Matthew 12 Cross References - ISV

¹ Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
At that time, Jesus walked through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples became hungry and began picking heads of grain to eat. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
³ But he told them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ How is it that he went into the house of God and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him and his companions to eat but was reserved for the priests? ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on every Sabbath the priests in the Temple violate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here! ⁷ If you had known what ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the innocent, ⁸ for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
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.
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, ¹⁶ ordering them not to make him known. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ¹⁸ “Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, whom I love, and with whom I am pleased! I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to unbelievers. ¹⁹ He will not quarrel or shout, and no one will hear him shouting in the streets. ²⁰ He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he has brought justice through to victory. ²¹ And in his name unbelievers will hope.”
²² Jesus is Accused of Working with Beelzebul
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to talk was brought to him. Jesus healed him so that the man could speak and see. ²³ All the crowds were amazed and kept saying, “This man isn’t the Son of David, is he?”
²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
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. 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.”
³³ A Tree is Known by Its Fruit
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, because a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴ You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart. ³⁵ A good person brings good things out of a good treasure house, and an evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure house. ³⁶ I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an account for every thoughtless word they have uttered, ³⁷ because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
³⁸ The Sign of Jonah
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees told Jesus, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
³⁹ But he replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, ⁴⁰ because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here! 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!”
⁴³ The Return of the Unclean Spirit
“Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through waterless places looking for a place to rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will go back to my home that I left.’ When it arrives, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That’s just what will happen to this evil generation!”
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.”

²⁵ When you enter your countrymen’s grain fields, you may pluck the grain with your hand, but don’t put a sickle to his standing grain.”

²³ Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
Jesus happened to be going through the grain fields on a Sabbath. As they made their way, his disciples began picking the heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are they doing what is not lawful on Sabbath days?”
²⁵ He asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ How was it that he went into the House of God during the lifetime of Abiathar the high priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some of it to his companions?”
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.”

¹ Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath
One time Jesus was walking through some grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what isn’t lawful on Sabbath days?”
³ Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions became hungry? ⁴ How was it that he went into the house of God, took the Bread of the Presence and ate it, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and then gave some of it to his companions?”
⁵ Then he told them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹ You are to labor and do all your work during six days, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You are not to do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor the alien who is within your gates— ¹¹ because the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, in six days, then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.ה

¹² You are to do your work for six days, but on the seventh day you are to refrain from work so that your ox and donkey may rest, and so the son of your maidservant and the alien may be refreshed.

¹⁵ Work may be done for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does work on the Sabbath is certainly to die. ¹⁶ The Israelis are to keep the Sabbath to make the Sabbath observance a perpetual covenant from generation to generation. ¹⁷ It is a sign forever between me and the Israelis, because the LORD made the heavens and the earth in six days, but on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

² For six days work is to be done, but on the seventh day you are to have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest in dedication to the LORD. Anyone who does work on that day is to be executed.

³² As it was when the Israelis were in the wilderness, they found a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³ The ones who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and all the people. ³⁴ Then they confined him until it could be declared what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the LORD told Moses, “The man is certainly to die. The entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp.” ³⁶ So the whole community brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones so that he died, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹³ “If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable; and if you honor it by not going your own ways and seeking your own pleasure or speaking merely idle words,

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.

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 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.

¹⁰ Jesus Heals a Woman on the SabbathJesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ A woman was there who had a spirit that had disabled her for eighteen years. She was hunched over and completely unable to stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are free from your illness.” 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.

³ So Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

⁵⁶ Then they went back and prepared spices and perfumes, and on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

⁹ The man immediately became well, and he picked up his mat and started walking. Now that day was a Sabbath.
¹⁰ So the Jewish leaders told the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.
¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

¹⁶ So the Jewish leaders began persecuting Jesus, because he kept doing such things on the Sabbath.
¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I, too, am working.”

²¹ Jesus answered them, “I performed one action, and all of you are astonished. ²² Moses gave you circumcision—not that it is from Moses, but from the Patriarchs—and so you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man perfectly well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by appearances, but judge with righteous judgment!”

¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and healed his eyes. ¹⁵ So the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had gained his sight. He told them, “He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see.”
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.

³ Now, what do you have available? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever you have.”
⁴ The priest answered David: “There is no ordinary bread available; only consecrated bread, provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”
⁵ David answered the priest, saying to him, “Indeed, women were kept from us as is usual whenever I go out on a mission, and the equipment of the young men is consecrated even when it’s an ordinary journey, so how much more is their equipment consecrated today?” ⁶ So the priest gave him consecrated bread because no bread was there except the Bread of the Presence that had been removed from the LORD’s presence and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.

⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that on every Sabbath the priests in the Temple violate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?

⁴ He answered them, “Haven’t you read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’

¹⁶ and asked him, “Do you hear what these people are saying?”
Jesus told them, “Yes! Haven’t you ever read, ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have created praise’?”

³¹ As for the resurrection from the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God when he said,

²⁵ He asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ How was it that he went into the House of God during the lifetime of Abiathar the high priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some of it to his companions?”

¹⁰ Haven’t you ever read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

²⁶ As for the dead being raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

³ Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions became hungry?

²⁶ Jesus answered him, “What is written in the Law? What do you read there?”

³⁰ You are to put the bread of the Presence on the table before me continuously.”

³² Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram along with the bread that is in the basket at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. ³³ They shall eat these things by which atonement was made at their ordination to consecrate them, but an unqualified person is not to eat because these things are holy.

³¹ Then he told Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. You may eat it there, along with the bread that is in the basket for consecration, just as I’ve commanded when I told him, ‘Aaron and his sons may eat of it,

⁵ Take fine flour and bake twelve cakes using two tenths of a measure for each cake. ⁶ Arrange them in two rows—six in each row—on a ceremonially pure table in the LORD’s presence. ⁷ Put pure frankincense on each row for a memorial offering. It will serve as an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁸ They are to be arranged every Sabbath day in the LORD’s presence as a gift from the Israelis—an eternal covenant. ⁹ This gift will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they are to eat it in a sacred place, because it’s the most holy thing for him of all the offerings made by fire to the LORD. This is to be an eternal ordinance.”

⁹ Sabbath Offerings“Every Sabbath day, you are to offer two one year old lambs without any defects with two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with their corresponding drink offering. ¹⁰ This burnt offering is to be presented every Sabbath, as well as the regular burnt offering, along with its corresponding drink offering.”

¹⁷ I rebuked the officials of Judah, saying to them, “What’s this evil thing that you’re doing by profaning the Sabbath day?

²¹ ‘Tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: “Look! I’m about to profane my sanctuary, the source of your proud strength, the desire of your eyes, and the object of your affection. Your sons and daughters, whom you’ve left behind, will die by the sword.

²² Moses gave you circumcision—not that it is from Moses, but from the Patriarchs—and so you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man perfectly well on the Sabbath?

¹⁸ and yet, will God truly reside on earth with human beings? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

⁷ I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come. Then I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.
⁸ “The silver belongs to me, as does the gold,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ⁹ “The glory of this present house will be greater than was the former,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.”

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.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here! 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!”

¹⁷ You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy? ¹⁸ Again you say, ‘Whoever swears an oath by the altar is excused, but whoever swears by the gift that is on it must keep his oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ Therefore, the one who swears an oath by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ The one who swears an oath by the sanctuary swears by it and by the one who lives there.

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will rebuild it.”
²⁰ The Jewish leaders said, “This sanctuary has been under construction for 46 years, and you’re going to rebuild it in three days?” ²¹ But the sanctuary he was speaking about was his own body.

²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the Messiah Jesus himself being the cornerstone. ²¹ In union with him the whole building is joined together and rises into a holy sanctuary for the Lord. ²² You, too, are being built in him, along with the others, into a place for God’s Spirit to dwell.

⁹ because all the essence of deity inhabits him in bodily form.

⁴ As you come to him, the living stone who was rejected by people but was chosen and precious in God’s sight, ⁵ you, too, as living stones, are building yourselves up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, so that you may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus, the Messiah.

³ Furthermore, he was furious with his three friends because they had not answered Job, but instead had condemned him.

²¹ They gather together against the righteous, condemning the innocent to death.

³¹ for he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to deliver him from his accusers.

¹⁵ Exonerating the wicked and condemning the righteous are both detestable to the LORD.

¹¹ “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?” the LORD is asking. “I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. ¹² “When you come to present yourselves in my presence, who has required you to trample on my courts? ¹³ Stop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly. ¹⁴ As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals, I abhor them. They’ve become a burden to me; I’ve grown weary of carrying that burden. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I’ll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won’t listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity.”
¹⁶ An Invitation to Reconciliation“Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil. ¹⁷ Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow’s case.

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

⁶ The Nature of True RighteousnessHow am I to present myself in the LORD’s presence and bow in the presence of the High God? Should I present myself with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with endless rivers of oil? Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul? ⁸ He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you— to act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

¹³ Go and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”

²⁹ Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power,

²⁷ For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders, not knowing who Jesus was, condemned him and so fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

⁶ You have condemned and murdered the one who is righteous, even though he did not rebel against you.

²⁰ Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest.”

⁶ But so you will know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” he told the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!”

²⁸ Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

⁴ Then Elijah appeared to them, accompanied by Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
⁵ Then Peter told Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here! Let’s set up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (Peter didn’t know how to respond, because they were terrified.)
⁷ Then a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Keep on listening to him!”

⁵ Then he told them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I, too, am working.” ¹⁸ So the Jewish leaders were trying all the harder to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.
¹⁹ The Authority of the SonJesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing, What the Father does, the Son does likewise. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him even greater actions than these, so that you may be amazed. 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.

²¹ To those who do not have the Law, I became like a man who does not have the Law in order to win those who do not have the Law. However, I am not free from God’s Law, but I’m subject to the Messiah’s law.

² After the Sabbath ends, each of you should set aside and save something from your surplus in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I arrive.

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,

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.

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! ⁵ Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD!
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.

⁶ For fools utter contempt, and their minds plot wrong things: practicing ungodliness, spreading lies about the LORD, leaving the pangs of hungry people unsatisfied, and depriving thirsty people of drink.

⁴ No one brings a lawsuit fairly, and no one goes to law honestly; they have relied on empty arguments and they tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.

¹³ they’ve rebelled in treachery against the LORD, and are turning away from following our God; and they’ve spoken oppression and revolt, and are conceiving lying words from the heart.

¹⁷ “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm wither and his right eye be completely blind.”

² When the Pharisees saw this, they told him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

³ Some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

¹⁷ So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
¹⁸ Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?

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.

⁵⁴ They watched him closely in an effort to trap him in something he might say.

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.”

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 And they couldn’t argue with him about this.

²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

² They began to accuse him, “We found this man corrupting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah, a king.”

¹⁴ and told them, “You brought this man to me as one who turns the people against the government. And here in your presence I have examined him and have found him ‘Not Guilty’ of the charges you make against him.

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

¹⁰ So the Jewish leaders told the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.

⁶ They said this to test him, so that they might have a charge against him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

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 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you are to certainly return it to him. ⁵ If you see your enemy’s donkey lying helpless under its load, you must not abandon it; rather, you are certainly to return it to him.

⁴ When you see the donkey or the ox of your fellow countryman fallen on the road, don’t ignore them. Instead be sure to help them get up.”

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?”

²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t plant or harvest or gather food into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more valuable than they are, aren’t you?

³¹ So stop being afraid. You are worth more than a bunch of sparrows.”

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.

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?”

²⁴ Consider the crows. They don’t plant or harvest, they don’t even have a storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!

¹³ Then he placed his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

⁷ Then Peter took hold of his right hand and began to help him up. Immediately his feet and ankles became strong, ⁸ and he sprang to his feet, stood up, and began to walk. Then he went with them into the Temple, walking, jumping, and praising God.

⁴ They conspired to arrest Jesus by treachery and to kill him.

¹ Jesus is Taken to Pilate
When morning came, all the high priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put him to death.

⁶ Immediately the Pharisees and Herodians went out and began to plot how to kill him.

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

¹⁸ So the Jewish leaders were trying all the harder to kill him, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he slipped away from them.

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

⁵⁷ Now the high priests and the Pharisees had given orders that whoever knew where he was should tell them so that they could arrest him.

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. ²⁴ His fame spread throughout Syria, and people brought to him everyone who was sick—those afflicted with various diseases and pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralyzed—and he healed them. 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.

² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

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.

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.

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. ¹⁸ They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those who were being tormented by unclean spirits were being healed. ¹⁹ The entire crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing all of them.

¹ The Unbelief of Jesus’ BrothersAfter this, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, because he didn’t want to travel in Judea, since the Jewish leaders there were trying to kill him.

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

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!” ⁴² And many believed in Jesus there.

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.

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.

²¹ This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because: The Messiah also suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps.

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.”

³⁰ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly told them, “See to it that nobody knows about this.”

⁹ On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

³⁶ Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone, but the more he kept ordering them, the more they kept spreading the news.

¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as proof to the authorities.” ¹⁵ But the news about Jesus spread even more, and many crowds began gathering to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.

²² Let them approach and ask us, ‘What will happen? As to the former things, what were they? Tell us, so that we may consider them and know. Or the latter things or the things to come— let us hear. ²³ Tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods! Yes, do something good or something bad, so we may hear and gaze at it together.’”

¹ The Servant of the LORD “Here is my servant, whom I support, my chosen one, in whom I delight. I’ve placed my Spirit upon him; and he’ll deliver his justice throughout the world. ² He won’t shout, or raise his voice, or make it heard in the street. ³ A crushed reed he will not break, and a fading candle he won’t snuff out. He’ll bring forth justice for the truth. 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.”

⁹ See, the former things have taken place, and I’m announcing the new things— before they spring into being
I’m telling you about them.”

²⁶ who carries out the words of his servants, and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, “It will be inhabited,” and of Judah’s cities, “They will be rebuilt,” and of her ruins, “I’ll raise them up”;

¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “It was he who took our illnesses away and removed our diseases.”

³⁵ This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet when he said, “I will open my mouth to speak in parables. I will declare what has been hidden since the creation of the world.”

⁴ Now this happened to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet when he said,

²² because these are the days of vengeance when all that is written will be fulfilled.

⁴⁴ Then he told them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.”

³⁵ If he called those to whom a message from God came ‘gods’ (and the Scripture cannot be disregarded),

³⁸ so that what the prophet Isaiah spoke might be fulfilled when he said: “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the Lord’s power been revealed?”

²⁸ Jesus Dies on the Cross
After this, when Jesus realized that everything was now completed, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), “I’m thirsty.”

¹⁹ God’s Describes His AnointedYou spoke to your faithful ones through a vision: “I will set a helper over a warrior. I will raise up a chosen one from the people.

² The Spirit of the LORD will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

¹⁵ until the Spirit from on high is poured upon us, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.”
¹⁶ Restoration of God’s Reign“Then justice will live in the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field.

¹ The Servant of the LORD “Here is my servant, whom I support, my chosen one, in whom I delight. I’ve placed my Spirit upon him; and he’ll deliver his justice throughout the world.

¹ The Servant of the LORD “Listen to me, you coastlands! Pay attention, you people from far away! The LORD called me from the womb; while I was still in my mother’s body, he pronounced my name. ² He made my mouth like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hands. He made me like a polished arrow and hid me away in his quivers. ³ He said to me: ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.’

⁵ “And now, says the LORD, who formed you from the womb as his servant to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him— and I am honored in the LORD’s sight and my God has been my help— 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.

¹³ The Suffering Servant“Look! My servant will prosper, and he will be exalted and lifted up, and will be very high.

¹¹ Out of the suffering of his soul he will see light and find satisfaction. And through his knowledge his servant, the righteous one, will make many righteous, and he will bear their iniquities.

²⁰ “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” says the LORD.
²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “And my Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, won’t depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children, from now on and forever.”

² For look! Darkness will cover the earth and thick darkness is over the people, but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. ³ Nations will come to your light, and kings before your dawn.

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; ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; ³ to provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a mantle of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” “Then people will call them “Oaks of Righteousness”, “The Planting of the LORD”, in order to display his splendor.

² The nations will see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and people will call you by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

¹⁹ LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a time of difficulty, to you the nations will come, and from the ends of the earth they’ll say, “Surely our ancestors inherited deception, things that are worthless, and in which there is no profit.”

⁸ “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and those companions of yours who sit with you, for these men are a sign that I am presenting my servant, the Branch.

¹⁶ When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. ¹⁷ Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!”

⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them.
A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!”

¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!”

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Keep on listening to him!”

³¹ which you prepared for all people to see— ³² a light that will reveal salvation to unbelievers and bring glory to your people Israel.”

²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him, appearing in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!”

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free,

³⁵ Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Keep listening to him!”

³⁵ Meanwhile, the people stood looking on. The leaders were mocking him by saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Messiah of God, the chosen one!”

³² John also testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The person on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen this and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁴ The one whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God does not give the Spirit in limited measure to him.

³⁸ God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil.

¹⁸ When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas boldly declared, “We had to speak God’s word to you first, but since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are now going to turn to the gentiles. ⁴⁷ For that is what the Lord ordered us to do: ‘I have made you a light to the gentiles to be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth.’”
⁴⁸ When the gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. Meanwhile, all who had been destined to eternal life believed,

²⁷ When they arrived, they called the church together and told them everything that God had done with them and how he had opened a door so that gentiles would believe.

¹⁷ I’ll continue to rescue you from your people and from the gentiles to whom I’m sending you. ¹⁸ You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

⁹ so that the gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “That is why I will praise you among the gentiles; I will sing praises to your name.”
¹⁰ Again he says, “Rejoice, you gentiles, with his people!”
¹¹ And again, “Praise the Lord, all you gentiles! Let all the nations praise him.”
¹² And again, Isaiah says, “There will be a Root from Jesse. He will rise up to rule the gentiles, and the gentiles will hope in him.”

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

¹¹ All Believers are One in the MessiahSo then, remember that at one time you gentiles by birth were called “the uncircumcised” by those who called themselves “the circumcised.” They underwent physical circumcision done by human hands. ¹² At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise. You had no hope and were in the world without God. ¹³ But now, in union with the Messiah Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.

⁵ which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret: ⁶ The gentiles are heirs-in-common, members-in-common of the body, and common participants in what was promised by the Messiah Jesus through the gospel.
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

⁶ In God’s own form existed he, and shared with God equality, deemed nothing needed grasping. ⁷ Instead, poured out in emptiness, a servant’s form did he possess, a mortal man becoming. In human form he chose to be,

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.

¹³ God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves,

⁴ As you come to him, the living stone who was rejected by people but was chosen and precious in God’s sight,

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.”

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.

²⁹ Place my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls,

²⁰ The Coming of the Kingdom
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display.

³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my servants would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But for now my kingdom is not from here.”
³⁷ Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born for this, and I came into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is committed to the truth listens to my voice.”
³⁸ Pilate asked him, “What is ‘truth’?” and then he went out to the Jewish leaders again and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.

¹ Paul’s Authority to Speak ForcefullyNow I myself, Paul, plead with you with the gentleness and kindness of the Messiah—I who am humble when I am face to face with you but forceful toward you when I am away!

²⁴ A servant of the Lord must not argue. Instead, he must be kind to everyone, teachable, willing to suffer wrong, ²⁵ and gentle when refuting opponents. After all, maybe God will allow them to repent and to come to a full knowledge of the truth,

²¹ Look, you’re trusting on Egypt to lean on like a staff, but it’s a crushed reed, and if you lean on it, it will collapse and pierce your hand. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just like that to everyone who relies on him!

¹⁷ True sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. A broken and chastened heart, God, you will not despise.

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. ² The LORD has made his deliverance known; he has disclosed his justice before the nations. 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.

³ He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their injuries.

¹¹ Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep.”

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.

³¹ Indeed, the Lord will not always reject us— ³² though he causes grief, his compassion abounds according to his gracious love. ³³ For he does not deliberately hurt or grieve human beings. ³⁴ When any of the prisoners of the earth are crushed underfoot,

¹⁶ ‘I’m going to seek both the lost as well as the scattered, and bring them both back so their broken bones can be set and the sick can be healed. But in righteousness I’ll exterminate the fat and the stiff-necked.’”

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest.

¹⁷ Therefore, in the Messiah Jesus I have the right to boast about my work for God. ¹⁸ For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions, ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of the Messiah from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum.

⁷ So forgive and comfort him, or else he will drown in his excessive grief.

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

³ Of course, we are living in the world, but we do not wage war in a world-like way. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments ⁵ and every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive in order to obey the Messiah.

¹² Live as God’s PeopleTherefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees, ¹³ and straighten the paths of your life, so that your lameness may not become worse, but instead may be healed.

² Then I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow, and a victor’s crown had been given to him. He went out as a conqueror to conquer.

¹¹ The Vision of the Coming of the MessiahThen I saw heaven standing open, and there was a white horse! Its rider is named Faithful and True. He administers justice and wages war righteously. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many royal crowns. He has a name written on him that nobody knows except himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, follow him on white horses. ¹⁵ A sharp sword comes out of his mouth to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod and tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe that covers his thigh he has a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
¹⁷ The Vision of the Angel’s InvitationThen I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great supper of God. ¹⁸ Eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of warriors, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, both unimportant and important.”
¹⁹ The Vision of the Judgment of the Beast and False ProphetThen I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ The beast was captured, along with the false prophet who had performed signs on its behalf. By these signs the false prophet had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed by the sword that belonged to the rider on the horse and that came from his mouth, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

¹⁰ Israel RegatheredAt that time, as to the root of Jesse, who will be standing as a banner for the peoples, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place is glorious.

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.”

¹² And again, Isaiah says, “There will be a Root from Jesse. He will rise up to rule the gentiles, and the gentiles will hope in him.”
¹³ Now may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹² so that we who had already fixed our hope on the Messiah might live for his praise and glory. ¹³ You, too, have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed in the Messiah, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

²⁷ to whom God wanted to make known the glorious riches of this secret among the gentiles—which is the Messiah in you, our glorious hope.

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

¹⁸ On that day the deaf will hear the words of a scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

³ Then the eyes of those who can see won’t turn away, and the ears of those who can hear will listen. ⁴ The hearts of reckless people will understand sound judgment, and the tongues of those who stammer will be ready to speak clearly.

⁵ “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unblocked; ⁶ then the lame will leap like deer, and the tongues of speechless people will sing for joy. Yes, waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will run through the desert;

²⁴ His fame spread throughout Syria, and people brought to him everyone who was sick—those afflicted with various diseases and pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralyzed—and he healed them.

³² Jesus Heals a Man who Couldn’t TalkAs the men were going out, a man who couldn’t talk because he was demon-possessed was brought to him. 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!”
³⁴ But the Pharisees kept saying, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”

¹¹ Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!”

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!”

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that won’t let him talk. ¹⁸ Whenever it brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes stiff. So I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they didn’t have the power.”
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!”
²⁰ So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell on the ground and kept rolling around and foaming at the mouth. ²¹ Then Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He said, “Since he was a child. ²² The spirit has often thrown him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us!”
²³ Jesus told him, “‘If you are able?’ Everything is possible for the person who believes!”
²⁴ With tears flowing, the child’s father at once cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief!”
²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that won’t let him talk or hear—I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!” ²⁶ The spirit screamed, shook the child violently, and came out. The boy was like a corpse, and many said that he was dead.

¹⁴ Jesus is Accused of Working with Beelzebul
Jesus was driving a demon out of a man who was unable to talk. When the demon had gone out, the man began to speak, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

¹⁸ You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

²⁷ Jesus Heals Two Blind MenAs Jesus was traveling on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

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!”

²² Suddenly, a Canaanite woman from that territory came near and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed!”

³⁰ Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to talk, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he healed them. ³¹ As a result, the crowd was amazed to see those who were unable to talk speaking, the crippled healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. So they praised the God of Israel.

⁹ Both the crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed him kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

⁴² “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They told him, “David’s.”
⁴³ He asked them, “Then how can David by the Spirit call him ‘Lord’ when he says,

²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

⁴⁰ Division among the PeopleWhen they heard these words, some in the crowd were saying, “This really is the Prophet,” ⁴¹ while others were saying, “This is the Messiah!”
But some were saying, “The Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he? ⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah is from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

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

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

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

² You know when I rest and when I am active. You understand what I am thinking when I am distant from you.

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.

¹⁰ I am the LORD who searches the heart, who tests the inner depths to give to each person according to what he deserves, according to the fruit of his deeds.

¹³ Look! The one who crafts mountains, who creates the wind, who reveals what he is thinking to mankind, who darkens the morning light, who tramples down the high places of the land— the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

⁴ But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, replied, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?

⁸ At once, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were saying to themselves. “Why are you arguing about such things among yourselves?” he asked them.

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.

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.

²⁴ Jesus, however, did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵ and didn’t need anyone to tell him what people were like, because he himself knew what was in every person.

¹⁷ He asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was deeply hurt that he had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So he told him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”
Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep.

¹¹ Is there anyone who can understand his own thoughts except his own inner spirit? In the same way, no one can know the thoughts of God except God’s Spirit.

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

¹³ No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.

²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will reward each of you as your actions deserve.

¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered to give Babylon the Great the cup of wine filled with the fury of his wrath.

¹⁶ The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her abandoned and naked. They will eat her flesh and burn her up with fire, ¹⁷ for God has placed within them a desire to carry out his purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words are fulfilled.

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

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

³⁰ I won’t talk with you much longer, because the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me.

¹¹ and of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

⁴ In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe to keep them from seeing the light of the glorious gospel of the Messiah, who is the image of God.

¹⁹ We know that we are from God and that the whole world lies under the control of the evil one.

¹¹ They had the angel of the bottomless pit ruling over them as king. In Hebrew he is called Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

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.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast. Its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed on their tongues in anguish

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.

³⁸ The True Follower of Jesus
John told Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn’t a follower like us.”
³⁹ But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him, because no one who works a miracle in my name can slander me soon afterwards.

⁴⁹ The Person who is Not against You is for You
John said, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn’t a follower like us.”
⁵⁰ Jesus told him, “Don’t stop him! Because whoever is not against you is for you.”

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!

²² The king told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

³³ But first be concerned about God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well.

¹⁸ “Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, whom I love, and with whom I am pleased! I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to unbelievers.

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!

⁴³ That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it.

¹⁵ He said, “The time is now! The kingdom of God is near! Repent, and keep believing the gospel!”

¹⁰ How blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁷ These are the signs that will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons. they will speak in new languages.

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.”

² Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

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!’

²⁰ But if I drive out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets remained until John. Since then, the good news about the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone entering it is under attack.

²⁰ The Coming of the Kingdom
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display. ²¹ People won’t be saying, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because now the kingdom of God is among you.”

¹⁷ For God’s kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and worship God in reverence and fear in a way that pleases him.

²⁴ “Can they seize plunder from warriors, or can the captives of tyrants be rescued?

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.”

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.

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.
¹⁰ The Vision of the Cry of VictoryThen I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now the salvation, the power, the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah have come. For the one who accuses our brothers, who accuses them day and night in the presence of our God, has been thrown out.

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.

⁷ The Vision of the Final JudgmentWhen the thousand years are over, Satan will be freed from his prison. ⁸ He will go out to deceive Gog and Magog, the nations at the four corners of the earth, and gather them for war. They are as numerous as the sands of the seashore. ⁹ They marched over the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Fire came from God out of heaven and burned them up,

¹⁰ The scepter will never depart from Judah, nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the One comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.

¹³ Joshua is Visited by the LORDNow it happened that while Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and much to his amazement, he saw a man standing in front of him, holding a drawn sword in his hand! Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you one of us, or are you with our enemies?”

¹⁵ If you think it’s the wrong thing for you to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—the gods whom your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose territories you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

¹⁷ and David went out to meet them. He told them, “If you’ve come in peace to be of help to me, then you’ll have my commitment. But if you’ve come to betray me to my enemies, even though I’m innocent of wrongdoing, then may the God of our ancestors watch and judge.”
¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, leader of the Thirty, and he said, “David, we belong to you; we’re with you, son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to the one who helps you! For your deliverer is your God.”
So David received them and assigned them to be officers over troops.

¹¹ And the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be united as one. They will appoint for themselves a single leader and will take dominion over the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

²⁴ God and Riches
“No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!”

⁴⁰ Whoever is not against us is for us.

⁵⁰ Jesus told him, “Don’t stop him! Because whoever is not against you is for you.”

²³ “The person who isn’t with me is against me, and the person who doesn’t gather with me scatters.”

⁵² and not only for the nation, but that he would also gather into one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

¹⁵ What harmony exists between the Messiah and Beliar, or what do a believer and an unbeliever have in common? ¹⁶ What agreement can a temple of God make with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said: “I will live and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

¹⁹ They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.

¹⁵ ‘I know your actions, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ Since you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.

¹⁸ “Please come, and let’s reason together,” implores the LORD. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they’ll be white like snow. Though they’re like crimson, they’ll become like wool.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous person his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, So he’ll have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he’ll pardon abundantly.

¹¹ “Tell them, ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, my pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, you house of Israel?’”

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.

⁵¹ “You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

¹³ In the past I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. But I received mercy because I acted ignorantly in my unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed toward me, along with the faith and love that are in the Messiah Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves complete acceptance: To this world Messiah came, sinful people to reclaim. I am the worst of them.

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,

²⁶ For if we choose to go on sinning after we have learned the full truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

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?

⁹ If we make it our habit to confess our sins, in his faithful righteousness he forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

¹ The Messiah is Our AdvocateMy little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you might not sin. Yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus, the Messiah, one who is righteous. ² It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world’s.

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.

¹³ The godless at heart cherish anger; they won’t cry out for help when God afflicts them.

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.”

³¹ So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

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?

²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is guilty of eternal sin.”

³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much here in this world—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields, along with persecution—as well as eternal life in the age to come.

³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look! He’s a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

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. ²⁶ Besides all this, a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.’

³⁴ Jesus told them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are married, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

³⁴ Jesus kept saying, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.” Then they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice.

¹² And there was a great deal of discussion about him among the crowds. Some were saying, “He is a good man,” while others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the crowds!”

³⁹ Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who were believing in him were to receive, because the Spirit was not yet present and Jesus had not yet been glorified.

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

¹⁴ You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you, ¹⁵ and you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses to that.

¹⁹ Therefore, repent and turn to him to have your sins blotted out,

⁹ Indeed, I myself thought it my duty to take extreme measures against the name of Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the high priests and locked many of the saints in prison. And when I cast my vote against them, they were put to death. ¹¹ I would even punish them frequently in every synagogue and try to make them blaspheme. Raging furiously against them, I would hunt them down even in distant cities.

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.

¹³ In the past I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. But I received mercy because I acted ignorantly in my unbelief,

¹⁵ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves complete acceptance: To this world Messiah came, sinful people to reclaim. I am the worst of them.

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

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.

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?

³¹ Stop your transgressing—the deeds by which you’ve rebelled—and then make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, you house of Israel?

¹⁵ Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in court— perhaps the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, will be gracious to the survivors of Joseph.’”

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.

¹⁶ You will know them by their fruit. Grapes aren’t gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire. ²⁰ So by their fruit you will know them.”

²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean.

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.”

⁴³ A Tree is Known by Its Fruit
“A good tree doesn’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn’t produce good fruit, ⁴⁴ because every tree is known by its own fruit. People don’t gather figs from thorny plants or pick grapes from a thorn bush.

³⁹ But the Lord told him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but on the inside you are full of greed and evil. ⁴⁰ You fools! The one who made the outside made the inside, too, didn’t he?

⁴ “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Unless a person abides in me, he is thrown away like a pruned branch and dries up. People gather such branches, throw them into a fire, and they are burned up.
⁷ “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask for anything you want, and you’ll receive it.

¹² My brothers, a fig tree cannot produce olives, nor a grapevine figs, can it? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

⁸ Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

¹³ Just like the ancient proverb says, ‘From wicked people comes wickedness,’ but I’m not against you.

⁶ They say to themselves, “We will not be moved throughout all time, and we will not experience adversity.” ⁷ Their mouth is full of curses, lies, and oppression, their tongues spread trouble and iniquity.

² Your tongue, like a sharp razor, devises wicked things and crafts treachery. ³ You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking uprightly. Interlude ⁴ You love all words that destroy, you deceitful tongue! ⁵ But God will tear you down forever; he will take you away, even snatching you out of your tent! He will uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude

¹ To the Director: Upon machalath. A Davidic instruction.
The Fool and God’s Response Fools say to themselves “There is no God.” They are corrupt and commit iniquity; not one of them practices what is good.

³ who sharpen their tongues like swords, and aim their bitter words like arrows,

⁵ They concoct an evil scheme for themselves; they enumerate their hidden snares; they say, “Who will see them?”

² “LORD, deliver me from lips that lie and tongues that deceive.” ³ What will be given to you, and what will be done to you, you treacherous tongue? ⁴ Like a sharp arrow from a warrior, along with fiery coals from juniper trees!

² who craft evil plans in their minds, inciting wars every day. ³ They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Interlude

¹⁴ I’ll drive back justice, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth has fallen in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

² “Stand at the gate of the LORD’s Temple and proclaim this message there. Say, ‘Listen to this message from the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD.’”
³ This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Change your ways and your deeds, and I’ll let you live in this place. ⁴ Don’t trust deceptive words like these, and say, ‘The Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD,’ ⁵ but rather, truly change your ways and your deeds. If you truly practice justice between each person and his neighbor,

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?

³⁵ A good person brings good things out of a good treasure house, and an evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure house.

¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean.

³³ You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?

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?

⁴⁵ A good person produces good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil person produces evil from an evil treasure, because the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”

⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has never stood for truth, since there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

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.

²⁹ Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it can boast of great achievements. A huge forest can be set on fire by a little flame. ⁶ The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ For all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be or have been tamed by humans, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil filled with deadly poison.

¹⁰ This is how God’s children and the devil’s children are distinguished. No person who fails to practice righteousness and to love his brother is from God.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous one produces wisdom; his tongue speaks justice. ³¹ The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps will not slip.

²⁰ What the righteous person says is like precious silver; the thoughts of the wicked are compared to small things. ²¹ What the righteous person says nourishes many, but fools die because they lack discerning hearts.

⁶ The words of the wicked lead to bloodshed, but the speech of the upright delivers them.

¹⁷ The truth teller speaks what is right, but the false witness speaks what is deceitful. ¹⁸ Some speak rashly like the cutting of a sword, but what the wise say promotes healing. ¹⁹ A truthful saying is trusted forever, but the liar only for a moment.

⁴ A gentle statement is a tree of life, but perverted speech shatters the spirit.

²³ An appropriate answer brings joy to a person, and a well-timed word is a good thing.

²⁸ The mind of the righteous thinks before speaking, but the wicked person spews out evil.

²¹ The wise-hearted person is told to be discerning, and that pleasant speech promotes instruction. ²² Anyone who has understanding is a fountain of life, but foolishness brings punishment to fools. ²³ A wise person’s thoughts control his words, and his speech promotes instruction.

¹¹ Like golden apples set in silver is a word spoken at the right time. ¹² Like a gold earring and a necklace of pure gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

³⁴ You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart.

⁵² Then he told them, “That is why every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom from heaven is like the master of a household who brings both new and old things out of his treasure chest.”

¹⁶ Let the word of the Messiah inhabit you richly with wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and singing to God with thankfulness in your hearts.

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

¹⁴ For God will judge every deed, along with every secret, whether good or evil.

¹⁶ on that day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, will judge people’s secrets according to my gospel.

⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up by training and instructing them about the Lord.
⁵ Advice for Slaves and MastersSlaves, obey your earthly masters with fear, trembling, and sincerity, as when you obey the Messiah. ⁶ Do not do this only while you’re being watched in order to please them, but be like slaves of the Messiah, who are determined to obey God’s will.

¹⁴ Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about these people when he said, “Look! The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy ones. ¹⁵ He will judge all people and convict everyone of all the ungodly things that they have done in such an ungodly way, including all the harsh things that these ungodly sinners have said about him.”

¹² I saw the dead, both unimportant and important, standing in front of the throne, and books were open. Another book was opened—the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to their actions, as recorded in the books.

³ Anyone who guards his words protects his life; anyone who talks too much is ruined.

²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? ²² You see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. ²³ And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” And so he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. ²⁵ Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she?

¹ Interpreting the Time
When the Pharisees and Sadducees arrived, in order to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He replied to them, “You say, ‘Red sky at night, what a delight! ³ Red sky in the morning, cloudy and storming.’
You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, yet you can’t interpret the signs of the times? ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

¹¹ Interpreting the Time
The Pharisees arrived and began arguing with Jesus. They tested him by demanding from him a sign from heaven. ¹² He sighed deeply in his spirit and remarked, “Why do those living today demand a sign? I tell all of you with certainty, no sign will be given to this generation.”

¹⁶ Others, wanting to test Jesus, kept asking him for a sign from heaven.

²⁹ The Sign of Jonah
Now as the crowds continued to throng around Jesus, he went on to say, “This people living today are an evil generation. It craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah,

¹⁸ Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “What sign can you show us as authority for doing these things?”

⁴⁸ Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign are you going to do so that we may see it and believe in you? What actions are you performing?

²² Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom,

³ “But as for you, come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

⁴ An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.”

²⁹ The Sign of Jonah
Now as the crowds continued to throng around Jesus, he went on to say, “This people living today are an evil generation. It craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah, ³⁰ because just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation. ³¹ The queen of the south will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look, something greater than Solomon is here! ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look, something greater than Jonah is here!”

⁴ You adulterers! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility with God? So whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God.

⁹ But as for those who seek to destroy me, they will go down to the depths of the earth;

¹⁷ Now the LORD had prepared a large sea creature to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the sea creature for three days and three nights.

² He said: “I called out to the LORD from the midst of affliction directed at me, and he answered me. From the depths of death I cried out for help; and you heard my cry. ³ You cast me into the deep— into the heart of the sea. Flood waters engulfed me. All your breakers and your waves swirled over me. ⁴ So I told myself, ‘I have been driven away from you. How will I again gaze on your holy Temple?’ ⁵ Flood waters encompassed me, the deep surrounded me while seaweed wrapped around my head. ⁶ I sank to the roots of the mountains; the earth’s prison bars closed around me forever. Yet you resurrect the dead from the Pit, LORD my God!

²¹ Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal because of the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised.

²³ They will kill him, but he will be raised on the third day.” Then they were filled with grief.

⁴⁰ and saying, “You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross!”

⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘I will be raised after three days.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, order the tomb to be secured until the third day, or his disciples may go and steal him and then tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ Then the last deception would be worse than the first one.”

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will rebuild it.”

¹⁷ no weapon that is forged against you will be effective. This is the heritage of the LORD’s servants, and their righteousness from me,” says the LORD.

¹¹ A Call for RepentanceThen the LORD told me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

⁵¹ Samaria didn’t commit half of your sins—you practiced more detestable deeds than they did! You’ve caused your sister to be more righteous than you, because of the detestable practices that you’ve committed. ⁵² So now, bear your own shame as you mediate for your sisters. The sins that you’ve committed are more detestable than theirs. That makes them more righteous than you. Indeed, be ashamed and bear your reproach, because you’ve made your sisters to be more righteous than you.”

² “Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city! Then cry out in protest against it, because their evil has come to my attention.”

⁵ The City of Nineveh RepentsThe people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least important. ⁶ When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his royal garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in ashes. ⁷ Then he had this proclamation published throughout Nineveh: “By decree of the king and his nobles: No man or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything, graze, or drink water. ⁸ Instead, let both man and animal clothe themselves with sackcloth and cry out to God forcefully. Let every person turn from his evil ways and from his tendency to do violence. ⁹ Who knows but that God may relent, have compassion, and turn from his fierce anger, so that we are not exterminated?”
¹⁰ God took note of what they did—that they turned from their evil ways. Because God relented concerning the trouble about which he had warned them, he did not carry it out.

⁶ But I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here!

³⁹ But he replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah,

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!”

⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That’s just what will happen to this evil generation!”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!”

³⁶ I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”

³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look, something greater than Jonah is here!”

³¹ The One who Comes from AboveThe one who comes from above is superior to everything. The one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is superior to everything.

¹² You’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it, along with his sons and his flocks, are you?”

⁵³ You aren’t greater than our father Abraham, who died, are you? The prophets also died. Who are you making yourself out to be?”
⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I were trying to glorify myself, my glory would mean nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵ You don’t know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”
⁵⁷ Then the Jewish leaders asked him, “You are not even 50 years old, yet you have seen Abraham?”
⁵⁸ Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, before there was an Abraham, I AM!”

²⁷ The man who is uncircumcised physically but who keeps the Law will condemn you who break the Law, even though you have the written Law and circumcision.

⁵ Moses was faithful in all God’s household as a servant who was to testify to what would be said later, ⁶ but the Messiah was faithful as the Son in charge of God’s household, and we are his household if we hold on to our courage and the hope in which we rejoice.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁹ So give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, so I can discern between good and evil. Otherwise, how will I be able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹² look how I’m going to do precisely what you asked. I’m giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.

²⁸ When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at the king, because they all saw that God’s wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice.

²⁹ Solomon’s FameGod gave Solomon wisdom and great discernment. His insights were as numerous as sand on the seashore.

³⁴ People came from everywhere to hear Solomon’s advice. Every king on the earth heard of his wisdom.

¹² The LORD continued giving Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised, and Hiram and Solomon entered into a peace treaty between themselves.

¹ The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation with the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. ² She brought along a large retinue, camels laden with spices, and lots of gold and precious stones. Upon her arrival, she spoke with Solomon about everything that was on her mind. ³ Solomon answered all of her questions. Nothing was hidden from Solomon that he did not explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba had seen all of Solomon’s wisdom for herself, the palace that he had built, ⁵ the food set at his table, his servants who sat with him, his ministers in attendance and how they were dressed, his personal staff and how they were dressed, and even his personal stairway by which he went up to the LORD’s Temple, she was breathless!
⁶ “Everything I heard about your wisdom and what you have to say is true!” she gasped, ⁷ “but I didn’t believe it at first! But then I came here and I’ve seen it for myself! It’s amazing! I wasn’t told half of what’s really great about your wisdom. You’re far better in person than what the reports have said about you! ⁸ How blessed are your staff! And how blessed are your employees, who serve you continuously and get to listen to your wisdom! ⁹ And blessed be the LORD your God, who is delighted with you! He set you in place on the throne of Israel because the LORD loved Israel forever. That’s why he made you to be king, so you could carry out justice and implement righteousness.”
¹⁰ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a vast quantity of spices, and precious stones. No spices ever came again that were comparable to those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. ¹¹ Hiram’s ships that brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir lots of algum wood and precious stones. ¹² The king used the algum wood to have supports made for the LORD’s Temple and for the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the choir, and nothing like that wood has ever come again or even been seen since right to this day. ¹³ In return, King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and had requested in addition to what he had given her consistent with his generosity. Afterward, she returned to her own land with her servants.

²⁴ All the earth continued to seek audiences with Solomon so they could hear the wise things that God had put in his heart.

¹ The Queen of Sheba Visits Jerusalem
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation, she traveled to Jerusalem and tested him with difficult questions. She brought along a large retinue, camels laden with spices, and lots of gold and precious stones. Upon her arrival, she spoke with Solomon about everything that was on her mind. ² Solomon answered all of her questions. Because nothing was hidden from Solomon, he hid nothing from her. ³ When the queen of Sheba had seen Solomon’s wisdom for herself, the palace that he had built, ⁴ the food set at his table, his servants who waited on him, his ministers in attendance and how they were dressed, his personal staff and how they were dressed, and even his personal stairway by which he went up to the LORD’s Temple, she was breathless!
⁵ “Everything I heard about your wisdom and what you have to say is true!” she gasped, ⁶ “but I didn’t believe it at first! But then I came here and I’ve seen it for myself! It’s amazing! I wasn’t told half of what’s really great about your wisdom. You’re far better in person than what the reports have said about you! ⁷ How blessed are your staff! And how blessed are your employees, who serve you continually and get to listen to your wisdom! ⁸ Blessed be the LORD your God, who is delighted with you! He set you in place on his throne to be king for the LORD your God. He made you king over them so you could carry out justice and implement righteousness, because your God loves Israel and intends to establish them forever.”
⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a vast quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices comparable to those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. ¹⁰ Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants, who brought gold from Ophir, also presented algum wood and other precious stones. ¹¹ The king used the algum wood to have steps made for the LORD’s Temple and for the royal palace, as well as lyres and harps for the choir, and nothing like that wood had been seen before in the territory of Judah. ¹² In return, King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and requested in addition to what she had brought for the king. Afterward, she returned to her own land, accompanied by her servants.

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.

¹⁷ Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!”

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look—something greater than Jonah is here!

¹⁴ The Word Becomes HumanThe Word became flesh and lived among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s unique Son, who is full of grace and truth.

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. The unique God, who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.

²⁷ So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, who was a member of the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was in charge of all her treasures and had come up to Jerusalem to worship. ²⁸ Now he was returning home, seated in his chariot, and reading from the prophet Isaiah.

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.

⁷ The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
In response, Satan answered the LORD, “From wandering all over the earth and walking back and forth throughout it.”

² The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
In response, Satan told the LORD, “From wandering all over the earth and walking back and forth throughout it.”

¹ A Davidic Psalm, while he was in the Judean wilderness.
Joyful Trust in God God, you are my God! I will fervently seek you. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry, weary, and parched land.

⁶ then the lame will leap like deer, and the tongues of speechless people will sing for joy. Yes, waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will run through the desert; ⁷ the burning sands will become a pool, and the thirsty ground fountains of water. In the haunts of jackals there will be a verdant resting place with reeds and rushes.”

¹⁸ I’ll open up rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I’ll turn the desert into a pool of water, and the parched land into springs of water.

⁸ He told me, “This river flows toward the eastern territories all the way down into the Arabah, and from there its water flows toward the Dead Sea, where the sea water turns fresh. ⁹ It will support all kinds of living creatures that will thrive abundantly wherever the river flows. There will be a great many fish, because this water will flow there and turn the salt water fresh. As a result, everything will live wherever the river flows. ¹⁰ A day will come when fishermen will line its banks—from En-gedi to En-eglaim there will be plenty of room to spread out nets. There will be all sorts of species of fish, as abundant as the fish that live in the Mediterranean Sea. There will be lots of them!
¹¹ “The river delta will consist of swamps and marshes that will remain a salt water wetland preserve. ¹² Lining each side of the river banks, all sorts of species of fruit trees will be growing. Their leaves will never wither and their fruit will never fail. They will bear fruit every month, because the water that nourishes them will be flowing from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves will contain substances that promote healing.”

¹¹ A Famine of the Word of God“Look! The days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine throughout the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water— but rather a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. ¹² People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east. They will run back and forth, searching for a message from the LORD, but they won’t find it. ¹³ At that time, the beautiful virgins will faint, as will the strong young men—from thirst.

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

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!”
⁸ Jesus had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What’s your name?”
He told him, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us.” ¹⁰ He kept pleading with Jesus not to send them out of that region.
¹¹ Now a large herd of pigs was grazing on a hillside nearby. ¹² So the demons begged him, “Send us among the pigs, so that we can go into them!” 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.

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!” ²⁹ because Jesus was in the process of ordering the unclean spirit to come out of the man. On many occasions the unclean spirit had seized the man, and though he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, he would break the chains and be driven by the demon into deserted places.
³⁰ Jesus asked the man, “What’s your name?”
He answered, “Legion,” because many demons had gone into him. ³¹ Then the demons began begging Jesus not to order them to go into the bottomless pit.
³² Now a large herd of pigs was grazing there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into those pigs, and he consented to that.

²⁴ The Return of the Unclean Spirit
“Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest but doesn’t find any. So it says, ‘I will go back to my home that I left.’ ²⁵ When it gets back home, it finds it swept clean and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

¹³ Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized he became devoted to Philip. He was amazed to see the signs and great miracles that were happening.

⁸ Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

¹¹ Yet my people didn’t obey my voice; Israel didn’t submit to me. ¹² So I allowed them to continue in their stubbornness, living by their own advice.

⁶ For they have stirred up themselves like an oven as they lie in ambush. Their baker sleeps through the night; in the morning, the oven will be blazing like a fire.

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.

²⁰ As for what was sown on the stony ground, this is the person who hears the word and accepts it joyfully at once, ²¹ but since he doesn’t have any root in himself, he lasts for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls away. ²² As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop.

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.

²⁷ After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus told him, “Do quickly what you are going to do!”

¹ Ananias and Sapphira are PunishedBut then a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold some property. ² With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the money for himself and brought the remainder and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
³ Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the money you got for the land?

¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me this power too, so that when I lay my hands on someone, he will receive the Holy Spirit.”
²⁰ But Peter told him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s free gift with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in what we’re saying, because your heart isn’t right with God. ²² So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your heart’s intent may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you’re being poisoned by bitterness and you’re a prisoner of wickedness!”

¹⁹ Of course, there must be factions among you to show which of you are genuine!

² that you once practiced as you lived according to the ways of this present world and according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now active in those who are disobedient.

⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the power of Satan. He will use every kind of power, including miraculous signs, lying wonders, ¹⁰ and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them. ¹¹ For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. ¹² Then all who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.

⁴ he is a conceited person and does not understand anything. He has an unhealthy craving for arguments and debates. This produces jealousy, rivalry, slander, evil suspicions, ⁵ and incessant conflict between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth. They think that godliness is a way to make a profit.

⁹ But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.

⁴ For some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. They were written about long ago as being deserving of this condemnation because they are ungodly. They turn the grace of our God into uncontrollable lust and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus the Messiah.
⁵ Now I want to remind you, even though you are fully aware of these things, that the Lord who once saved his people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe.

³ One of the beast’s heads looked like it had sustained a mortal wound, but its fatal wound was healed. Rapt with amazement, the whole world followed the beast. ⁴ They worshipped the dragon because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight a war with it?”

⁸ All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world. ⁹ Let everyone listen:

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

³⁸ But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they told one another, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’ ³⁹ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those farmers?”
⁴¹ They told him, “He will put those horrible men to a horrible death. Then he will lease the vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at harvest time.”
⁴² Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.’?
⁴³ That is why I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce fruit for it. ⁴⁴ The person who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

¹⁵ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

²⁴ You blind guides! You filter out a gnat, yet swallow a camel!

³² Then finish what your ancestors started! ³³ You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?
³⁴ “That is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. ³⁵ As a result, you will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Berechiah’s son Zechariah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ I tell all of you with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”
³⁷ Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! ³⁸ Look! Your house is left abandoned! ³⁹ I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

⁹ Then Jesus asked him, “What’s your name?”
He told him, “My name is Legion, because there are many of us.”

⁹ Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
After Jesus had risen early on the first day of that week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.

²⁶ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

⁴⁹ That is why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,’ ⁵⁰ so those living today will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation!

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.”

²² “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have any sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ The person who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴ If I hadn’t done among them the actions that no one else did, they wouldn’t have any sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

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.”

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.

¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people, ¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

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!

³⁹ Now, we do not belong to those who turn back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

¹⁴ With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse. ¹⁵ They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor’s son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his offense. A donkey that normally cannot talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s insanity.
¹⁷ These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.
²⁰ For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. ²² The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud.”

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. ¹⁷ Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that do not lead to death.

¹⁰ Whatever these people do not understand, they slander. Like irrational animals, they are destroyed by the very things they know by instinct. ¹¹ How terrible it will be for them! For they lived like Cain did, rushed headlong into Balaam’s error to make a profit, and destroyed themselves, as happened in Korah’s rebellion. ¹² These people are stains on your love feasts. They feast with you without any sense of awe. They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by the winds. They are autumn trees that are fruitless, totally dead, and uprooted. 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.

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.

¹¹ After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹³ The Escape to EgyptAfter they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt,” he said. “Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him.” ¹⁴ So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left at night for Egypt.

²⁰ “Get up,” he said. “Take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
²¹ The Unshrunk Cloth
“No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. If he does, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and a worse tear is made.

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.”

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.

⁴³ Why should this happen to me, to have the mother of my Lord visit me?

³³ Jesus’ father and mother kept wondering at the things being said about him.

⁴⁸ When Jesus’ parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!”

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.

¹⁰ So he said, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given in parables, so that ‘they might look but not see, and they might listen but not understand.’”

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.”

¹ Jesus Changes Water into WineOn the third day of that week there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,

⁵ His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

¹² After this, Jesus went down to Capernaum—he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples—and they remained there for a few days.

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,

⁵ Not even his brothers believed in him.

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.

²⁵ Meanwhile, standing near Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

¹⁴ With one mind, all of them kept devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women (including Mary the mother of Jesus) and his brothers.

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?

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

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.

³⁷ The Cost of Discipleship
“The one who loves his father or mother more than me isn’t worthy of me, and the one who loves a son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.

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?”

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

⁵² Meanwhile, Jesus kept on growing wiser and more mature, and in favor with God and his fellow man.

³ When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told him, “They don’t have any more wine.”
⁴ “How does that concern us, dear lady?” Jesus asked her. “My time hasn’t come yet.”

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.

⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee, and you will see him there. Remember, I have told you!”

³⁴ Then looking at the people sitting around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

⁸ because the words that you gave me I passed on to them. They have received them and know for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me.
⁹ “I am asking on their behalf. I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you gave me, because they are yours.

²⁰ I ask not only on behalf of these men, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their message,

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.’”
¹⁸ So Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord!” She also told them what he had told her.
¹⁹ Jesus Appears to the Disciples
It was the evening of the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them. He told them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side, and when they saw the Lord, the disciples were overjoyed.

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.

¹² My sister, my bride, is a locked garden a locked rock garden, a sealed up spring.

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.”

²⁰ So by their fruit you will know them.”
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.

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.’

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.”

³⁵ Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

²¹ But he answered those people, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear a message from God and heed it.”

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!”

²⁹ Jesus answered them, “This is God’s work: to believe in the one whom he has sent.”

⁴⁰ This is my Father’s will: That everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him to life on the last day.”

¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he kept loving standing there, he told his mother, “Dear lady, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then he told the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

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.’”

²² In fact, Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. ²³ Any person who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

³⁰ he took them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
³¹ They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved.”

³⁰ Though God has overlooked those times of ignorance, he now commands everyone everywhere to repent,

²⁰ Instead, I first told the people in Damascus and Jerusalem, then all the people in Judea—and after that the gentiles—to repent, turn to God, and perform deeds that are consistent with such repentance.

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.

² I am jealous of you with God’s own jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to the Messiah.

⁶ for in union with the Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is faith expressed through love.

¹⁵ For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives as the Messiah loved the church and gave himself for it, ²⁶ so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word, ²⁷ and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault.

¹¹ In him there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free person. Instead, the Messiah is all and in all.

² older women like mothers, and younger women like sisters, with absolute purity.

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.” ¹³ And again, “I will trust him.” And again, “I am here with the children God has given me.”
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) ¹⁵ and might free those who were slaves all their lives because they were terrified by death. ¹⁶ For it is clear that he did not come to help angels. No, he came to help Abraham’s descendants, ¹⁷ thereby becoming like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people’s sins.

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

²¹ Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls.
²² Keep on being obedient to the word, and not merely being hearers who deceive themselves.

² so that he can live the rest of his mortal life guided, not by human desires, but by the will of God.

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

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. ²⁴ The person who keeps his commandments abides in God, and God abides in him. This is how we can be sure that he remains in us: he has given us his Spirit.

¹⁴ “How blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city!