever.”

¹⁶ LORD, I am indeed your servant. I am your servant. I am the son of your handmaid. You have released my bonds.

³⁸ Confirm your promise to your servant, which is for those who fear you.

²⁰ nor did he doubt God’s promise out of a lack of faith. Instead, his faith became stronger and he gave glory to God, ²¹ being absolutely convinced that God would do what he had promised.

⁴⁰ So Joshua conquered the entire land, the hill country, the Negev, the Shephelah, and the wilderness highlands, along with all of their kings. He left none of them remaining, but completely destroyed every living person, just as the LORD God of Israel had commanded.

⁴⁸ The hill country included Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (also known as Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, Giloh, for a total of eleven cities and villages. ⁵² Also included were Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuach, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron), and Zior, for a total of nine cities and villages. ⁵⁵ Also included were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah, for a total of ten cities and villages. ⁵⁸ Also included were Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon, for a total of six cities and villages.

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

⁹ From the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon, they gave these cities, delineated by name: ¹⁰ for the descendants of Aaron, one of the families of the descendants of Kohath, of the descendants of Levi, since the lot fell in their favor first. ¹¹ They gave them Kiriath-arba, also known as Hebron, (Arba was named after the ancestor of Anak), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasture lands.

⁶⁵ Fear came over all their neighbors, and throughout the hill country of Judea all these things were being discussed.

²² But when the infants kept on wrestling each other inside her womb, she asked herself, “Why is this happening?” So she asked the LORD for an explanation.

¹⁰ I was dependent on you from birth; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.

⁶⁷ The Prophecy of ZechariahThen his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

¹ Jesus is Tempted by Satan
Then Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

⁸ Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, told them, “Rulers and elders of the people!

³ Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men among you who have a good reputation, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we’ll put them in charge of this work.

⁵⁵ But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

¹⁰ I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord, when I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet,

¹⁸ Furthermore, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my command.”

⁶ Indeed, you have given him eternal blessings; you will make him glad with the joy of your presence.

² You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants; grace has anointed your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.

¹⁷ Praising the God of IsraelMay his fame be eternal— as long as the sun— may his name endure, and may they be blessed through him, and may all nations call him blessed. ¹⁸ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does awesome deeds. ¹⁹ And blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

⁴⁸ because he has looked favorably on his humble servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed,

³⁸ They said, “How blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

²⁶ That is why my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, yes, even my body still rests securely in hope. ²⁷ For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or allow your Holy One to experience decay. ²⁸ You have made the ways of life known to me, and you will fill me with gladness in your presence.’

⁵ To the Israelis belong the patriarchs, and from them, the Messiah descended, who is God over all, the one who is forever blessed. Amen.

² fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

¹⁰ At this she fell prostrate, bowing low to the ground, and asked him, “Why is it that you’re showing me kindness by noticing me, since I’m a foreigner?”

⁴¹ She got up, prostrated herself face down on the ground, and replied, “Your servant would be a slave to wash the feet of your majesty’s servants.”

¹ A Davidic psalm
A Priestly Ruler A declaration from the LORD to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

¹⁴ But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?”

¹¹ Today your Savior, the Lord Messiah, was born in the City of David.

⁷ That’s why I didn’t presume to come to you. But just say the word, and let my servant be healed,

⁴² Because David himself in the book of Psalms says, ‘The Lord told my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, ⁴³ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
⁴⁴ So David calls him ‘Lord.’ Then how can he be his son?”

⁵ Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel that was tied around his waist.
⁶ Then he came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
⁷ Jesus answered him, “You don’t realize now what I’m doing, but later on you’ll understand.”
⁸ Peter told him, “You must never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you cannot be involved with me.”

¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right because that is what I am.

²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

³ Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves.

⁸ What is more, I continue to consider all these things to be a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish in order to gain the Messiah

²⁰ Jehoshaphat’s Instructions the Next MorningThe army got up early the next morning and headed out into the wilderness of Tekoa. Jehoshaphat stood up and addressed them. “Listen to me, you inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem,” he said. “Have faith in the LORD your God and you’ll be established! Have faith in his prophets and you’ll succeed!”

²⁰ But because you did not believe my announcement, which will be fulfilled at its proper time, you will become silent and unable to speak until the day this happens.”

⁴⁰ Jesus told her, “I told you that if you believed you would see God’s glory, didn’t I?”

²⁹ Jesus told him, “Is it because you’ve seen me that you have believed? How blessed are those who have never seen me and yet have believed!”

¹ Hannah’s Thanksgiving PsalmThen Hannah prayed: “My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is increased by the LORD. I will open my mouth to speak against my enemies, because I rejoice in your deliverance. ² Indeed, there is no one holy like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides you, there is no rock like our God. ³ Don’t continue to talk proudly, and don’t speak arrogantly, for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. ⁴ The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumble are equipped with strength. ⁵ Those who had an abundance of bread now hire themselves out, and those who were hungry hunger no more. While the barren woman gives birth to seven children, she who had many children languishes. ⁶ The LORD kills and gives life, he brings people down to where the dead are and he raises them up. ⁷ The LORD makes people poor and he makes people rich, he brings them low, and he also exalts them. ⁸ He raises the poor up from the dust, he lifts up the needy from the trash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them. ⁹ He guards the steps of his faithful ones, while the wicked are made silent in darkness. He grants the request of the one who prays. He blesses the year of the righteous. Indeed it’s not by strength that a person prevails. ¹⁰ The LORD will shatter his enemies —those who contend against him. Who is holy? The one who will thunder against them in the heavens. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, and he will increase the strength of His anointed one.”

² My soul will glorify the LORD; the humble will hear about it and rejoice. ³ Magnify the LORD with me! Let us lift up his name together!

⁹ My soul will rejoice in the LORD and be glad in his deliverance.

¹ Davidic
Praise God, who Forgives Bless the LORD, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ² Bless the LORD, my soul, and never forget any of his benefits:

¹⁵ Therefore, you in the east, give glory to the LORD! You in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD God of Israel! ¹⁶ From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise: ‘Glory to the Righteous One!’ “But I say, ‘I am pining away, I’m pining away. How terrible things are for me! For treacherous people betray— treacherous people are betraying with treachery!’”

²⁵ In the LORD all the descendants of Israel will triumph and make their boast.”

¹⁰ Rejoicing in God’s Deliverance“I will heartily rejoice in the LORD, my soul will delight in my God; for he has wrapped me in garments of salvation; he has arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, just like a bridegroom, like a priest with a garland, and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹⁷ Even though the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no grapes on the vines; even if the olive harvest fails, and the fields produce nothing edible; even if the flock is snatched from the sheepfold, and there is no herd in the stalls— ¹⁸ as for me, I will rejoice in the LORD. I will find my joy in the God who delivers me.

¹¹ Not only that, but we also continue to boast about God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah, through whom we have now been reconciled.

³¹ Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.”

¹⁴ But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him.

⁴ Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times. I will say it again: Keep on rejoicing!

⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

² “Look! God—yes God—is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid. For the LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
³ You will draw water joyfully from the wells of salvation. And you will say at that time:

²¹ Explain and present a case! Yes, let them take counsel together. Who announced this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides me, a righteous God and Savior; and there is none besides me. ²² Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.

¹⁸ as for me, I will rejoice in the LORD. I will find my joy in the God who delivers me.

¹⁴ “Sing aloud, daughter of Zion! Shout out, Israel! Rejoice with all of your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ The LORD has acquitted you; turning back your adversaries. Israel’s king, the LORD, is among you; you will not fear disaster anymore. ¹⁶ “When all of this happens, it will be told Jerusalem, ‘Don’t be afraid!” and to Zion, ‘Don’t lose courage!” ¹⁷ The LORD your God among you is powerful— he will save and he will take joyful delight in you. In his love he will renew you with his love; he will celebrate with singing because of you.

⁹ The Coming of Zion’s King“Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; cry out, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you. He is righteous, and he is able to save. He is humble, and is riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and the Messiah Jesus, our hope.

³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

³ At the right time he revealed his message through the proclamation that was entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

¹⁰ or steal from them. Instead, they are to show complete and perfect loyalty, so that in every way they may make the teaching about God our Savior more attractive.

¹³ as we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

⁴ In grace our Savior God appeared, to make his love for mankind clear. ⁵ ‘Twas not for deeds that we had done, but by his steadfast love alone, he saved us through a second birth, renewed us by the Spirit’s work, ⁶ and poured him out upon us, too, through Jesus the Messiah our Savior true.

²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time and for all eternity! Amen.

¹³ She said, “How happy I am, because women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.

¹¹ Hannah made a vow: “LORD of the Heavenly Armies, if you just look at the misery of your maid servant, remember me, and don’t forget your maid servant. If you give your maid servant a son, then I’ll give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and a razor is never to touch his head.”

⁸ He raises the poor up from the dust, he lifts up the needy from the trash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them.

⁸ “‘“Now therefore this is what you are to tell my servant David: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “I took you from the pasture myself—from tending sheep—to become Commander-in-Chief over my people, that is, over Israel.

¹⁸ David’s Prayer
Then King David went in to the presence of the LORD, sat down, and said: “Who am I, Lord GOD, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this? ¹⁹ And this is still a small thing to you, Lord GOD—you also have spoken about the future of your servant’s house, and this is the charter for mankind, O Lord GOD!

¹⁷ He will turn to the prayer of the destitute, not despising their prayer.

⁷ He lifts the poor person from the dust, raising the needy from the trash pile ⁸ and giving him a seat among nobles— with the nobles of his people.

²³ He it is who remembered us in our lowly circumstances, for his gracious love is everlasting—

⁶ Though the LORD is highly exalted, yet he pays attention to those who are lowly regarded, but he is aware of the arrogant from afar.

² All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But this is the one to whom I will look favorably: to the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my message.

¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

²⁷ True BlessednessAs Jesus was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and told him, “How blessed is the womb that gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you!”

²⁶ Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed. ²⁸ And God chose what is insignificant in the world, what is despised, what is nothing, in order to destroy what is something,

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? ⁶ But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court?

¹¹ “Who is like you among the gods, LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, and working wonders?

² Indeed, there is no one holy like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides you, there is no rock like our God.

⁸ Who is the King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.

¹⁹ Your many righteous deeds, God, are great, ²⁰ God, who can compare to you, who caused me to experience troubles that were numerous and disastrous? You will return to revive me and lift me up from the depths of the earth. ²¹ You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.

³ Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is holy!

⁹ Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy!

⁹ He sent deliverance to his people; he ordained his covenant to last forever; his name is holy and awesome.

² Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues formed joyful shouts. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” ³ The great things that the LORD has done for us gladden us.

²⁴ Restoration and RedemptionTherefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies, the one who is Israel’s Mighty One, declares: “Now I’ll get relief from his enemies and avenge myself on his foes.

³ They kept on calling to each other: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of the Heavenly Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”

¹⁵ “For this is what the high and lofty One says, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “He lives in the height and in holiness, and also with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

¹ God’s Day of Vengeance “Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, in garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in such splendor, marching in his great might? It is I, speaking in vindication, mighty to save.

⁶ There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great and powerful.

¹¹ But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, those who pursue me will stumble and won’t prevail. They’ll be put to great shame, when they don’t succeed. Their everlasting disgrace won’t be forgotten.

¹³ So he let them do this. The unclean spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned there.

²⁰ Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us—

⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming.”

⁴ Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name? For you alone are holy, and all the nations will come and worship you because your judgments have been revealed.”

⁷ I’m establishing my covenant between me and you, and with your descendants who come after you, generation after generation, as an eternal covenant, to be your God and your descendants’ God after you.

⁶ but showing gracious love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.ג

⁶ The LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and filled with gracious love and truth. ⁷ He graciously loves thousands, and forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. But he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the ancestors on their children, and on their children’s children to the third and fourth generation.”

¹⁹ How great is your goodness that you have reserved for those who fear you, that you have set in place for those who take refuge in you, in the presence of the children of men.

⁹ Surely, he will soon deliver those who fear him, for his glory will live in our land.

¹¹ As high as heaven rises above earth, so his gracious love strengthens those who fear him.

¹⁷ Yet the LORD’s gracious love remains throughout eternity for those who fear him and his righteous acts extend to their children’s children, ¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant and to those who remember to observe his precepts.

¹³ He will bless those who fear the LORD, both the important and the insignificant together.

⁴ Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His gracious love is eternal.”

¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of those who fear him, hearing their cry and saving them.

¹¹ But the LORD is pleased with those who fear him, with those who depend on his gracious love.

¹⁶ The Repentance of the RighteousThen those who feared the LORD talked with each other. The LORD listened and took note, and a scroll of remembrance was written in his presence about those who fear the LORD and honor His name. ¹⁷ “They’ll be mine,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “in the day when I prepare my treasured possession. I’ll spare them, just as a man spares his own son who serves him. ¹⁸ When you return, you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, and between the one who serves God and the one who does not.”

⁵ A voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all who serve and fear him, from the least important to the most important.”

⁵ God Decides to Destroy the WorldThe LORD saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people’s thoughts becoming only evil on a continuous basis.

²¹ When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, “I will never again curse the land because of human beings—even though human inclinations remain evil from youth—nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I’ve done.

⁶ Your right hand, LORD, was majestic in strength, your right hand, LORD, shattered the enemy. ⁷ In the greatness of your majesty you broke down your enemies. You sent forth your anger, it consumed them like stubble.

⁹ “The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them, I’ll overtake them, I’ll divide the spoil. I’ll satisfy my anger on them, I’ll draw my sword, and my hand will bring them to ruin.’ ¹⁰ “You blew with your breath, and the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty water. ¹¹ “Who is like you among the gods, LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, and working wonders? ¹² You stretched out your right hand, and the earth swallowed them. ¹³ “You have led with your gracious love this people whom you redeemed. You have guided them with your strength to your holy dwelling.

¹¹ Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, because of what happened to the Egyptians when they acted arrogantly against Israel.”

³⁴ Or has any god ever taken for himself one nation out from another nation with testings, signs, wonders, wars, awesome power, and magnificent, terrifying deeds as the LORD your God did in Egypt before your eyes?

¹⁹ because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he will bless himself and say: ‘I will have a peaceful life, even though I’m determined to be stubborn.’ By doing this he will be sweeping away both watered and parched ground alike.’
²⁰ “The LORD won’t forgive such a person. Instead, the zealous anger of the LORD will blaze against him. All the curses that were written in this book will fall on him. Then the LORD will wipe out his memory from under heaven.

³ Don’t continue to talk proudly, and don’t speak arrogantly, for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. ⁴ The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumble are equipped with strength.

⁹ Do you have strength like God? Can you create thunder with a sound like he can?”
¹⁰ Can You Save Yourself?“When you have adorned yourself with exalted majesty, clothed yourself with splendor and dignity, ¹¹ dispensed the fury of your anger, made sure that you have humbled every proud person, ¹² stared down and subdued every proud person, trampled the wicked right where they are,

¹ The Nations and God’s Anointed Why are the nations in an uproar, and their people involved in a vain plot? ² As the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and his anointed one, they say, ³ “Let us tear off their shackles from us, and cast off their chains.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. ⁵ In his anger he rebukes them, and in his wrath he terrifies them: ⁶ “I have set my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

¹⁰ The LORD makes void the counsel of nations; he frustrates the plans of peoples.

⁹ Therefore I will praise you forever because of what you did; I will proclaim that your name is good in the midst of your faithful ones.

⁵ Just as I am satisfied with the choicest of foods, so my lips will praise you joyfully.

¹⁰ You crushed the proud one to death; with your powerful arm you scattered your enemies.

¹³ Your arm is strong; your hand is mighty; indeed, your right hand is victorious.

¹ A psalm
Sing Praise to the King Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done awesome deeds! His right hand and powerful arm have brought him victory.

¹⁵ There’s exultation for deliverance in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD is victorious!

¹² Assyria will be Judged“For the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem; he will punish the speech that comes from that willful heart of Assyria’s king and the haughty look in his eyes. ¹³ He keeps bragging: ‘I’ve done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I’m so clever. I removed the boundaries of peoples, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones. ¹⁴ My hand has found, as if in a nest, the wealth of the people; and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned, so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the earth. Nothing moved a wing, opened its mouth, or chirped.’ ¹⁵ “Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood! ¹⁶ Therefore, the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s sturdy warriors, and under its glory a conflagration will be kindled, like a blazing bonfire. ¹⁷ “The light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame, and it will burn and consume Assyria’s thorns and briers in a single day. ¹⁸ The splendor of its forest and its fruitful land the LORD will destroy— both soul and body— and Assyria will be as when a dying man wastes away. ¹⁹ What survives of the trees in his forest will be so few that a child can count them.”

¹⁰ Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him.

⁹ “Awake! Awake! Clothe yourself with strength, you arm of the LORD! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of long ago. Was it not you who split apart Rehob, who pierced that sea monster through?

¹⁰ The LORD has bared his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

¹² and who made his glorious arm march at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters in front of them to win an everlasting name,

²⁹ We have heard about Moab’s pride— he’s very proud— his haughtiness, his arrogance, his insolence, and his conceit. ³⁰ I know his gall,” declares the LORD, “and it’s futile; the boasting that they do is futile.

³⁷ In conclusion, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and give glory to the King of heaven: For everything he does is true, his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

²⁵ This is the written inscription: MENE, MENE, TEKEL AND PARSIN
²⁶ These are the meanings of the words:MENE: God has audited your kingdom—and has ended it. ²⁷ TEKEL: You’ve been weighed on the scales—and you don’t measure up. ²⁸ PERES: Your kingdom has been divided—and will be given to the Medes and Persians.”
²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave orders to clothe Daniel in purple, to place a chain of gold around his neck, and to proclaim him the third highest ruler of the kingdom.
³⁰ That night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed, ³¹ and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of 62.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

⁵ and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey the Messiah.

⁵ Be Humble and AlertIn a similar way, you young people must submit to the elders. All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other, because: “God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁸ For this reason, her diseases that result in death, misery, and famine will come in a single day. She will be burned up in a fire, because powerful is the Lord God who judges her.”

⁴ The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumble are equipped with strength.

⁶ The LORD kills and gives life, he brings people down to where the dead are and he raises them up. ⁷ The LORD makes people poor and he makes people rich, he brings them low, and he also exalts them. ⁸ He raises the poor up from the dust, he lifts up the needy from the trash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them.

¹¹ He sets the lowly on high, and lifts those who mourn to safety. ¹² He frustrates the plans of the crafty; so that what they work for never succeeds. ¹³ He captures the wise in their own craftiness, bringing a quick end to their cunning advice.

²⁴ He shatters valiant men without a need to investigate, and he raises others in their place. ²⁵ Thus he acknowledges their behavior, and overcomes them; when night time comes, they are crushed. ²⁶ “He strikes the wicked among them in a place where they can be seen ²⁷ because they’ve abandoned their pursuit of him and had no respect for any of his ways. ²⁸ As a result, the cries of the poor have reached him and he has heard the cry of the afflicted.

⁴⁰ Having poured contempt on their nobles, causing them to err aimlessly in the way. ⁴¹ Yet he lifted the needy from affliction and made them families like a flock.

⁶ yet stooping low to observe the sky and the earth?

¹⁴ The former can come out of prison to reign, while the latter, even if born to kingship, may become poor.

²⁴ Then all the trees of the fields will know that I, the LORD, bring down the lofty tree and exalt the lowly tree. I dry up the green tree and cause the dry tree to bud. I the LORD have spoken this, and I will fulfill it.”

¹¹ Israel to be Restored“At that time I will restore David’s fallen tent, restoring its torn places. I will restore its ruins, rebuilding it as it was long ago,

³ This is the builder, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn’t it? His sisters are here with us, aren’t they?” And they were offended by him.

¹⁴ I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁹ A brother of humble means should rejoice in his having been exalted, ¹⁰ and a rich person in his having been humbled, because he will fade away like a wild flower.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence, and he will exalt you.

⁵ Those who had an abundance of bread now hire themselves out, and those who were hungry hunger no more. While the barren woman gives birth to seven children, she who had many children languishes.

¹⁰ Young lions lack and go hungry, but those who seek the LORD will never lack any good thing.

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his gracious love and his awesome deeds for mankind. ⁹ He has satisfied the one who thirsts, filling the hungry with what is good.

⁷ who brings justice for the oppressed, and who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners;

²⁹ I’m going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community.

⁶ “How blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because it is they who will be satisfied!

²¹ How blessed are you who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied! How blessed are you who are crying now, because you will laugh!

²⁴ “But how terrible it will be for you who are rich, because you have had your comfort!

¹⁶ Then he told them a parable. He said, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops. ¹⁷ So he began to think to himself, ‘What should I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I’ll store all my grain and goods in them. ¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ ²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’ ²¹ That’s how it is with the person who stores up treasures for himself rather than with God.”

¹⁹ The Rich Man and Lazarus“Once there was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live in great luxury every day. ²⁰ A beggar named Lazarus, who was covered with sores, was brought to his gate. ²¹ He was always trying to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs used to come and lick his sores.
²² “One day, the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In the afterlife, where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue, because I am suffering in this fire.’
²⁵ “But Abraham said, ‘My child, remember that during your lifetime you received blessings, while Lazarus received hardships. But now he is being comforted here, while you suffer.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’
¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

²⁴ Salvation and Reward
So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he said, “How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God! ²⁵ Indeed, it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He also distributed as much fish as they wanted. ¹² When they were completely satisfied, Jesus told his disciples, “Collect the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted.” ¹³ So they collected and filled twelve baskets full of pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

³⁵ Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty.

²⁶ Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

⁸ You already have all you want! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you!

¹ Advice for Rich PeopleNow listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you. ² Your riches are rotten, your clothes have been eaten by moths, ³ your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures in these last days. ⁴ Look! The wages that you kept back from the workers who harvested your fields are shouting out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. ⁵ You have lived in luxury and pleasure on earth. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the one who is righteous, even though he did not rebel against you.

¹⁷ You say, “I am rich. I have become wealthy. I don’t need anything.” Yet you don’t realize that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ Therefore, I advise you to buy from me gold purified in fire so you may be rich, white clothes to wear so your shameful nakedness won’t show, and ointment to put on your eyes so you may see.

¹⁶ They will never be hungry or thirsty again. Neither the sun nor its heat will ever beat down on them, ¹⁷ because the lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

³ He has remembered his gracious love; his faithfulness toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth saw our God’s deliverance.

²¹ A Call to Remembrance and Joy“Remember these things, Jacob, Israel, for you are my servant. I have formed you; you are a servant to me. Israel, you must not mislead me.

³ “Listen to me, house of Jacob, and all you remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld from before your birth, and who have been carried from the womb. ⁴ Even until your old age, I am the one, and I’ll carry you even until your gray hairs come. It is I who have created, and I who will carry, and it is I who will bear and save.

¹⁴ Zion Not Forgotten“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has abandoned me, and my God has forgotten me.’ ¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or have no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these mothers may forget; But as for me, I’ll never forget you! ¹⁶ Look! I’ve inscribed you on the palms of my hands, and your walls are forever before me.

⁶ For the LORD has called you back like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,” says the LORD your God. ⁷ “For a brief moment I abandoned you; but I’ll gather you with great compassion. ⁸ I hid my face from you for a moment in a surge of anger, but I will have compassion on you with my everlasting gracious love,” says the LORD your Redeemer.
⁹ God’s Reconciliation with Israel“For this is like the waters of Noah to me, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again spread over the earth; so have I sworn that I won’t be angry with you again and that I won’t rebuke you. ¹⁰ For the mountains may collapse and the hills may reel, but my gracious love will not depart from you, neither will my covenant of peace totter,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

⁷ God’s Grace to IsraelI will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his gracious love. ⁸ For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who won’t act falsely.” And so he became their savior. ⁹ In all their distress he wasn’t distressed, but the angel of his presence saved them; in his acts of love and in his acts of pity he redeemed them; he carried them and lifted them up all the days of old. ¹⁰ Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; so he changed and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them. ¹¹ Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is the one who brought up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock? Where is the one who put his Holy Spirit among them, ¹² and who made his glorious arm march at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters in front of them to win an everlasting name, ¹³ who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the open desert, they did not stumble; ¹⁴ like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. For you led your people, to win for yourself a glorious name.
¹⁵ God the FatherLook down from heaven, and see from your holy and glorious dwelling. Where are your zeal and your might? Where are the yearning of your heart and your compassion? They are held back from me. ¹⁶ But you are our Father, even Abraham does not know us and Israel has not acknowledged us; you are he, O LORD, our Father, from long ago, ‘Our Redeemer’ is your name.

³ The LORD appeared to Israel from far away and said, “I’ve loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I’ve drawn you with gracious love.

²⁰ God’s Gracious Response“Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I’ve spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I’ll surely have great compassion on him,” declares the LORD.

²⁴ “Haven’t you noticed what these people have been saying?—‘The LORD rejected the two families that he had chosen!’ They have contempt for my people and no longer consider them a nation. ²⁵ This is what the LORD says: ‘If I had not established my covenant for day and night and the laws that govern the heavens and earth, ²⁶ then I might reject the descendants of Jacob and my servant David by not taking some of his descendants as rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I’ll restore their fortunes, and I’ll have compassion on them.’”

²⁰ You will remain true to Jacob, and merciful to Abraham, as you promised our ancestors long ago.

¹⁴ “Sing aloud, daughter of Zion! Shout out, Israel! Rejoice with all of your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ The LORD has acquitted you; turning back your adversaries. Israel’s king, the LORD, is among you; you will not fear disaster anymore. ¹⁶ “When all of this happens, it will be told Jerusalem, ‘Don’t be afraid!” and to Zion, ‘Don’t lose courage!” ¹⁷ The LORD your God among you is powerful— he will save and he will take joyful delight in you. In his love he will renew you with his love; he will celebrate with singing because of you. ¹⁸ I will gather the afflicted from the solemn assembly; those who were with you, who were bearing a burden of disgrace. ¹⁹ “Watch how I deal with everyone who oppresses you! At that time I will rescue the one who is lame, and I will draw to me the one who has been driven away. I will honor them with praise and with a good reputation in every land where they have been put to shame. ²⁰ At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. Indeed, I will give you a good reputation, making you praiseworthy among all of the people of the world, when I restore your prosperity before your eyes,” says the LORD.

⁹ The Coming of Zion’s King“Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; cry out, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you. He is righteous, and he is able to save. He is humble, and is riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ¹⁰ I will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem. War weapons will be banished, and your king will speak peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the River to the farthest portion of the earth. ¹¹ Now concerning you and my blood covenant with you, I have liberated your prisoners from a waterless pit.

⁷⁰ just as he promised long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets ⁷¹ that he would save us from our enemies and from the grip of all who hate us. ⁷² He has shown mercy to our ancestors and remembered his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. He granted us ⁷⁴ deliverance from our enemies’ grip so that we could serve him without fear ⁷⁵ and be holy and righteous before him all of our days.

³ I’ll bless those who bless you, but I’ll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed.”

⁴ I’ll cause you to have as many descendants as the stars of the heavens, and I’ll certainly give all these lands to your descendants. Later on, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless one another.

¹⁴ Your descendants are going to become like the dust of the earth and spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

⁶ You descendants of Abraham, his servant, You children of Jacob, his chosen ones. ⁷ He is the LORD our God; his judgments extend to the entire earth. ⁸ He remembers his eternal covenant— every promise he made for a thousand generations, ⁹ like the covenant he made with Abraham, and his promise to Isaac. ¹⁰ He presented it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant.

¹¹ The LORD made an oath to David from which he will not retreat: “One of your sons I will set in place on your throne. ¹² If your sons keep my covenant and my statutes that I will teach them, then their sons will also sit on your throne forever.” ¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion, desiring it as his dwelling place. ¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever. Here I will live, because I desire to do so. ¹⁵ I will bless its provisions abundantly; I will satiate its poor with food. ¹⁶ I will clothe its priests with salvation and its godly ones will shout for joy. ¹⁷ There I will create a power base for David— I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake, but as far as election is concerned, they are loved for the sake of their ancestors. ²⁹ For God’s gifts and calling never change.

¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn’t say “descendants,” referring to many, but “your descendant,” referring to one person, who is the Messiah. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified.

² Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the very time that God had told him.
³ Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac—the very one whom Sarah bore for him!

¹⁹ God is not a human male— he doesn’t lie, nor is he a human being— he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he’s going to act, isn’t he? Once he makes a promise, he’ll fulfill it, won’t he?

⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to have her baby, ⁷ and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no place for them in the guest quarters.

¹⁹ “Your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me your gracious love in how you have dealt with me by keeping me alive. I cannot escape to the hills, because I’m afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die.

¹⁴ Then the women of Bethlehem told Naomi, “May the LORD be blessed, who has not left you today without a related redeemer. May his name become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ And he will restore your life for you and will support you in your old age, because your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who has borne him, is better for you than seven sons!”
¹⁶ Naomi took care of the child, taking him to her breast and becoming his nurse. ¹⁷ So her women neighbors gave the child a nickname, which is “Naomi has a son!” They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

⁹ Am I to open the womb and not deliver?” asks the LORD. “And when I bring to delivery, am I to close the womb?” asks your God. ¹⁰ “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be happy for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in gladness, all you who mourn over her,

¹⁴ You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth,

²⁵ “This is what the Lord did for me when he looked favorably on me and took away my public disgrace.”

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Cry with those who are crying.

²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is praised, every part rejoices with it.

¹² Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring.

³ Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac—the very one whom Sarah bore for him! ⁴ On the eighth day after his son Isaac had been born, Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded him.

³ On the eighth day, the flesh of the baby’s foreskin is to be circumcised.

⁸ Later, God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Later, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Then Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered the twelve patriarchs.

⁵ Having been circumcised on the eighth day, I am of the nation of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. As far as the Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee.

²⁵ and sent a message written by Nathan the prophet to call his name Jedidiah, for the Lord’s sake.

⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And everyone was amazed.

³ Do not let gracious love and truth leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart,

⁸ The Illusions of False Prophecy“Go now, and write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribing it in a book, so that for times to come it may be an everlasting witness.

¹ Judah’s Sin and Its Consequence The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron stylus. It is inscribed with a diamond point on the tablet of their heart and on the horns of their altars.

² God’s Reply to the Prophet’s ComplaintWhen he answered, the LORD told me: “Write out the revelation, engraving it clearly on the tablets, so that a courier may run with it.

⁶⁰ but his mother said, “Absolutely not! He must be named John.”

¹⁵ You’re to speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll help both you and him with your speech, and I’ll teach both of you what you are to do. ¹⁶ He is to speak to the people for you as your spokesman and you are to act in the role of God for him.

⁷ By your favor, LORD, you established me as a strong mountain; Then you hid your face, and I was dismayed. ⁸ I cried out to you, LORD, and I make supplication to the Lord: ⁹ “What profit is there in my death if I go down to the Pit? Can dust worship you? Can it proclaim your faithfulness?” ¹⁰ Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me! LORD, help me! ¹¹ You have turned my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with a garment of joy, ¹² so that I may sing praise to you and not remain silent. LORD, my God, I will give you thanks forever!

¹⁵ Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁸ The LORD will discipline me severely, but he won’t hand me over to die. ¹⁹ Open for me the righteous gates so I may enter through them to give thanks to the LORD.

¹ Israel’s Praise to the LORD At that time, you will say: “I will praise you, LORD, for although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me.

⁹ The LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, “Look, I’ve put my words in your mouth.

²⁷ But when I speak with you, I’ll open your mouth so you can say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “As for those who will listen, ‘Let them listen,’ but as for those who refuse, ‘Let them refuse,’ since they’re a rebellious group.”’”

²¹ ‘When that day comes about, I’ll strengthen Israel’s military might, and I will give you an audience in their midst. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

²² Now the hand of the LORD had been touching me the evening before that fugitive arrived, so the LORD had given me something to say by the time the messenger arrived the next morning. He opened my mouth and I no longer had nothing to say to him.

³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation. ³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’
³⁶ At that moment I recovered my sanity, and my honor and majesty returned to me, for the sake of my kingdom. My advisors and officials sought me out, my throne was restored, and even more greatness than I had before was added to me. ³⁷ In conclusion, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and give glory to the King of heaven: For everything he does is true, his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

³³ As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

³² Some people brought him a deaf man who also had a speech impediment. They begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³ Jesus took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. Putting his fingers into the man’s ears, he touched the man’s tongue with saliva.
³⁴ Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and told him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ The man’s hearing and speech were restored at once, and he began to talk normally. ³⁶ Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone, but the more he kept ordering them, the more they kept spreading the news.
³⁷ Amazed beyond measure, they kept on saying, “He does everything well! He even makes deaf people hear and mute people talk!”

⁶ The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal: “Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly, save us, and help us, because all of the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have attacked us.”

³⁹ Mary Visits ElizabethLater on, Mary set out for a Judean city in the hill country.

¹⁶ Fear gripped everyone, and they began to praise God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said, and “God has helped his people.”

⁴³ A sense of fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.

⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized everyone who heard about it.

¹¹ And great fear seized the whole church and everyone else who heard about this.

¹⁷ When this became known to everyone living in Ephesus, Jews and Greeks alike, they all became terrified, and the name of the Lord Jesus began to be held in high honor.

¹¹ The Resurrection of the WitnessesBut after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Those who watched them were terrified.