Mark 3 Cross References - ISV

¹ Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand
Jesus went into the synagogue again, and a man with a paralyzed hand was there. ² The people watched Jesus closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong. ³ He told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Come forward.” ⁴ Then he asked them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on Sabbath days, to save a life or to destroy it?” But they remained silent.
⁵ Jesus looked around at them in anger, deeply hurt because of their hard hearts. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and his hand was restored to health. ⁶ Immediately the Pharisees and Herodians went out and began to plot how to kill him.
⁷ Jesus Encounters a Large CrowdSo Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea, ⁸ Jerusalem, Idumea, from across the Jordan, and from the region around Tyre and Sidon followed him. They came to him because they kept hearing about everything he was doing. ⁹ Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him, ¹⁰ because he had healed so many people that everyone who had diseases kept crowding up against him in order to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!” ¹² But he sternly ordered them again and again not to tell people who he was.
¹³ Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles
Then Jesus went up on a hillside and called to himself those whom he had decided on, and they approached him. ¹⁴ He appointed the Twelve, whom he called apostles, to accompany him, to be sent out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have the authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ He appointed the Twelve: Simon (whom he named Peter), ¹⁷ Zebedee’s sons James and his brother John (whom he named Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananaean, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
²⁰ Jesus is Accused of Working with Beelzebul
Then he went home. Such a large crowd gathered again that Jesus and his disciples couldn’t even eat. ²¹ When his family heard about it, they went to restrain him, because they kept saying, “He’s out of his mind!”
²² The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem kept repeating, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”
²³ So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables. “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a household is divided against itself, that household won’t stand. ²⁶ So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand. Indeed, his end has come. ²⁷ No one can go into a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man. Then he can ransack his house. ²⁸ I tell all of you with certainty, people will be forgiven their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. ²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is guilty of eternal sin.” ³⁰ …because they had been saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
³¹ The True Family of Jesus
Then his mother and his brothers arrived. Milling around outside, they sent for him, continuously summoning him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him. They told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”
³³ He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ Then looking at the people sitting around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

⁴ When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. “Seize him!” he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side!

⁹ Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand
Moving on from there, Jesus went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.
¹¹ But he asked them, “Is there a man among you who, if he had one sheep and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and pull it out? ¹² How much more is a human being worth than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on Sabbath days.”
¹³ Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it became normal, as healthy as his other hand. ¹⁴ The Pharisees, however, went out and plotted against Jesus to kill him.

²¹ Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit
Then they went to Capernaum. As soon as it was the Sabbaths, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

⁶ Jesus Heals a Man with a Paralyzed Hand
Once, on another Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagogue and began teaching. A man whose right hand was paralyzed was there. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, in order to find a way of accusing him of doing something wrong. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue.” So he got up and stood there.
⁹ Then Jesus asked them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”
¹⁰ He looked around at all of them and then told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand was restored to health. ¹¹ The others were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

³ and under these a large number of sick people were lying—blind, lame, or paralyzed—waiting for the movement of the water.

³² The wicked stalks the righteous person, seeking to kill him,

²⁰ For the ruthless will vanish, and mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down— ²¹ those who make a person appear to be the offender in a lawsuit, who set a trap for someone who is making his defense in court, and push aside the innocent with specious arguments.

¹⁰ Indeed, I hear many people whispering, “Terror on every side. Denounce him, let’s denounce him!” All my close friends watch my steps and say, “Perhaps he will be deceived, and we can prevail against him and take vengeance on him.”

⁴ A Plot to Destroy DanielBecause of this, the administrators and regional authorities tried to bring allegations of dereliction of duty in government affairs against Daniel, but they were unable to find any charges of corruption. Daniel was trustworthy, and no evidence of negligence or corruption could be found against him.

¹⁰ Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.

⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, in order to find a way of accusing him of doing something wrong.

⁵³ As Jesus was leaving, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely, interrogating him about many things. ⁵⁴ They watched him closely in an effort to trap him in something he might say.

¹ Jesus Heals a Man on the SabbathOne Sabbath, Jesus went to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal. The guests were watching Jesus closely.

²⁰ A Question about Paying Taxes
So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction of the governor,

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees began to remark, “This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others were saying, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.

⁴ And he won’t grow faint or be crushed until he establishes justice on the mainland, and the coastlands take ownership of his Law.”

¹⁰ Daniel is AccusedWhen Daniel learned that the written document had been signed, he went to an upstairs room in his house that had windows opened facing Jerusalem. Three times a day he would kneel down, pray, and give thanks to his God, just as he had previously done.

⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, “Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue.” So he got up and stood there.

⁴ I must do the work of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is approaching, when no one can work.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn’t wasted.

⁹ Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up.

¹⁴ Moreover, because of my imprisonment the Lord has caused most of the brothers to become confident to speak God’s word more boldly and courageously than ever before.

²⁸ and that you are not intimidated by your opponents in any way. This is evidence that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved—and all because of God. ²⁹ For you have been given the privilege for the Messiah’s sake not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him. ³⁰ You have the same struggle that you saw in me and now hear that I am still having.

¹ Good Managers of God’s GraceTherefore, since the Messiah suffered in a mortal body, you, too, must arm yourselves with the same determination, because the person who has suffered in a mortal body has stopped sinning,

⁶ For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

¹⁰ Suddenly, a man with a paralyzed hand appeared. The people asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on Sabbath days, intending to accuse him of doing something wrong.
¹¹ But he asked them, “Is there a man among you who, if he had one sheep and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and pull it out? ¹² How much more is a human being worth than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on Sabbath days.”

²⁷ Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

³⁴ But they kept silent, because they had argued on the road with one another about who was the greatest.

⁹ Then Jesus asked them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”

¹³ Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
¹⁴ But the synagogue leader, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, told the crowd, “There are six days when work is to be done. So come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
¹⁵ The Lord replied to him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey and lead it out of its stall to give it some water? ¹⁶ Shouldn’t this woman, a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” ¹⁷ Even as he was saying this, all of his opponents were blushing with shame. But the rest of the crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

¹ Jesus Heals a Man on the SabbathOne Sabbath, Jesus went to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal. The guests were watching Jesus closely. ² A man whose body was swollen with fluid suddenly appeared in front of him. ³ So Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. So he took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Then he asked them, “If your son or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, you would pull him out immediately, wouldn’t you?”

⁶ Then the LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and he was deeply grieved about that.

¹⁶ When they put away their foreign gods and served the LORD, he brought Israel’s misery to an end.

⁶ “Please!” the king begged the man of God, “Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!” So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king’s hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before.

⁸ I was greatly upset, so I threw out all of Tobiah’s property from the room.

¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation, so I said, “They are a people whose hearts continuously err, and they have not understood my ways.”

⁹ “Go!” he responded. “Tell this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ¹⁰ Dull the mind of this people, deafen their ears, and blind their eyes. By doing so, they won’t see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.”

¹⁸ God Rebukes Israel“Listen, you deaf people, and look up, you blind people, so you may see! ¹⁹ Who is blind except my servant, or deaf like my messenger I am sending? Who is blind like the one committed to me, or blind like the LORD’s servant? ²⁰ You’ve seen many things, but you pay no attention. His ears are open, but he doesn’t listen.

¹⁸ They don’t realize; they don’t understand, because their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds, too, so they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!—“Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?” ²⁰ He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life, nor can he say, “There’s a lie in my right hand.”

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.

¹³ Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it became normal, as healthy as his other hand.

¹⁴ “With them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says: ‘You will listen and listen but never understand. You will look and look but never comprehend, ¹⁵ for this people’s heart has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that they might not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁰ He looked around at all of them and then told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man did so, and his hand was restored to health.

¹⁵ The Lord replied to him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey and lead it out of its stall to give it some water?

¹⁴ When Jesus saw them, he told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” While they were going, they were made clean.

⁴⁰ He replied, “I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!”
⁴¹ When he came closer and saw the city, he began to grieve over it: ⁴² “If you had only known today what could have brought you peace! But now it is hidden from your sight, ⁴³ because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will level you to the ground—you and those who live within your city limits. They will not leave one stone on another within your walls, because you didn’t recognize the time when you were visited.”

⁸ Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” ⁹ The man immediately became well, and he picked up his mat and started walking. Now that day was a Sabbath.

⁷ and told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “Sent One”). So he went off, washed, and came back seeing.

⁷ What, then, does this mean? It means that Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking, but the selected group obtained it while the rest were hardened. ⁸ As it is written, “To this day God has put them into deep sleep. Their eyes do not see, and their ears do not hear.”
⁹ And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a punishment for them. ¹⁰ Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and keep their backs forever bent.”

²⁵ The Restoration of IsraelFor I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles comes to faith.

¹⁴ However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah is that veil removed.

¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.

²⁶ “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set while you are still angry,

³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

¹⁰ for 40 years. That is why I was indignant with that generation and said, ‘They are always going astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.’

¹⁷ And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned and whose bodies fell dead in the wilderness?

⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

¹⁶ They told the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb.

³ They surround me with hate-filled words, attacking me for no reason. ⁴ Instead of receiving my love, they accuse me, though I continue in prayer.

¹⁴ The Pharisees, however, went out and plotted against Jesus to kill him.

¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance.

¹⁵ Jesus had been warning them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”

¹³ A Question about Paying Taxes
Then they sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to him, intending to trap him in what he said.

¹¹ The others were furious and began to discuss with each other what they could do to Jesus.

¹⁹ When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.
²⁰ A Question about Paying Taxes
So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction of the governor,

² So the high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the crowd.

⁵³ So from that day on they resolved to put him to death.

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.

³² From the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands were allocated as a city of refuge for the unintentional killer, Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands, for a total of three cities.

²⁵ Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan followed him.

²³ So when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, because I tell all of you with certainty that you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

¹⁵ Jesus, God’s Chosen ServantWhen Jesus became aware of this, he left that place. Many crowds followed him, and he healed all of them,

³⁹ So he went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

¹² Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles
Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

¹⁷ Jesus Ministers to Many People
Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, along with many of his disciples and a large gathering of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

⁵ But they kept insisting, “He is stirring up the people with what he teaches all over Judea, from where he started in Galilee to this place.”

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

⁵² They answered him, “You aren’t from Galilee, too, are you? Search and see that no prophet comes from Galilee.”

³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he slipped away from them. ⁴⁰ Then he went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and he remained there. ⁴¹ Many people came to him and kept saying, “John never performed a sign, but everything that John said about this man is true!”

⁵³ So from that day on they resolved to put him to death. ⁵⁴ As a result, Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews. Instead, he went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness. There he remained with his disciples.

⁵ Now when an attempt was made by both gentiles and Jews, along with their authorities, to mistreat and stone them, ⁶ Paul and Barnabas found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding territory.

¹⁰ Paul and Silas in BereaThat night the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

¹⁴ Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there.

³³ So Moses gave to the descendants of Gad, to the descendants of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the whole land with its cities, and even the territories surrounding it.
³⁴ Gad and Reuben Rebuild Their CitiesThe descendants of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵ Atrothshophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities with corrals for sheep. ³⁷ The descendants of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal-meon (after having changed their names), and Sibmah. The cities that they rebuilt were renamed.

⁸ Summary of Allocations to Reuben, Gad, and ManassehThe descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad, along with the other half-tribe of Manasseh, received their inherited portion that Moses the servant of the LORD had given them to the east beyond the Jordan River. ⁹ Specifically included was from Aroer on the banks of the Wadi Arnon, and the town that lies in the middle of the valley, including all the plains from Medeba to Dibon, ¹⁰ all the cities pertaining to King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonite territory, ¹¹ Gilead and the region belonging to the descendants of Geshur and Maacath, including all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² Also included was the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was the sole survivor left of the Rephaim.) Although Moses had defeated these people and driven them out, ¹³ the Israelis did not drive out the descendants of Geshur or the descendants of Maacath—Geshur and Maacath live within the territory of Israel to this day.
¹⁴ Allocations to LeviMoses allotted no inheritance solely to the tribe of Levi. As he had mentioned to them, the offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance.

²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah as far as Great Sidon. ²⁹ There the boundary turned toward Ramah, reaching to the fortress city of Tyre and turned to Hosah, where it terminated at the Mediterranean Sea. Also included were Mahalab, Achzib,

¹² The daughter of Tyre will come with a wedding gift; wealthy people will entreat your favor.

⁴ I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me— including Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia— “This one was born there,” they say.

¹ Tyre is RebukedA message concerning Tyre. “Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is destroyed and is without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it was revealed to them. ² “Be silent, you inhabitants of the coast, you merchants of Sidon, whose messengers crossed over the sea, ³ and were on mighty waters. Her revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; and she became the marketplace of nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon, because the sea has spoken, the fortress of the sea: I have neither been in labor nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women.” ⁵ When the news reaches Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report about Tyre. ⁶ “You who are crossing over to Tarshish— Wail, you inhabitants of the coast! ⁷ Is this your exciting city, that was founded long ago, whose feet carried her to settle in far-off lands? ⁸ Who has planned this against Tyre, that bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the most renowned on earth? ⁹ The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned it— to neutralize all the hubris of grandeur, to discredit all the renowned men of earth. ¹⁰ “Cultivate your land like the Nile, you daughter of Tarshish; for there is no longer a harbor. ¹¹ He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has made kingdoms tremble. The LORD has issued orders concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds. ¹² And he said: ‘You will revel no longer, you virgin daughter of Sidon, now crushed. Get up, cross over to Cyprus— but even there you will find no rest.’”
¹³ Tyre’s Desolation and Restoration“Look at the land of the Chaldeans! This is a people that no longer exist; Assyria destined her for desert creatures. They raised up her siege towers, they stripped her fortresses bare and turned her into a ruin. ¹⁴ Wail, you ships of Tarshish, because your stronghold is destroyed!”
¹⁵ It will happen at that time that Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, the span of a king’s life. Then, at the end of those 70 years, it will turn out for Tyre as in the prostitute’s song: ¹⁶ “Take a harp; walk around the city, you forgotten whore! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, and perhaps you’ll be remembered.”
¹⁷ At the end of 70 years, the LORD will deal with Tyre, at which time she’ll return to her courtesan’s trade, and prostitute herself with the kingdoms of the world on the surface of the earth. ¹⁸ Nevertheless, her profits and her earnings will be dedicated to the LORD; they will not be stored up or hoarded—but her profits will go to those who live in the LORD’s presence, for abundant food and choice clothing.

⁵ For my sword will be seen in the heavens. Look! It descends in judgment on Edom, on the people I have doomed to destruction.

¹ A Message Condemning TyreDuring the eleventh year, on the first day of the month of our captivity, this message came to me from the LORD: ² “Son of Man, because Tyre has been saying about Jerusalem, ‘The international gateway is broken down! It’s wide open to me! I will be replenished, now that it lies in ruins!’
³ “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Watch out! I’m coming to get you, Tyre! I’m about to bring many nations to attack you. They’ll come in wave after wave, like the advancing tide, ⁴ and will destroy the city walls of Tyre. After they break down her fortified towers, I’ll scrape away the city’s debris, right down to the bare bedrock, ⁵ and it will become a place where nets will be spread out right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Because I have declared this to happen,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘Tyre will be treated as the spoils of war by the invading nations. ⁶ Furthermore, her citizens who live on the mainland will be executed with swords. That’s how they’ll learn that I am the LORD.’”
⁷ Nebuchadnezzar’s Invasion“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Watch out! I’m about to bring from the north King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, that king of kings. He’ll come with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast army. ⁸ He’ll execute your citizens who live on the mainland with swords. He’ll build siege engines to attack you. Then he’ll construct siege ramps against you and build huge shields to protect themselves against you.
⁹ “‘He’ll direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and will breach your fortified towers with axes. ¹⁰ There will be so many horses that the dust raised by them will cover you completely. The walls of your city will tremble from the noise of Nebuchadnezzar’s cavalry, wagons, and chariots when they enter through the gates of your city, as men enter a city that has been breached.
¹¹ “‘Their horses will trample all the public places as he executes your inhabitants with swords. The most fortified of your pillars will be torn to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your riches and loot your businesses. They’ll tear down your walls and demolish your luxurious homes. They’ll grab the stones, wood, and rubble from the destruction and dump it all into the Mediterranean Sea.
¹³ “‘I’ll silence the noise of your songs and the music of your harps won’t be heard anymore. ¹⁴ I’ll turn you into bare rock, and your city will become a place to spread nets. You will never be built again, because I the LORD have decreed this,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
¹⁵ Terror at Tyre’s Destruction“This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘When your wounded citizens groan while the slaughter takes place among you, the people who live in the coastlands will tremble in terror as they hear about your fall, will they not? ¹⁶ That’s when all the kings of the seafaring nations will abandon their thrones, strip off their fancy clothes, and collapse trembling on the ground. They’ll be so frightened as they observe what has happened to you that they’ll be unable to stop trembling. They will be utterly appalled at you! ¹⁷ They’ll sing this mourning song for you: “How lost you are, you inhabited city, that was built in the middle of the sea! How famous you were! How strong on the sea! She and her inhabitants inflicted terror to everyone who lived within her.” ¹⁸ ‘Now the coastland inhabitants will tremble on the day that you fall. The coastland inhabitants, who make their living from the sea, will be terrified when you pass away!’
¹⁹ “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I turn your city into a ghost town, when I flood you with deep water that covers you completely, ²⁰ I’ll make sure that you go straight to the Pit, into the lowest part of the earth, where you’ll be with people who lived in ancient times. You’ll keep company there with the dead, who have gone into the Pit. As a result, your city won’t be inhabited. Meanwhile, I will display my glory in the land of the living. ²¹ I’m going to send terrifying calamity in your direction, and you won’t exist any longer. You might be sought after, but you’ll never be found again,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹⁵ Just as you rejoiced when Israel’s inheritance became desolate, I’m going to do the same thing to you. Mount Seir, you and Edom—all of you—will become a desolate wasteland.’ Then they will learn that I am the LORD.”

⁵ “‘Because this is what the Lord GOD says: “Motivated by my burning zealousness, I have spoken against the rest of the surrounding nations, including Edom, who confiscated my land, taking possession of it with joyful enthusiasm and with animal-like malice, in order to plunder Israel’s pastures.’

² “I’ve loved you,” says the LORD. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD, “yet I loved Jacob, ³ rejected Esau, turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to desert jackals. ⁴ Even though Edom may claim, ‘We were crushed, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,’ this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “They may rebuild, but I’ll demolish. People will call them, ‘The Wicked Land,’ and, ‘The People With Whom the LORD is Forever Angry.’

²¹ “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! Because if the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

²⁴ A Canaanite Woman’s Faith
Jesus left that place and went to the territory of Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house, not wanting anyone to know he was there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret.

³¹ Jesus Heals a Deaf Man with a Speech ImpedimentThen Jesus left the territory of Tyre and passed through Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the territory of the Decapolis.

³⁰ Immediately Jesus became aware that power had gone out of him. So he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

¹⁵ Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the hillside by himself.

¹⁷ But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

³³ But even as they were chewing the meat and before they had swallowed it, the LORD became very angry with the people and struck them with a disastrous plague.

²³ Jesus Ministers to Many People
Then he went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness among the people.

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his garment, ²¹ because she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch his robe, I will get well.”

¹⁴ When he got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He had compassion for them and healed their sick.

³⁶ They kept begging him to let them touch just the tassel of his garment, and everyone who touched it was completely healed.

²⁷ Since she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his robe, ²⁸ because she had been saying, “If I can just touch his robe, I will get well.” ²⁹ Her bleeding stopped at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her illness.

³⁴ He told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your illness.”

⁵⁶ Wherever he went, whether into villages, towns, or farms, people would place their sick in the marketplaces and beg him to let them touch even the tassel of his garment, and everyone who touched it was healed.

² There a centurion’s servant, whom he valued highly, was sick and about to die.

¹⁵ As a result, people kept carrying their sick into the streets and placing them on stretchers and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he went by.

¹¹ God continued to do extraordinary miracles through Paul. ¹² When handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his skin were taken to the sick, their diseases left them and evil spirits went out of them.

⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he punishes every son he accepts.”

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

⁶ He told Jesus, “Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because it is written, ‘God will put his angels in charge of you,’
and, ‘With their hands they will hold you up, so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.’”

²⁹ Suddenly, they screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before the proper time?”

³¹ So the demons began to plead with Jesus, saying, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”

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

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

²³ All of a sudden, there was a man in their synagogue who had an unclean spirit! He screamed, 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!”

⁵ He kept screaming night and day among the tombs and on the mountainsides, and kept cutting himself with stones.
⁶ When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down in front of him,

⁴¹ Even demons came out of many people, screaming, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus rebuked them and ordered them not to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he screamed, fell down in front of him, and cried out in a loud voice, “What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!”

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!”

¹³ Then some Jews who went around trying to drive out demons attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus on those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches!” ¹⁴ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
¹⁵ But the evil spirit told them, “Jesus I know, and I am getting acquainted with Paul, but who are you?”
¹⁶ Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them, got the better of them, and so violently overpowered all of them that they fled out of the house naked and bruised. 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.

¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear.

⁴ Then Jesus told him, “See to it that you don’t speak to anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest, and then offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded as proof to the authorities.”

¹⁶ ordering them not to make him known.

²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him. “Be quiet,” he ordered, “and come out of him!”

³⁴ He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. However, he wouldn’t allow the demons to speak because they knew who he was.

¹⁸ She kept doing this for many days until Paul became annoyed, turned to her and told the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus the Messiah to come out of her!” And it came out that very moment.

¹ Jesus Teaches about the KingdomWhen Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the hill. After taking his seat, his disciples came to him,

¹ Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles
Then Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and every illness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.

⁷ Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
He called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.

¹² Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles
Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. ¹³ When daylight came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also called apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), ¹⁶ Judas (the son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor).

¹ Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

¹ Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. ² Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ He told them, “Don’t take anything along on your trip—no walking stick, traveling bag, bread, money, or even an extra shirt. ⁴ When you visit a home and stay there, and go out from there, ⁵ if people don’t welcome you, when you leave that city, shake its dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ So they left and went from village to village, spreading the good news and healing diseases everywhere.

¹ The Mission of the SeventyAfter this, the Lord appointed 70 other disciples and was about to send them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place that he intended to go. ² So he instructed them, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest. ³ Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Don’t carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don’t greet anyone on the way.
⁵ “Whatever house you go into, first say, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ ⁶ If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting of peace will remain with him. But if that’s not the case, your greeting will come back to you. ⁷ Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don’t move from house to house.
⁸ “Whenever you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat whatever they serve you, ⁹ heal the sick that are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you!’ ¹⁰ But whenever you go into a town and people don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘We’re wiping off your town’s dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!’

⁴⁷ and then repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

¹⁶ “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I have appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

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.”

²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know the hearts of all people. Show us which one of these two men you have chosen ²⁵ to serve in this office of apostle, from which Judas left to go to his own place.”

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul—an apostle not sent from men or by a man, but by Jesus the Messiah, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with another human being at any time, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went away to Arabia and then came back to Damascus.
¹⁸ Then three years later, I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (Before God, what I’m writing to you is the truth.)

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
¹⁷ Then Jesus told him, “How blessed you are, Simon son of Jonah, since flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, though my Father in heaven has. ¹⁸ I tell you that you are Peter, and it is on this rock that I will build my congregation, and the powers of hell will not conquer it.

¹⁶ Jesus Calls His First Disciples
While Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen.

⁴² He led Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him intently and said, “You are Simon, John’s son. You will be called Cephas!” (which is translated “Peter”).

¹³ When they came into the city, these men went to the upstairs room where they had been staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

¹² This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to the Messiah.”

²² whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, the present, or the future—everything belongs to you,

⁵ We have the right to take a believing wife with us like the other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas, don’t we?

⁷ In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised. ⁸ For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the gentiles. ⁹ So when James, Cephas, and John (who were reputed to be leaders) recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus, the Messiah.
To: Those who have received faith that is as valuable as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

¹ False and True Worship “Shout aloud! Don’t hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their rebellions, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

²⁹ “My message is like fire or like a hammer that shatters rock, is it not?” declares the LORD.

¹⁹ Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat repairing their nets. ²⁰ He immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

³⁷ Jesus allowed no one to go further with him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

² Jesus’ Appearance is Changed
Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain to be alone with him. His appearance was changed in front of them,

³⁵ The Request of James and John
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, went to Jesus and told him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you.”

³³ He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to feel distressed and troubled.

² Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two of his other disciples were together.

²⁰ Jesus and the Beloved DisciplePeter turned around and noticed the disciple whom Jesus kept loving following them. He was the one who had put his head on Jesus’ chest at the supper and had asked, “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?”
²¹ When Peter saw him, he said, “Lord, what about him?”
²² Jesus told him, “If it’s my will for him to remain until I come back, how does that concern you? You must keep following me!” ²³ So the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple wasn’t going to die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to Peter that he wasn’t going to die, but, “If it’s my will for him to remain until I come back, how does that concern you?”
²⁴ This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them down. We know that his testimony is true.
²⁵ Of course, Jesus also did many other things, and I suppose that if every one of them were written down, the world couldn’t contain the books that would be written.

¹ An Angel Frees Peter from PrisonAbout that time, Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church and mistreated them.

¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.

¹¹ Then the seven thunders told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

⁹ Jesus Calls Matthew
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s desk and told him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed him.

⁵⁵ This is the builder’s son, isn’t it? His mother is named Mary, isn’t she? His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, aren’t they?

¹⁴ As he was walking along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s desk. Jesus told him, “Follow me!” So Levi got up and followed him.

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.

²⁷ Jesus Calls Levi
After that, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collector’s desk. He told him, “Follow me!” ²⁸ So Levi left everything behind, got up, and followed him.
²⁹ Later, Levi gave a large banquet at his home for Jesus. A large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.

⁴³ Jesus Calls Philip and NathanielThe next day, Jesus decided to go away to Galilee, where he found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
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.”

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ Jesus said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread isn’t enough for each of them to have a little.”
⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him,

¹⁶ Then Thomas, who was called the Twin, told his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too, so that we may die with him!”

²¹ They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
²² Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

⁸ Philip told him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will satisfy us.”
⁹ “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?” Jesus asked him. “The person who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked him, “Lord, how is it that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”

²⁴ Jesus Appears to ThomasThomas, one of the Twelve (called the Twin), wasn’t with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples kept telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” But he told them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into them, and put my hand into his side, I’ll never believe!”
²⁶ A week later, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were shut, Jesus came, stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he told Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, but believe.”
²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
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!”

¹³ After Paul and Barnabas had finished speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me:

¹⁸ The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present.

⁷ Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles,

¹⁹ But I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord’s brother.

⁹ So when James, Cephas, and John (who were reputed to be leaders) recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.

¹ GreetingsFrom: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
To: The twelve tribes in the Dispersion.
Greetings.

¹ GreetingsFrom: Jude, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, and yet a brother of James.
To: Those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus, the Messiah.

¹⁴ Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests ¹⁵ and inquired, “What are you willing to give me if I betray Jesus to you?” They offered him 30 pieces of silver, ¹⁶ and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

⁴⁷ Jesus is Arrested
Just then, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. A large crowd armed with swords and clubs was with him. They were from the high priests and elders of the people.

³ The Death of Judas
Then Judas, who had betrayed him, regretted what had happened when he saw that Jesus was condemned. He brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the high priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
But they replied, “What do we care? Attend to that yourself.” ⁵ Then he flung the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, went outside, ran away, and hanged himself.

⁶⁴ But there are some among you who don’t believe...”—because Jesus knew from the beginning those who weren’t believing, as well as the one who would betray him.

⁷¹ Now he was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, because this man was going to betray him, even though he was one of the Twelve.

⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, asked, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 denarii and the money given to the destitute?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.

² By supper time, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him.

²⁶ Jesus answered, “He is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.”
Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus told him, “Do quickly what you are going to do!” ²⁸ Now no one at the table knew why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Some thought that, since Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the festival or to give something to the destitute. ³⁰ So Judas took the piece of bread, immediately went outside…and it was night.

¹⁶ “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the voice of David about Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus, ¹⁷ because he was one of our number and was appointed to share in this ministry.” ¹⁸ (Now this man bought a field with the money he got for his crime. Falling on his face, he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines gushed out. ¹⁹ This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that this field is called in their language Hakeldama, that is, “The Field of Blood”.) ²⁰ “For in the Book of Psalms it is written, ‘Let his estate be desolate, and let no one live on it,’ and, ‘Let someone else take over his office,’ 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.”
²³ So they nominated two men—Joseph called Barsabbas, who also was called Justus, and Matthias.

⁷ Jesus Encounters a Large CrowdSo Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea,

⁹ Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for him so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him,

³¹ He told them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while,” because so many people were coming and going that they didn’t even have time to eat.

¹⁷ When he had left the crowd and gone home, his disciples began asking him about the parable.

²⁸ When Jesus came home, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive the spirit out?”

³¹ Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, have something to eat.”
³² But he told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
³³ So the disciples began to say to one another, “No one has brought him anything to eat, have they?”
³⁴ Jesus told them, “My food is doing the will of the one who sent me and completing his work.

¹¹ As Jehu was coming out to his master’s attendants, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac visit you?”
“You know the man and how he speculates,” Jehu replied.

²⁶ The LORD made you a priest instead of Jehoiada the priest to serve in the LORD’s Temple as an official against every crazy prophet, and to put him in stocks and restraints.

⁷ The time for your judgment has now come; payday is here— and Israel knows it. The prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is insane. Because of your great sin, the hatred against you is great.

³¹ The True Family of Jesus
Then his mother and his brothers arrived. Milling around outside, they sent for him, continuously summoning him.

³ So his brothers told him, “You should leave this place and go to Judea, so that your disciples can see the actions that you’re doing, ⁴ since no one acts in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you’re going to do these things, you should reveal yourself to the world!” ⁵ Not even his brothers believed in him.
⁶ Jesus told them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its actions are evil. ⁸ Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival yet, because my time hasn’t fully come yet.” ⁹ After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
¹⁰ Jesus Arrives in JerusalemBut after his brothers had gone up to the festival, he went up himself, not openly but, as it were, in secret.

²⁰ Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why bother listening to him?”

²⁴ As he continued his defense, Festus shouted, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much education is driving you crazy!”

¹³ So if we were crazy, it was for God; if we are sane, it is for you.

⁶ But as for me, I am only a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by people.

³⁴ But the Pharisees kept saying, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”

²⁵ It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a slave to be like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they do the same to those of his household!”

¹⁸ Because John didn’t come eating or drinking, yet people say, ‘He has a demon!’

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

¹ Jesus Challenges the Tradition of the Elders
Then some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked,

¹ Jesus Challenges the Tradition of the Elders
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus.

¹⁷ Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
One day, as Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law happened to be sitting nearby. The people had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present to heal them.

¹⁵ But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁰ The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?”

⁴⁸ Jesus is Superior to AbrahamThe Jewish leaders replied to him, “Surely we’re right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon, aren’t we?”

⁵² Then the Jewish leaders told him, “Now we really know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, but you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’

²² Jesus is Rejected by the JewsNow Hanukkah was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter,

⁴ I will focus my attention on a proverb; I will use the harp to expound my riddle.

¹⁰ Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! Because it is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

²⁵ He knew what they were thinking and told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ So if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How, then, can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own followers drive them out? That is why they will be your judges! ²⁸ But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. ²⁹ How can someone go into a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man? Then he can ransack his house. ³⁰ The person who isn’t with me is against me, and the person who isn’t gathering with me is scattering.

³⁴ Why Jesus Used Parables
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.

² He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said,

¹⁷ Since he knew what they were thinking, he told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is devastated, and a divided household collapses. ¹⁸ Now, if Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom last? After all, you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own followers drive them out? That is why they will be your judges! ²⁰ But if I drive out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
²¹ “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own mansion, his property is safe. ²² But when a stronger man than he attacks and defeats him, the stronger man strips off that man’s armor in which he trusted and then divides his plunder.
²³ “The person who isn’t with me is against me, and the person who doesn’t gather with me scatters.”

²³ Then God sent an evil spirit to divide Abimelech and the “lords” of Shechem ²⁴ so that the violence committed against the 70 sons of Jerubbaal might come back on their brother Abimelech, who murdered them, and so it might come back on the “lords” of Shechem, who provoked him to murder his brothers. ²⁵ The “lords” of Shechem sent out men to ambush him on the mountain tops, and they robbed everyone who came by them along the roads, and this was reported to Abimelech.
²⁶ Meanwhile, Ebed’s son Gaal arrived with his relatives and crossed over into Shechem. The “lords” of Shechem put their faith in him. ²⁷ They went out into the fields, harvested their vineyards, made some wine, and threw a party. Then they went into the temple of their god, ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.
²⁸ Then Ebed’s son Gaal remarked, “Who is this Abimelech? And who is Shechem? Should we serve him? Isn’t he Jerubbaal’s son? Isn’t Zebul his lieutenant? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem’s ancestor—but why are we serving him? ²⁹ If only authority over this people were given to me. Then I would remove Abimelech!” Then he challenged Abimelech: “Build up your army and then come out and fight!”
³⁰ When Zebul, the ruler of the city, heard what Ebed’s son Gaal had said, he flew into a rage. ³¹ He sent messengers to Abimelech in secret and told him, “Look out! Ebed’s son Gaal and his family have arrived here in Shechem. Watch out! They’re stirring up the city against you. ³² So get up at night, take your soldiers with you, and wait in ambush out in the field. ³³ Tomorrow morning when the sun is up, get up early and attack the city. When Gaal and his army come out to fight you, do whatever you can to them.”
³⁴ So Abimelech and his entire army got up that night and waited in ambush against Shechem in four separate companies.
³⁵ Ebed’s son Gaal went out and stood in the entrance to the city gate while Abimelech and his army were creeping out of their ambush. ³⁶ When Gaal saw the army, he observed to Zebul, “Look there! People are coming down from the top of the mountains.”
But Zebul replied to him, “You’re looking at morning shadows cast by the mountains. They just look like men to you.”
³⁷ Gaal spoke up again to say, “Look! People are coming down from the highest part of the land, and there’s a company approaching from the diviner’s oak tree.”
³⁸ So Zebul replied, “Right... So where’s your boasting now? You said, ‘Who is Abimelech? Should we serve him?’ Isn’t this the army that you insulted? So go out right now and fight them!”
³⁹ So Gaal went out in full view of the “lords” of Shechem and fought Abimelech. ⁴⁰ Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ran away from him. Many fell wounded right up to the entrance to the city gate. ⁴¹ Afterwards, Abimelech remained at Arumah, but Zebul expelled Gaal and his family so they couldn’t remain in Shechem.
⁴² The next day, the people went out to the field, and Abimelech learned about it. ⁴³ So he took his army, divided it into three separate companies, and laid in ambush out in the field. When Abimelech noticed the people coming out from the city, his army attacked them and killed them. ⁴⁴ Then Abimelech and the soldiers who were with him rushed forward and commandeered the entrance to the city gate while the other two companies ran out to kill everyone who was in the field. ⁴⁵ Abimelech fought against the city all that day, captured the city, killed the people in it, then tore the city to the ground and sowed it with salt.
⁴⁶ When all the “lords” at the tower of Shechem heard what had happened, they retreated into the inner chamber of the temple of El-berith. ⁴⁷ Abimilech was told that all of the “lords” of the Shechem Tower had assembled there. ⁴⁸ So he went up to Mount Zalmon, accompanied by his entire army. Abimelech had an axe in his hand, so he cut down a branch from a tree, lifted it up, and laid it on his shoulder. Then he told the army that had accompanied him, “You’ve seen what I just did. Hurry up! Do the same thing!”
⁴⁹ Then his entire army also cut down a branch for each soldier, followed Abimelech to the inner chamber, and set fire to it while they were inside. As a result, all the men of the tower of Shechem died, including about a thousand men and women.
⁵⁰ The Death of AbimelechLater on, Abimelech went to Thebez, set up a siege encampment there, and captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a fortified tower in the center of the city, and all the men, women, and leaders of the city escaped to it, shut themselves in, and went up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² So Abimelech approached the tower, attacked it, and approached the tower’s gate, intending to burn it down. ⁵³ But a certain woman threw an upper millstone down on Abimelech’s head, fracturing his skull.
⁵⁴ So he cried out to his young armor bearer and ordered him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so no one will say about me that ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man pierced him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ When the men of Israel noticed that Abimelech was dead, they each left for home. ⁵⁶ That’s how God repaid Abimelech for the evil thing he did to his father by killing his 70 brothers. ⁵⁷ God also repaid the men of Shechem for their wickedness, and the curse of Jerubbaal’s son Jotham came true for them.

¹ Jephthah’s Dispute with the Tribe of EphraimA little while later, the army of Ephraim was mustered, and they crossed to Zaphon. They confronted Jephthah and asked, “Why did you cross over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to accompany you? We’re going to burn your house down around you!”
² But Jephthah replied to them, “My army and I were engaged in a serious fight with the Ammonites. I called for you, but you didn’t deliver me from their control. ³ When I saw that you wouldn’t be delivering me, I took my own life in my hands, crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my control. So why have you come here today to fight me?” ⁴ Then Jephthah mustered all the men of Gilead, fought the tribe of Ephraim, and defeated them, because they had been claiming, “You descendants of Gilead are fugitives in the midst of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
⁵ Shibboleth vs. SibbolethThe descendants of Gilead seized control of the Jordan River’s fords along the border of Ephraim’s territory. Later on, when any fugitive from Ephraim asked them, “Let me cross over,” the men from Gilead would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said “No,” ⁶ they would order him, “Pronounce the word ‘Shibboleth’ right now.” If he said “Sibboleth,” not being able to pronounce it correctly, they would seize him and slaughter him there at the fords of the Jordan River. During those days 42,000 descendants of Ephraim died that way.

¹ Sheba’s RebellionRight about then, Bichri’s son Sheba, an ungodly man from the tribe of Benjamin, sounded a battle trumpet and announced: We’ve never been a part of David! We’ll never gain anything from Jesse’s son! It’s every man to his tent, Israel!

⁶ So David told Abishai, “Now Bichri’s son Sheba is about to do more damage than did Absalom. So take my personal guards and go after them. Otherwise, he’ll run to one of the fortified cities and escape from us.”

¹⁶ When all of Israel saw that the king wasn’t listening to them, the people responded to the king’s message, “What’s the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let’s go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!’ So Israel left for home. ¹⁷ And so Rehoboam ruled over the Israelis who lived in the cities of Judah.
¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but all of Israel stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ That’s how Israel came to be in rebellion against David’s dynasty to this day.
²⁰ Jeroboam Reigns over Israel
Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David’s dynasty.

²⁰ They cut meat on the right, but they’re still hungry, and they devour also on the left, but they’re not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own children. ²¹ Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. “Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”

² I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and everyone will fight against his brother, everyone against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. ³ The spirits of the Egyptians within them will be drained of courage, and I will bring their plans to nothing. They will consult idols and spirits of the dead, and mediums and spiritists.

²² I’m going to make them a united people in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and I’ll set a single king to rule over them. They’ll never again be two separate people. They’ll never again be divided into two kingdoms.

¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff—the one I had named “Union”—breaking the union between the house of Judah and the house of Israel.

²¹ so that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

¹⁰ Divisions in the ChurchBrothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, I urge all of you to be in agreement and not to have divisions among you, so that you may be perfectly united in your understanding and opinions. ¹¹ My brothers, some members of Chloe’s family have made it clear to me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to the Messiah.”
¹³ Is the Messiah divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? You weren’t baptized in Paul’s name, were you?

³ Do your best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit. Likewise, you were called to the one hope of your calling. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all.

⁷ There was strife between the herdsmen in charge of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen in charge of Lot’s livestock. Also, at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.
⁸ So Abram told Lot, “Please, let’s not have strife between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives.

⁴ When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him.

¹ A Davidic Song of Ascents
The Significance of Unity Look how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

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.”

¹ Israel’s DeliveranceAt that time, with his fierce, mighty, and powerful sword, the LORD will punish the gliding serpent Leviathan—the coiling serpent Leviathan—and he will kill the dragon that’s in the sea.

²⁴ “Can they seize plunder from warriors, or can the captives of tyrants be rescued? ²⁵ But this is what the LORD says: “He will seize even the warriors’ plunder, and the captives of tyrants will be rescued. I myself will quarrel with those who have a quarrel with you, and I myself will save your children. ²⁶ “I’ll make those who mistreat you eat their own flesh, and they will get drunk on their own blood, as with new wine. “Then all mankind will know that I am the LORD your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

¹² Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong; because he poured out his life to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he carried the sins of many, and made intercession for their transgressions.”

¹ Good News of Deliverance “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed and to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners;

²⁹ How can someone go into a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions without first tying up the strong man? Then he can ransack his house.

¹⁷ The Return of the SeventyThe 70 disciples came back and joyously reported, “Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”
¹⁸ He told them, “I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy all the enemy’s power, and nothing will ever hurt you. ²⁰ However, stop rejoicing because the spirits are submitting to you. Instead, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

³¹ Now is the time for the judgment of this world to begin. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out.

²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be with all of you!

¹⁰ Putting on the Whole Armor of GodFinally, be strong in the Lord, relying on his mighty strength. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the devil’s strategies. ¹² For our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm. ¹³ For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.

¹⁵ And when he had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.

¹⁴ Therefore, since the children have flesh and blood, he himself also shared the same things, so that by his death he might destroy the one who has the power of death (that is, the devil)

⁸ The person who practices sin belongs to the evil one, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason that the Son of God was revealed was to destroy what the devil has been doing.

⁴ Little children, you belong to God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

⁷ The Vision of War in HeavenThen a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back. ⁸ But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹ The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.

¹ The Vision of the Millennial ReignThen I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key to the bottomless pit, with a large chain in his hand. ² He captured the dragon, that ancient serpent, also known as the devil and Satan, and tied him up for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the bottomless pit, locked it, and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were over. After that, he must be set free for a little while.

³¹ So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.”

²⁸ I tell all of you with certainty, people will be forgiven their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. ²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is guilty of eternal sin.” ³⁰ …because they had been saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

¹⁰ Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven.

⁴ For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule. ⁷ For when the ground soaks up rain that often falls on it and continues producing vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated, it receives a blessing from God. ⁸ However, if it continues to produce thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed, and in the end will be burned.

²⁶ For if we choose to go on sinning after we have learned the full truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but only a terrifying prospect of judgment and a raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who violates the Law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” ²⁹ How much more severe a punishment do you think that person deserves who tramples on God’s Son, treats as common the blood of the covenant by which it was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know the one who said, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray that God would give him life. This applies to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not telling you to pray about that.

⁴⁶ These people will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”

⁹ Such people will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction by being separated from the Lord’s presence and from his glorious power

⁷ Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them, which like them committed sexual sins and pursued homosexual activities, serve as an example of the punishment of eternal fire.

¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their own shame. They are wandering stars for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever.

²² The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem kept repeating, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”

⁴⁶ The True Family of Jesus
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you.”
⁴⁸ He asked the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers, ⁵⁰ because whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

¹⁹ The True Family of Jesus
His mother and his brothers came to him, but they couldn’t get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ Jesus was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”
²¹ But he answered those people, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear a message from God and heed it.”

⁹ the one who told his mother and father, ‘I don’t know them,’ and who would neither acknowledge his brothers nor know his own children. For they kept your word and guarded your covenant.

²¹ When his family heard about it, they went to restrain him, because they kept saying, “He’s out of his mind!”

⁴⁹ He asked them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?”

⁴ “How does that concern us, dear lady?” Jesus asked her. “My time hasn’t come yet.”

³ So his brothers told him, “You should leave this place and go to Judea, so that your disciples can see the actions that you’re doing, ⁴ since no one acts in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you’re going to do these things, you should reveal yourself to the world!” ⁵ Not even his brothers believed in him.

¹⁶ So then, from now on we do not think of anyone from a human point of view. Even if we did think of the Messiah from a human point of view, we don’t think of him that way anymore.

²² I will declare your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you, saying,

⁹ You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride. You have made my heart beat faster with one glance of your eyes, with one strand of your necklace. ¹⁰ How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride. How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all kinds of spices.

¹ The Lover I’ve come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I’ve gathered my myrrh with my spices. I’ve eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I’ve drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink and become drunk with love.
² The Loved OneI was asleep, but my heart was awake. There’s a sound! My beloved is knocking.
The Lover “Open up for me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one. For my head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.”

⁴⁰ The king will answer them, ‘I tell all of you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’
⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴² Here’s why: I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t welcome me. I was naked, and you didn’t clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’
⁴⁵ Then he will say to them, ‘I tell all of you with certainty, since you didn’t do it for one of the least important of these, you didn’t do it for me.’

¹⁰ Then Jesus told them, “Stop being frightened! Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

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!”

¹⁷ Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me, because I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I’m ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that the Son might be the firstborn among many brothers.

¹¹ because both the one who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers ¹² when he says, “I will announce your name to my brothers. I will praise you within the congregation.”

²¹ I Never Knew You
“Not everyone who keeps saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom from heaven, but only the person who keeps doing the will of my Father in heaven.

¹⁷ If anyone wants to do his will, he’ll know whether this teaching is from God or whether I’m speaking on my own.

²⁵ But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it—thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires—will be blessed in what he does.

¹⁷ And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever.

²² Whatever we request we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus the Messiah, and to love one another as he commanded us.