Matthew 23 Cross References - ISV

¹ Jesus Denounces the Scribes and the Pharisees
Then Jesus told the crowds and his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees administer the authority of Moses, ³ So do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don’t do what they say. ⁴ They tie up burdens that are heavy and unbearable and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they refuse to lift a finger to remove them.
⁵ “They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ to be greeted in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.
⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers. ⁹ And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only one Father, the one in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called ‘Teachers,’ because you have only one teacher, the Messiah! ¹¹ The person who is greatest among you must be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.
¹⁴ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation!
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.
¹⁶ “How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.’ 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. ²² And the one who swears an oath by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
²³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides! You filter out a gnat, yet swallow a camel!
²⁵ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean.
²⁷ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
²⁹ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. ³⁰ Then you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 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!’”

¹⁰ Then calling out to the crowd, he addressed them, “Listen and understand! ¹¹ It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.”
¹² Then the disciples came and asked him, “Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”
¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”
¹⁵ Then Peter told him, “Explain to us this parable.”
¹⁶ Jesus said, “Are you still so ignorant? ¹⁷ Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is expelled as waste? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean. ¹⁹ It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, as well as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, false testimony, and slander. ²⁰ These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”

¹⁴ Then he called to the crowd again and told them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand!

³⁸ Jesus Denounces the Scribes
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

¹ A Warning against HypocrisyMeanwhile, the people had gathered by the thousands and were trampling on one another. Jesus began to speak first to his disciples. “Watch out for the yeast—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees!

⁵⁷ Settling with Your Opponent
“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?

⁴⁵ Jesus Denounces the Scribes
While all the people were listening, he told his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

⁶ left Babylon. He was a skillful scribe of the Law of Moses that the LORD God of Israel had given. And the king granted him everything he had requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

²⁵ And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom given to you by your God, are to appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people beyond the Euphrates River. All of them are to know the laws of your God, and you are to instruct those who do not know them.

⁴ Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden rostrum erected for that purpose. Beside him to his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maasseiah. Beside him to his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
⁵ Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people. Because he was visible above all the people there, as he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶ Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with uplifted hands, all the people responded, “Amen! Amen!” They bowed down and worshipped the LORD prostrate on the ground.
⁷ Furthermore, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the descendants of Levi taught the Law to the people while the people remained standing. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, distinctly communicating its meaning, so they could understand the reading.

⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he’s the messenger of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

³⁸ Jesus Denounces the Scribes
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes, to be greeted in the marketplaces,

⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

¹⁹ Now listen to me. I’ll advise you, and may God be with you. You are to represent the people before God and bring the disputes to God. ²⁰ You are to teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they’re to go and the things they’re to do.

²³ If you do this, and God so commands you, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will also go to their homes in peace.”

⁵ See! I taught you the statutes and the ordinances, just as the LORD God commanded. Therefore, observe them when you enter the land you are about to possess.

²⁷ As for you, go near and listen to everything that the LORD our God will say to you, then repeat it to us, and we’ll listen and obey.’

⁹ Present the case to the Levitical priest or the judge at that time. When you have inquired and they have announced the verdict, ¹⁰ carry out the verdict that was declared to you at the place that the LORD will choose. Carefully observe all of their instructions to you ¹¹ in accordance with what the Law says, and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left. ¹² If a man presumptuously disregards the priest who is serving the LORD your God there or the judge, that person must die so you will purge evil from Israel.

¹² God also poured out his grace throughout Judah, giving them a dedicated heart to do what the king and princes had decreed according to the message from the LORD.

¹⁶ As for the wicked, God says, “How dare you recite my statutes or speak about my covenant with your lips! ¹⁷ You hate instruction and toss my words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a thief, you befriend him, and you keep company with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth free reign for evil, and your tongue devises deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

² “Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands when they eat.”
³ But he answered them, “Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ Because God said, ‘You are to honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or his mother, “Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God,” ⁶ does not have to honor his father.’ Because of your tradition, then, you have disregarded the authority of God’s word. ⁷ You hypocrites! How well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, ⁸ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁹ Their worship of me is empty, because they teach human rules as doctrines.’”

³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go.

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men!

¹⁹ and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of infants because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in the Law— ²¹ as you teach others, do you fail to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² As you forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? As you abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ As you boast about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? ²⁴ As it is written, “God’s name is being blasphemed among the gentiles because of you.”

¹ Obey Your GovernmentEvery person must be subject to the governing authorities, for no authority exists except by God’s permission. The existing authorities have been established by God,

⁵ They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away from such people.

¹⁶ They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Place my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls, ³⁰ because my yoke is pleasant, and my burden is light.”

²³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

⁴⁶ Jesus said, “How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don’t even lift a finger to ease those burdens.

¹⁰ So why do you test God by putting on the disciples’ neck a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we could carry?

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

¹³ Why, not even those who are circumcised obey the Law! They simply want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your external appearance.

²⁴ ‘But as for the rest of you in Thyatira—you who do not hold to this teaching and who have not learned what some people call the deep things of Satan—I won’t burden you with anything else.

⁹ It is to be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead, so that you may speak about the instruction of the LORD; for the LORD brought you out of Egypt with a strong show of force.

³⁸ “Tell the Israelis that they are to make tassels at the edges of their garments throughout their generations and that they are to put a violet cord on the tassels at the edges of their garments. ³⁹ That way, when you see the tassel, you’ll remember all the commands of the LORD and you’ll observe them. Then you won’t seek your own interests and desires that lead you to be unfaithful.

⁸ Tie them as reminders on your forearm, bind them on your forehead,

¹⁸ Take these commands to heart and keep them in mind, tying them as reminders on your arm and as bands on your forehead.

¹² “Sew tassels for yourselves on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.”

¹⁶ He told him, “Come with me and see my enthusiasm for the LORD!” So Jehu had Jehonadab ride in his chariot.

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

²¹ by binding them to your heart continuously, fastening them around your neck. ²² During your travels wisdom will lead you; she will watch over you while you rest; and when you are startled from your sleep, she will commune with you. ²³ Because the command is a lamp and the Law a light, rebukes that discipline are a way of life—

¹ Teaching about Giving to the Poor “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people in order to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² So whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they will be praised by people. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward! ³ But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be done in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
⁵ Teaching about Prayer
“And whenever you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward! ⁶ But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees from the hidden place will reward you.
⁷ “When you are praying, don’t say meaningless things like the unbelievers do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy. ⁸ Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Therefore, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. ¹⁰ May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread, ¹² and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. ¹³ And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
¹⁴ Because if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive people their offenses, your Father will not forgive your offenses.”
¹⁶ Teaching about Fasting“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites, because they put on sad faces to show others they are fasting. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward!

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his garment,

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

⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”

⁴⁴ How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God?

¹⁸ The one who speaks on his own seeks his own praise. But the one who seeks the praise of him who sent him is genuine, and there’s nothing false in him.

⁴³ For they loved the praise of human beings more than the praise of God.

¹⁵ Some are preaching the Messiah because of jealousy and dissension, while others do so because of their good will.

³ Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves. ⁴ He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship. As a result, he seats himself in the sanctuary of God and himself declares that he is God.

⁶ Don’t magnify yourself in the presence of a king, and don’t pretend to be in the company of famous men, ⁷ for it is better that it be told you, “Come up here,” than for you to be placed lower in the presence of an official. What you’ve seen with your own eyes,

²¹ He asked her, “What do you want?”
She told him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine will sit on your right and on your left.”

⁴³ How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.
⁴⁴ How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves—people walk on them without realizing it.”
⁴⁵ Then one of the experts in the Law told him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.”
⁴⁶ Jesus said, “How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don’t even lift a finger to ease those burdens.
⁴⁷ How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them! ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed those for whom you are building monuments. 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!
⁵² How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in.”
⁵³ As Jesus was leaving, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely, interrogating him about many things. ⁵⁴ They watched him closely in an effort to trap him in something he might say.

⁷ A Lesson about GuestsWhen Jesus noticed how the guests were choosing the places of honor, he told them a parable. ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit down at the place of honor in case someone more important than you was invited by the host. ⁹ Then the host who invited both of you would come to you and say, ‘Give this person your place.’ In disgrace, you would have to take the place of least honor. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit down at the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher,’ and you will be honored in the presence of everyone who eats with you. ¹¹ Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”

¹⁰ Be devoted to each other with mutual affection. Excel at showing respect for each other.

¹ Do Not Show PartialityMy brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be tainted by favoritism. ² Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. ³ If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,” ⁴ then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not?

⁹ Criticism of DiotrephesI wrote a letter to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be in charge, will not recognize our authority.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers.

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.”

⁵¹ Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man told him, “Rabbouni, I want to see again.”

³⁸ But when Jesus turned around and saw them following, he asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They asked him, “Rabbi,” (which is translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

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

² He came to Jesus at night and told him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, because no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”

²⁶ so they went to John and told him, “Rabbi, the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, the one about whom you testified—look, he’s baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”

²⁵ When they had found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

¹⁶ Jesus told her, “Mary!”
She turned around and told him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means “Teacher”).

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

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!”

¹⁰ Nor are you to be called ‘Teachers,’ because you have only one teacher, the Messiah!

⁴⁹ So Judas immediately went up to Jesus and said, “Hello, Rabbi!” and kissed him tenderly.

³² but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail. When you have come back, you must strengthen your brothers.”

¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right because that is what I am. ¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you must also wash one another’s feet.

⁹ For this reason the Messiah died and returned to life, so that he might become the Lord of both the dead and the living.
¹⁰ Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God.

¹² This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to the Messiah.”
¹³ Is the Messiah divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? You weren’t baptized in Paul’s name, were you?

³ That’s because you are still worldly. As long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, you are worldly and living by human standards, aren’t you? ⁴ For when one person says, “I follow Paul,” and another person says, “I follow to Apollos,” you’re following your own human nature, aren’t you?
⁵ Who is Apollos, anyhow? Or who is Paul? They’re merely servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave to each of us his task.

²⁴ It is not that we are trying to rule over your faith, but rather to work with you for your joy, because you have been standing firm in the faith.

⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but rather Jesus the Messiah as Lord, and ourselves as merely your servants for Jesus’ sake.

¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name.

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, an apostle of the Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
² To: The holy and faithful brothers in Colossae who are in union with the Messiah.
May grace and peace from God our Father be yours!

¹ Speak WiselyNot many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more severely than others.

³ Do not lord it over the people entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock.

⁹ John’s Vision of the MessiahI am John, your brother and partner in the oppression, kingdom, and patience that comes because of Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.

¹⁰ I bowed down at his feet to worship him, but he told me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who rely on what Jesus is saying. Worship God, because what Jesus is saying is the spirit of prophecy!”

⁹ But he told me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words in this book. Worship God!”

¹² As Elisha continued to watch, he cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and its cavalry!” Then he did not see Elijah anymore.
After this, Elisha gripped his clothes that he was wearing, tore them apart into two pieces,

²¹ When the king of Israel saw Elisha, he asked him, “Shall I execute them, my father?”

¹⁴ Elisha Predicts Partial Victory for JoashWhen Elisha fell ill with the sickness from which he was about to die, king Joash of Israel came down to see him, wept in his presence, and told him, “My father, Israel’s chariots and horsemen!”

²¹ I won’t discriminate against anyone, and I won’t flatter any person, ²² since I don’t know the first thing about how to flatter; and the one who made me would sweep me away as if I were nothing.”

⁶ God’s Second Complaint: Against His Priests—A Despised Offering“A son honors his father and a servant his master. So if I’m a father, where is my honor? And if I’m a master, where is my respect?” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies to you priests who are despising my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised your name?’

⁸ Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Therefore, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

³² because it is the unbelievers who are eager for all those things. Surely your heavenly Father knows that you need all of them!

¹¹ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who keep on asking him!

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I am now making before you.”

¹⁴ For all who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah—if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

¹⁵ You may have 10,000 mentors who work for the Messiah, but not many fathers. For in the Messiah Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

¹⁸ I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters,” declares the Lord Almighty.

¹ Treatment of WidowsNever speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat younger men like brothers, ² older women like mothers, and younger women like sisters, with absolute purity.

⁹ Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. We should submit even more to the Father of our spirits and live, shouldn’t we?

¹ We are God’s ChildrenSee what kind of love the Father has given us: We are called God’s children—and that is what we are! For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not recognize him, either.

²⁶ That’s not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.

⁴³ That’s not the way it should be among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to everyone,

²⁶ But you are not to do so. On the contrary, the greatest among you should become like the youngest, and the one who leads should become like the one who serves. ²⁷ Because who is greater, the one who sits at the table, or the one who serves? It is the one at the table, isn’t it? But I’m among you as one who serves.

¹⁴ So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you must also wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I’ve set an example for you, so that you may do as I have done to you.

¹⁹ Although I am free from everyone’s expectations, I have made myself a servant to all of them to win more people.

²³ Are they the Messiah’s servants? I am insane to talk like this, but I am a far better one! I have been involved in far greater efforts, far more imprisonments, countless beatings, and have faced death more than once.

¹³ For you, brothers, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity to gratify your flesh, but through love make it your habit to serve one another.

⁵ Have the same attitude among yourselves that was also in the Messiah Jesus: 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, ⁸ and lived in all humility, death on a cross obeying.

²⁹ “For when they’re humbled, you may respond; ‘It’s their pride!’ but he delivers the humble.

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

³³ The fear of the LORD teaches wisdom, and humility precedes honor.

¹⁸ Pride precedes destruction; an arrogant spirit appears before a fall. ¹⁹ Better to be humble among the poor, than to share what is stolen with the proud.

²³ A person’s pride will bring about his downfall, but the humble in spirit will gain honor.

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.

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

³ The Blessed Attitudes
“How blessed are those who are destitute in spirit, because the kingdom from heaven belongs to them!

⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom from heaven,

⁵¹ He displayed his mighty power with his arm. He scattered people who were proud in mind and heart. ⁵² He pulled powerful rulers from their thrones and lifted up humble people.

¹¹ Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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

⁶ But he gives all the more grace. And so he says, “God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble.”

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

¹⁴ So the LORD has cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day— ¹⁵ the elder and the dignitary is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting flames?”

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.”

³¹ Which of the two did the father’s will?”
They answered, “The first one.”
Jesus told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s kingdom ahead of you! ³² John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds at last and believe him.”

¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom from heaven in people’s faces. You don’t go in yourselves, and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in.
¹⁴ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. Therefore, you will receive greater condemnation!
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.

²⁵ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but on the inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

²⁷ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity.

²⁹ “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

⁴³ How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.
⁴⁴ How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves—people walk on them without realizing it.”

⁵² How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn’t go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in.”

⁴⁶ The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like that!”
⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied to them, “You haven’t been deceived, too, have you? ⁴⁸ None of the authorities or Pharisees has believed in him, have they? ⁴⁹ But this mob that does not know the Law—they’re under a curse!”
⁵⁰ One of their own, Nicodemus (the man who had previously met with Jesus), asked them, ⁵¹ “Surely our Law does not condemn a person without first hearing from him and finding out what he is doing, does it?”
⁵² They answered him, “You aren’t from Galilee, too, are you? Search and see that no prophet comes from Galilee.”

²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, since the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be thrown out of the synagogue.

²⁴ The Jewish leaders summoned the man who had been blind a second time and told him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”

³⁴ They asked him, “You were born a sinner and you are trying to instruct us?” And they threw him out.

¹⁷ But to keep it from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them never again to speak to anyone in this name.”
¹⁸ So they called Peter and John back in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ He said, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in his name, didn’t we? Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!”

⁴⁰ After calling in the apostles and beating them, they again ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and let them go.

¹ The Church is ScatteredNow Saul heartily approved of putting Stephen to death. That day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except for the apostles was scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.

⁸ But Elymas the occult practitioner (that is the meaning of his name) continued to oppose them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

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!

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and their faith is a counterfeit.

¹⁵ You, too, must watch out for him, for he violently opposed our message.

²² “You are not to mistreat any widow or orphan. ²³ If you do mistreat them, they’ll certainly cry out to me, and I’ll immediately hear their cry. ²⁴ And I’ll be angry and will kill you with swords, and your wives will become widows and your children orphans.

⁹ You sent away widows empty-handed, and broke the outstretched arms of orphans.

¹⁶ No Injustice on the Poor“If I refused to grant the desire of the poor or exhausted the eyes of the widow, ¹⁷ if I ate my meals by myself without feeding orphans, ¹⁸ (even a poor man had grown up with me as if I were his father, and even though I had guided the widow from the time I was born), ¹⁹ if I’ve observed someone who is about to die for lack of clothes or if I have no clothing to give to the poor, ²⁰ if he hadn’t thanked me from the bottom of his heart, if he had not been warmed by wool from my sheep,

²⁴ Indeed I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you!”

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.”

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

⁴⁸ But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted.”

⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers to cover it up. They will receive greater condemnation!”

⁶ For some of these men go into homes and deceive foolish women who are burdened with sins and swayed by all kinds of desires.

¹⁰ Guard What is TrueFor there are many people who are rebellious, especially those who are converts from Judaism. They speak utter nonsense and deceive people. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are the kind of people who ruin whole families by teaching what they should not teach in order to make money in a shameful way.

³ In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed.

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.

¹⁷ In each and every province, and in each and every city, in the places where the king’s order and edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jewish people, along with a festival and a holiday. Many of the people of the land became Jews, because they had come to fear the Jewish people.

²² But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to punishment. And whoever says to his brother ‘Raka!’ will be subject to the Council. And whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hell fire.

²⁹ So if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

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 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the district of Libya near Cyrene, Jewish and proselyte visitors from Rome,

⁵ This suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.

¹⁰ and said, “You’re full of every form of deception and trickery, you son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right! You’ll never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord, will you?

⁴³ When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who kept talking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

² But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

¹⁹ Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in SyriaBut some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds by persuasion. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking he was dead.

⁵ But the Jewish leaders became jealous, and they took some contemptible characters who used to hang out in the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, “These fellows who have turned the world upside down have come here, too,

¹³ But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they went there to upset and incite the crowds.

¹⁷ These people who have been instructing you are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They want you to avoid me so that you will be devoted to them.

¹² These people who want to impress others by their external appearance are trying to force you to be circumcised, simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of the Messiah.

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

¹⁰ His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge. They are all dumb dogs— they cannot bark. They keep on dreaming and lying around, and they’re lovers of sleep! ¹¹ Meanwhile, the dogs have a mighty appetite— they can never get enough. And as for them, they are the shepherds who lack understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, each and every one.

³³ Teaching about Oaths“Again, you have heard that it was told those who lived long ago, ‘You must not swear an oath falsely,’ but, ‘You must fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is God’s throne, ³⁵ nor by the earth, because it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the Great King.

⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or his mother, “Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God,” ⁶ does not have to honor his father.’ Because of your tradition, then, you have disregarded the authority of God’s word.

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”

¹⁷ You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that made the gold holy?

¹⁹ You blind men! Which is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?

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

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

¹⁰ Because Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or mother, “Whatever support you might have received from me is Corban,”’ (that is, an offering to God) ¹² ‘you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.’ ¹³ You are destroying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many other things like that.”

³⁹ Then Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge it, so that those who are blind may see and so that those who see may become blind.”
⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were near him overheard this and asked him, “We aren’t blind, too, are we?”
⁴¹ Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you would not have any sin. But now that you insist, ‘We see,’ your sin still exists.”

³ Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised is obligated to obey the entire Law.

¹² Do Not Swear OathsAbove all, brothers, do not swear oaths by heaven, by earth, or by any other object. Instead, let your “Yes” mean yes and your “No” mean no! Otherwise, you may fall under condemnation.

²⁶ You are to use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, ²⁷ the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and its utensils, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin and its base. ²⁹ You are to consecrate them and they are to be most holy. Whatever touches them is to be holy.

³⁸ As for the censers of those rebels who died, fasten them into beaten plates to line the altar. Since they brought them into the LORD’s presence, they’re holy. They are to become a reminder to the Israelis.”
³⁹ So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been burned and beat them into metal plates for the altar,

⁸ Pay attention, you dull ones among the crowds! You fools! Will you ever become wise?

³⁷ You are to make atonement for the altar for seven days and consecrate it. It will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.”

²⁹ You are to consecrate them and they are to be most holy. Whatever touches them is to be holy.

¹³ Now I have been constructing a magnificent Temple dedicated to you that will serve as a place for you to inhabit forever.”

²⁷ and yet, will God truly reside on earth? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

² Now I have constructed a magnificent temple dedicated to you that will serve as a place for you to inhabit forever.”

² The priests could not enter into the Temple because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s Temple.

⁸ LORD, I love the dwelling place that is your house, the place where your glory resides.

¹³ For the LORD has chosen Zion, desiring it as his dwelling place. ¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever. Here I will live, because I desire to do so.

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 The LORD is in his holy Temple; the LORD’s throne is in the heavens. His eyes see, his glance examines humanity.

¹ The Worship that God Commands This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you would build for me, and where will my resting place be?

³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is God’s throne,

⁴⁹ “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me,’ declares the Lord, “or what place is there in which I can rest?

² Instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven with a person seated on the throne. ³ The person sitting there looked like jasper and carnelian, and there was a rainbow around the throne that looked like an emerald.

³⁰ “Any tithes of the land—from grain grown on the land or from fruit grown on the trees—belong to the LORD. They are sacred to the LORD.

²² Samuel said, “Does the LORD delight as much in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

³ To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

¹⁵ Are you a king because you try to outdo everyone with cedar? Your father ate and drank and upheld justice and righteousness, did he not? And then it went well for him. ¹⁶ He judged the case of the poor and needy. And then it went well for him. Isn’t this what it means to know me?

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

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.

¹⁹ So whoever sets aside one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom from heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom from heaven ²⁰ because I tell you, unless your righteousness greatly exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom from heaven!”

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

⁷ If you had known what ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the innocent,

³⁷ Jesus told him, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important commandment. ³⁹ The second is exactly like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

⁴² “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

¹² I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when the beam is in your own eye?

² “Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands when they eat.”
³ But he answered them, “Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ Because God said, ‘You are to honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.’

²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”

¹⁶ “How terrible it will be for you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears an oath by the sanctuary is excused, but whoever swears an oath by the gold of the sanctuary must keep his oath.’

⁶ The high priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the Temple treasury, because it is blood money.” ⁷ So they decided to use the money to buy the Potter’s Field as a burial ground for foreigners. ⁸ That is why that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

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.

²⁸ Pilate Questions Jesus
Then Jesus was led from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters early in the morning. The Jews did not go into the headquarters, to avoid becoming unclean and unable to eat the Passover meal.

⁴⁰ At this, they shouted out again, “Not this fellow, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

⁷ These people also stagger from wine and reel from strong drink. Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink; they’re drunk from wine; they reel from strong drink, waver when seeing visions, and stumble when rendering decisions. ⁸ For all the tables are covered in vomit and filth, with no clean space left.

⁴ They don’t eat anything from the marketplace unless they dip it in water. They also observe many other traditions, such as the proper washing of washing cups, jars, brass pots, and dinner tables.) ⁵ So the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with unclean hands.”
⁶ He told them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites. As it is written, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁷ Their worship of me is worthless, because they teach human rules as doctrines.’
⁸ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
⁹ Then he told them, “You have such a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your own tradition!

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?

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.

¹⁴ Jerusalem, wash your evil from your heart so that you may be delivered. How long will you harbor evil schemes within you?

²⁷ I’ve seen your detestable behavior: your adulteries, your passionate neighing, your lewd immorality on the hills in the field. How terrible it will be for you, Jerusalem! You are unclean. How much longer will this go on?”

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?

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.

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.”

¹ Cleanse Yourselves in HolinessSince we have these promises, dear friends, let’s cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by becoming mature in our holy fear of God.

²² let us continue to come near with sincere hearts in the full assurance that faith provides, because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure 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.

¹⁶ Whoever is out in an open field and touches the body of someone who was killed by a sword, or a dead body, or someone’s bones, or a grave, he is to be considered unclean for seven days.

¹ False and True Worship “Shout aloud! Don’t hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their rebellions, and to the house of Jacob their sins. ² They seek me day after day, and are eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practices righteousness and has not forsaken the justice of their God. “They ask me to reveal just decisions; they are eager to draw near to God.

⁴⁴ How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves—people walk on them without realizing it.”

³ At this Paul told him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! How can you sit there and judge me according to the Law, and yet in violation of the Law order me to be struck?”

⁷ The LORD told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or his height, for I’ve rejected him. Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”

⁶ Indeed, you are pleased with truth in the inner person, and you will teach me wisdom in my innermost parts.

⁹ The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart“The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable— who can know it? 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.

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.

⁵ “They do everything to be seen by people. They increase the size of their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

²¹ because it’s from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these things come from inside and make a person unclean.”

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

⁴⁷ How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them! ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, because they killed those for whom you are building monuments.

²⁹ “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and that his tomb is among us to this day.

¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence,

³⁰ “I’ve punished your children with no results, they have accepted no discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.”

³⁵ But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones. ³⁶ Again, he sent other servants to them, a greater number than the first, but the tenant farmers treated them the same way.

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.

²² Joshua responded, “You are giving testimony against yourselves, that you have chosen to serve the LORD.”
They replied, “We are witnesses!”

⁵ Because your sin dictates your speech, you have chosen the language of the crafty. ⁶ Your own mouth is condemning you, not I; your own lips will testify against you.”

⁸ They tripped over their own tongues, and everyone who was watching ran away.

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?

⁵¹ “You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. ⁵² Which of the prophets did your ancestors fail to persecute? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.

¹⁶ Your descendants will return here in the fourth generation, since the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet run its course.”

¹⁴ And now, look! You’re acting just like your ancestors, like a brood of sinful men, who are provoking the fierce anger of the LORD against the Israelis one step at a time.

⁶ So I asked, “What is it?”
He replied, “This is a basket making its appearance.” He also said, “This is what it appears to be in the entire land.”
⁷ The Vision of the Woman in the BasketLook, a round lead cover was being lifted, and there was one woman seated inside the basket! ⁸ And the angel said, “This is evil!” So he shoved her back into the basket and snapped the round, lead cover over the opening.
⁹ The Vision of the Two Winged WomenThen I looked up to see two women coming forward with the wind filling their wings. (They had wings like those of a stork.) They took up the basket, holding it between the earth and sky.
¹⁰ So I asked the angel who was talking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?”
¹¹ He answered me, “To the land of Shinar, so they can build a temple to the woman in the basket. Then when its preparations are complete, the basket will be set there in its place.”

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!

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

³ The wicked go astray from the womb; they go astray, telling lies even from birth. ⁴ Their venom is like a poisonous snake; even like a deaf serpent that shuts its ears, ⁵ refusing to hear the voice of the snake charmer, the cunning enchanter.

³ “But as for you, come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! ⁴ Whom are you mocking? And against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, the offspring of lies,

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?

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

³⁴ When harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenant farmers to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the farmers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and attacked another with stones.

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?

³ However, I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from sincere and pure devotion to the Messiah.

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

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?

²⁵ See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from 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.

¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, ¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people.

³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who wins people is wise.

¹⁶ Future Persecutions
“Pay attention, now! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people who will hand you over to the local councils and whip you in their synagogues.

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.

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.”

¹⁹ Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.”

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!

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

² You’ll be thrown out of the synagogues. Yes, a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he’s serving God.

²¹ Jesus told them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

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

⁵⁸ ran him outside of the city, and began to stone him to death. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

¹ Saul Becomes a BelieverMeanwhile, still spewing death threats against the Lord’s disciples, Saul went to the high priest. ² He asked him for letters to take with him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

²⁷ At that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch.

² He even had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword.

¹ Barnabas and Saul Travel to CyprusNow Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who grew up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul were prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch.

³² Then Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said a lot to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

¹⁹ “I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I kept imprisoning and beating those who believe in you. ²⁰ Even when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing there, approving it and guarding the coats of those who were killing him.’

⁶ God’s Spirit Reveals EverythingHowever, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message of wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene.

¹⁰ The Messiah is Our FoundationAs an expert builder using the grace that God gave me, I laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it.

³ For this reason I want you to be aware that no one who is speaking by God’s Spirit can say, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, ⁵ and there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are varieties of results, but it is the same God who produces all the results in everyone.
⁷ To each person has been given the ability to manifest the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ To one has been given a message of wisdom by the Spirit; to another the ability to speak with knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit; ¹⁰ to another miraculous results; to another prophecy; to another the ability to distinguish between spirits; to another various kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit produces all these results and gives what he wants to each person.

²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with a stick, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, and I drifted on the sea for a day and a night.

⁸ That is why God says, “When he went up to the highest place, he led captives into captivity and gave gifts to people.”
⁹ Now what does this “he went up” mean except that he also had gone down into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ The one who went down is the same one who went up above all the heavens so that all things would be fulfilled. ¹¹ And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah

²⁸ It is he whom we proclaim as we admonish and wisely teach everyone, so that we may present everyone mature in the Messiah.

³⁷ They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated.

¹⁰ Those living on earth will gloat over them, celebrate, and send gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those living on earth.

⁸ Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the wilderness.” When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁵ Also, I will certainly demand an accounting regarding bloodshed, from every animal and from every human being. I’ll demand an accounting from every human being for the life of another human being. ⁶ “Whoever sheds human blood, by a human his own blood is to be shed; because God made human beings in his own image.

³³ You are not to pollute the land where you live, because blood defiles the land, and the land cannot atone for blood that has been spilled on it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it.

⁷ and they are to make this declaration: ‘Our hands didn’t shed this blood, nor were we witnesses to the crime. ⁸ Make atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, LORD, and don’t charge the blood of an innocent man against them.’ Then the blood shed will be atoned for.

¹⁶ In addition to this, Manasseh shed lots of innocent blood—until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another—besides his sin by which he caused Judah to sin by practicing what the LORD considered to be evil.

⁴ as well as for the innocent blood that he had shed. He had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not forgive them.

²⁰ Then Jehoiada the priest’s son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, “This is what God has to say: ‘Why are you breaking the LORD’s commandments. You’ll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’”
²¹ But the people conspired against him, and at the direct orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple. ²² This is how King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him: he killed his son. As he lay dying, Zechariah cried out, “May the LORD watch this and avenge.”

²¹ For see, the LORD is coming from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their sins; the earth will reveal the blood that has been shed on it, and will no longer conceal its slain.”

³⁴ On your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, even though you didn’t catch them breaking in. Yet despite all these things,

¹⁵ But know for certain that if you kill me, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and its residents because the LORD really did send me to you to say all these things for you to hear.”

²³ They brought Uriah out of Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who killed him with a sword. Then they threw his body into a common grave.”

¹³ Due to the sins committed by her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests who shed in her midst, the blood of the righteous, ¹⁴ people stagger around in the streets like the blind, defiled by blood unclean so that no one is able to touch their clothing.

¹ A Call to ReturnIn the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius, this message from the LORD came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet:

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!

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did, and by faith he was declared to be righteous, since God himself accepted his offerings. And by faith he continues to speak, even though he is dead.

²⁴ to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel’s.

¹¹ Love One AnotherThis is the message that you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because what he was doing was evil and his brother’s actions were righteous.

²⁴ The blood of the world’s prophets, saints, and all who had been murdered was found within her.”

²¹ The Coming Fulfillment of VisionsLater, this message came to me from the LORD: ²² “Son of Man, what’s this proverb you have concerning Israel’s land that says, ‘The days pass slowly and every vision ends in nothing.’? ²³ Therefore you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says, “I’m about to put an end to use of this proverb in Israel. It will never be used again as a proverb in Israel. Instead, tell them that the days are drawing near when every vision will be fulfilled. ²⁴ There will no longer be worthless visions and flattering divinations in the midst of Israel’s house. ²⁵ Because I am the LORD, I’ll speak and the message that I communicate will be accomplished without delay. While you continue to be a rebellious house, I’ll speak the message and then fulfill it,” declares the Lord GOD.’”
²⁶ The Imminent FulfillmentLater, this message came to me from the LORD: ²⁷ “Son of Man, pay attention! The house of Israel keeps on saying, ‘The vision that he’s talking about concerns the distant future. He’s prophesying concerning times that are far in the future!’ ²⁸ Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says, “None of my messages will be delayed any longer. Any message that I speak will be fulfilled,” declares the Lord GOD.’”

³⁴ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until these things happen.

³⁰ I tell all of you with certainty, this generation will not disappear until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

³² I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until all these things take place. ³³ Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won’t ever disappear.”

¹¹ Like an eagle stirs its nest, hovering near its young, spreading out his wings to take him and carry him on his pinions, ¹² the LORD alone guided him. There was no foreign god with him.

¹² May the LORD repay you for your work, and may a full reward be given you from the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

²⁶ “Then they disobeyed, rebelled against you, and threw your Law behind their backs. They murdered your prophets who had admonished the people to return to you, committing terrible blasphemies.

⁸ Protect me as the most precious part of the eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings

⁷ How precious is your gracious love, God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

¹ To the Director: A special Davidic psalm to the tune of “Do Not Destroy,” when he fled from Saul into a cave.
A Prayer for Deliverance Have mercy on me, God, have mercy, for in you I have placed my trust. Even in the shadow of your wings will I find my refuge until this calamity passes.

⁷ For you have been my strength, and in the shadow of your wings I will shout for joy.

⁸ Listen, My people and I will warn you. Israel, if only you would obey me! ⁹ You must neither have a foreign god over you or worship a strange god. ¹⁰ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, open your mouth that I may fill it. ¹¹ Yet my people didn’t obey my voice; Israel didn’t submit to me.

⁴ With his feathers he will cover you, under his wings you will find safety. His truth is your shield and armor.

²⁴ The Consequences of Refusing Wisdom“Because I called out to you and you refused to respond— I appealed, but no one paid attention— ²⁵ because you neglected all my advice and did not want my correction, ²⁶ I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when what you fear comes, ²⁷ when what you dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ “Then they will call out to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. ²⁹ “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD; ³⁰ they did not want my advice, and they rejected all my correction. ³¹ They will eat the fruit of their way, and they will be filled with their own devices.

² Why is it that when I came, no one was there? Why was there no answer when I called? Was my arm too short to redeem you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? Look! By my mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert. Their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.

⁸ Be warned, Jerusalem, or I’ll be alienated from you. I’ll make you desolate, a land not inhabited.”

¹⁶ Israel Refuses to RepentThis is what the LORD says: “Stand beside the roads and watch. Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is. Walk in it and find rest for yourselves. But they said, ‘We won’t walk in it!’ ¹⁷ I appointed watchmen over you. Listen for the sound of the trumpet. But they said, ‘We won’t listen!’

⁷ For I’ve diligently warned your ancestors from the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt until now, regularly warning them, saying, “Obey me!” ⁸ But they would not listen or turn their ear, and each of them stubbornly followed his own evil desires. So I brought on them all the consequences of this covenant that I commanded them to fulfill, but they did not.’”

³ “From the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, until the present time, for 23 years this message from the LORD has come to me, and I’ve spoken to you again and again, but you haven’t listened. ⁴ Again and again, the LORD sent all his servants, the prophets, to you, but you wouldn’t listen or even turn your ears in my direction to hear. ⁵ They said, ‘Turn, each one of you, from your evil habits and evil deeds, and live in the land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever and ever. ⁶ Don’t follow other gods to serve and worship them. Don’t provoke me with the idols you make with your hands, and I won’t bring disaster on you.’ ⁷ But you didn’t listen to me,” declares the LORD, “so as to provoke me with the idols you make with your hands to your own harm.

¹⁵ I’ve sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again. I’ve said, ‘Each of you turn from his evil behavior and make your deeds right. Don’t follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you haven’t paid attention and you haven’t obeyed me.

⁹ He told them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says, to whom you sent me to take your request: ¹⁰ ‘If you will just remain in this land, I’ll build you up and not pull you down. I’ll plant you and not uproot you, for I’m sorry about the disaster I’ve brought on you. ¹¹ Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon as you have been. Don’t fear him,’ declares the LORD, ‘because I am with you to save you and deliver you from his control. ¹² I’ll show you compassion, so he will have compassion on you and return you to your land. ¹³ But if you disobey the LORD your God by saying, “We won’t stay in this land,”

⁴ Yet I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Don’t do this repulsive thing that I hate.”

² The more I called out to them, the farther they fled from me; they sacrificed to Baals, burning incense to carved images.

⁷ My people are determined to turn away from me; though they call to the Most High, no one is worshiping.

⁴ Don’t be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “It’s time to turn from your evil lifestyles and from your evil actions,” ‘but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,’” declares the LORD.’

¹² Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s how they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”

³ He sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come.

⁶ The rest grabbed the king’s servants, treated them brutally, and then killed them.

³⁰ Then you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

³ But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. ⁴ Again, the man sent another servant to them. They beat the servant over the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ Then the man sent another, and that one they killed. So it was with many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed. ⁶ He still had one more person to send, a son whom he loved. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

³⁴ 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 people were unwilling! ³⁵ Look! Your house is left vacant to you. 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!’”

¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come! Everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ Every single one of them began asking to be excused. The first told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go out and inspect it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I bought five pairs of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I recently got married, so I can’t come.’

²⁸ “Then the older son became angry and wouldn’t go into the house. So his father came out and began to plead with him.

¹⁴ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’
¹⁵ “After he was appointed king, the prince came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. ¹⁶ The first servant came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ ¹⁷ The king told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’
¹⁸ “The second servant came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ ¹⁹ The king told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
²⁰ “Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping ²¹ because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 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? ²³ Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’
²⁴ “So the king told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ ²⁵ They answered him, ‘Sir, he already has ten coins!’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”
²⁸ The King Enters Jerusalem
After Jesus had said this, he traveled on and went up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples on ahead. ³⁰ “Go into the village ahead of you,” he said. “As you enter, you will find a colt tied up that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it along. ³¹ If anyone asks you why you are untying it, say this: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
³² So those who were sent went off and found it as Jesus had told them. ³³ While they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
³⁴ The disciples answered, “The Lord needs it.” ³⁵ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and Jesus sat upon it.
³⁶ As he was riding along, people kept spreading their coats on the road. ³⁷ He was now approaching the descent from the Mount of Olives. The whole crowd of disciples began to rejoice and to praise God with a loud voice because of all the miracles they had seen. ³⁸ They said, “How blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.”
⁴⁰ He replied, “I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!”
⁴¹ When he came closer and saw the city, he began to grieve over it: ⁴² “If you had only known today what could have brought you peace! But now it is hidden from your sight, ⁴³ because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will level you to the ground—you and those who live within your city limits. They will not leave one stone on another within your walls, because you didn’t recognize the time when you were visited.”

¹¹ He sent another servant, and they beat him, too, treated him shamefully, and sent him back empty-handed. ¹² Then he sent a third, and they wounded him and threw him out, too.
¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I’ll send my son whom I love. Maybe they’ll respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the farmers saw him, they talked it over among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours!’

¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people,

⁷ When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will wage war against them, conquer them, and kill them. ⁸ Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. I was very surprised when I saw her.

⁷ then I will eliminate Israel from the land that I gave them and from the Temple that I’ve consecrated for my name. I will throw them out of my sight, and Israel will become the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!

²⁰ then I will tear them up by the roots from the ground that I had given them! And as for this Temple that I have set apart for my name, I will throw it out of my sight and make it the butt of jokes and a means of ridicule among people worldwide! ²¹ “Furthermore, even though this Temple seems so exalted, everyone who passes by it will be so astounded that they will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land and to this Temple?’

²⁴ May you pour out your fury on them. May your burning anger overtake them.

¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a desert; Zion has become like a desert, Jerusalem a desolation. ¹¹ Our holy Temple and our splendor, where our ancestors praised you, have become a conflagration of fire, and all our dearest places have become ruins. ¹² LORD, after all this, can you hold yourself back? Can you keep silent and punish us so severely?

⁹ Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear by false gods, burn incense to Baal, follow other gods that you don’t know, ¹⁰ and then come to stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, ‘We’re delivered’ so we can continue to do all these things that are repugnant to God? ¹¹ Has this house that is called by my name become a hideout for bandits in your eyes? Look, I’m watching,” declares the LORD. ¹² “Go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I first caused my name to dwell. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. ¹³ Now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD, “I spoke to you over and over again, but you didn’t listen. I called to you, but you didn’t answer. ¹⁴ Just as I did to Shiloh, I’ll do to the house in which you trust and which is called by my name, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors.

⁵ But if you don’t listen to these words, I swear,” declares the LORD, “that this house will become a ruin.”’”

²⁶ Then after the 62 weeks, the anointed one will be cut down (but not for himself). Then the people of the Coming Commander will destroy both the city and the Sanctuary. Its ending will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war, with desolations having been decreed.

¹ Destruction of Lebanon and Bashan Open your doors, Lebanon, and fire will consume your cedars. ² Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen while the stately trees are destroyed. Wail, oak trees of Bashan, for the old growth forest has been cut down.

⁶ Therefore I will no longer show compassion upon those who live in the land,” declares the LORD. “Look! I will deliver every single person into the control of his neighbor and into the control of the king. Even though they assault the land, I will not deliver it from their control.”

¹ The LORD Comes to the Mount of Olives“Look! A day is coming for the LORD, when your plunder will be divided among you. ² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city.

² But he told them, “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you with certainty, there isn’t a single stone here that will be left standing on top of another. They will all be torn down.”

¹⁴ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration standing where it should not be (let the reader take note), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

³⁵ Look! Your house is left vacant to you. 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!’”

⁶ “As for these things that you see, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another that won’t be knocked down.”

²⁰ Signs of the End
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then understand that its devastation is approaching.

²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be carried off as captives among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the unbelievers until the times of the unbelievers are fulfilled.”

¹³ They had false witnesses stand up and say, “This man never stops saying things against this Holy Place and against the Law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”

²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Let us bless you from the LORD’s house.

⁹ Here is Your God“Climb up a high mountain, you messenger of good news to Zion! Lift up your voice with strength, you messenger to Jerusalem! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ ¹⁰ Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him. 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.”

⁴ Likewise, the people of Israel will dwell a long time without a king, without a prince, without sacrifice, without sacred pillars, and with neither ephod nor teraphim.

¹⁰ I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplications, and they will look to me—the one whom they pierced.’”
Mourning in JerusalemThen they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son.

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!”

²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
²⁷ Led by the Spirit, he went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the Law, ²⁸ Simeon took the infant in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹ “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace according to your promise, ³⁰ because my eyes have seen your salvation,

²² All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
²³ Then turning to his disciples in private, he told them, “How blessed are the eyes that see what you see!

²² Then Jesus told the disciples, “The time will come during which you will long to see one of these days when the Son of Man is with you, but you will not see it.

²¹ The One from AboveLater on, he told them again, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me, but you will die in your sin. You cannot come where I’m going.”

²⁴ That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”

⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”

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

¹⁹ “In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.

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

¹⁴ However, their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil is still there when they read the old covenant. Only in union with the Messiah is that veil removed. ¹⁵ Yet even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord’s Spirit.