Mark 12 Cross References - LEB

¹ And he began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. ² And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers. ³ And they seized him and* beat him* and sent him* away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent* many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed. ⁶ He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!' ⁸ And they seized and* killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What* will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture:
'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.* ¹¹ This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"* ¹² And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and* went away. ¹³ And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement. ¹⁴ And when they* came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and _⌊you do not care what anyone thinks_⌋,* _⌊because you do not regard the opinion of people_⌋* but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" ¹⁵ But because he* knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it!"* ¹⁶ So they brought one.* And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" And they said to him, "Caesar's." ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And they were utterly amazed at him. ¹⁸ And Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came up to him and began to ask* him, saying, ¹⁹ "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone's brother dies and he leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, that his brother should take the wife and _⌊father_⌋* descendants for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers, and the first took a wife. And when he* died, he did not leave descendants. ²¹ And the second took her, and he died without leaving descendants. And the third likewise. ²² And the seven did not leave descendants. Last of all the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise, _⌊whose_⌋* wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife. ²⁴ Jesus said to them, "Are you not deceived because of this, because you* do not know the scriptures or the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ Now concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses _⌊in the passage about the bush_⌋* how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'?* ²⁷ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken!" ²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and* heard them debating. When he* saw that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" ²⁹ Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.'* ³¹ The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'* There is no other commandment greater than these." ³² And the scribe said to him, "That is true, Teacher. You have said _⌊correctly_⌋* that he is one and there is no other except him. ³³ And to love him from your* whole heart and from your* whole understanding and from your* whole strength, and to love your* neighbor as yourself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." ³⁴ And Jesus, when he* saw that he had answered thoughtfully, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to put a question to him any longer. ³⁵ And continuing, Jesus said while* teaching in the temple courts,* "How can the scribes say that the Christ is David's son? ³⁶ David himself said by the Holy Spirit,
'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet." '* ³⁷ David himself calls him 'Lord,' and how is he his son?" And the large crowd was listening to him gladly. ³⁸ And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!" ⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the contribution box and* was observing how the crowd was putting coins into the contribution box. And many rich people were putting in many coins.* ⁴² And one poor widow came and* put in two small copper coins* (that is, a penny).* ⁴³ And summoning his disciples, he said to them, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all those who put offerings* into the contribution box. ⁴⁴ For they all _⌊contributed_⌋* out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in everything she had, her whole means of subsistence."

¹³ Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments. ¹⁴ You made known your holy Sabbath to them and gave them commandments, regulations, and law* by the hand of your servant Moses.

⁶⁸ but chose the tribe of Judah, _⌊Mount Zion_⌋* that he loved. ⁶⁹ And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.

⁸ You uprooted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. ⁹ You prepared a place before it, and _⌊it took deep root_⌋* and filled the land. ¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shade, and the mighty cedars with its boughs. ¹¹ It spread its branches to the sea and its shoots to the river. ¹² Why have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass on the road pluck fruit from it? ¹³ Swine from the forests devour* it and creatures of the field feed on it. ¹⁴ Please return, O God of hosts. Observe from heaven and see, and pay attention to this vine, ¹⁵ eventhe stalk that your right hand planted, and concerning the shoot* you strengthened for yourself. ¹⁶ It is burned with fire, cut down. They perish at the rebuke of your face.

¹⁹ He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. ²⁰ He has not done so for any nation, and they do not know his ordinances. Praise Yah.*

¹¹ _⌊Solomon had a vineyard_⌋* at Baal-hamon; _⌊he entrusted his vineyard to the keepers_⌋;* _⌊people paid a thousand silver pieces for its fruit_⌋.* ¹² _⌊My own "vineyard" belongs to me_⌋;* the "thousand" are for you, O Solomon, _⌊and "two hundred" for those who tend its fruit_⌋.*

¹ Let me sing for my beloved a song of my love concerning his vineyard: _⌊My beloved had a vineyard_⌋* on _⌊a fertile hill_⌋.* ² And he dug it and cleared it of stones, and he planted it with choice vines,* and he built a watchtower in the middle of it, and he even hewed out a wine vat in it, and he waited for it to yield grapes— but it yielded wild grapes. ³ And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men* of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. ⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why did I hope for it to yield grapes, and it yielded wild grapes?

²³ And this shall happen on that day: Every place where there are a thousand vines* for a thousand silver pieces will become briers,* and it will be thornbushes.*

²¹ Yet I planted you as a choice vine, all of it a seed of trustworthiness. How then have you altered before me into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine?

¹¹ and I gave my statutes to them, and my regulations I made known to them, which, if a person does them, then he will live by them. ¹² And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them _⌊so they would know_⌋* that I, Yahweh, am the one sanctifying them.

¹⁸ "And I said to their children in the desert, 'You must not go in the statutes of your parents;* you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols. ¹⁹ I, Yahweh, am your God, so go in my statutes and keep my regulations and do them. ²⁰ And treat my Sabbaths as holy, and they will be a sign between me and between you _⌊that you may know_⌋* that I, Yahweh, am your God.'

⁴⁹ Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, 'Is he not posing a parable?'"

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and* said to him, "_⌊Why_⌋* do you speak to them in parables?" ¹¹ And he answered and* said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, ¹⁴ and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,
"_⌊You will listen carefully_⌋* and will never understand, and _⌊you will look closely_⌋* and will never perceive. ¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."*

³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, ³⁵ in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,
"I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation."**

²⁸ "Now what do you think? A man had two sons. He approached* the first and* said, 'Son, go work in the vineyard today.'

¹⁴ For it is like a man going on a journey. He summoned his own slaves and handed over his property to them.

² And he began to teach* them many things in parables, and was saying to them in his teaching,

¹¹ And he said to them, "To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables, ¹² so that
'_⌊they may look closely_⌋* and not perceive, and _⌊they may listen carefully_⌋* and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.'"* ¹³ And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables?

³³ And with many parables such as these he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it.* ³⁴ And he did not speak to them without a parable, but in private he explained everything to his own disciples.

¹ And he began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey. ² And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers. ³ And they seized him and* beat him* and sent him* away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent* many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed. ⁶ He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!' ⁸ And they seized and* killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What* will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture:
'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.* ¹¹ This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"* ¹² And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and* went away.

³⁴ It is like a man away on a journey, who left his house and gave his slaves authority—to each one his work—and to the doorkeeper he gave orders that he should be on the alert.

¹⁰ And he said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables, so that
'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'*

⁶ And he told this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.* ⁷ So he said to the gardener, 'Behold, _⌊for three years_⌋* I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and did not find any.* Cut it down!* Why should it even exhaust the soil?' ⁸ But he answered and* said to him, 'Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put manure on it.* ⁹ And if indeed it produces fruit in the coming year, so much the better,* but if not, you can cut it down.'"

¹³ And after not many days, the younger son gathered everything and* went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth by* living wastefully.

¹² Therefore he said, "A certain nobleman traveled to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

⁹ And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man* planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time. ¹⁰ And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed after* beating him.* ¹¹ And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, and* sent him* away empty-handed. ¹² And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded and* threw out this one also. ¹³ So the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' ¹⁴ But when* the tenant farmers saw him, they began to reason* with one another, saying, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will become ours!' ¹⁵ And they threw him out of the vineyard and* killed him.* What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others." And when they* heard this,* they said, "May this never happen!" ¹⁷ But he looked intently at them and* said, "What then is this that is written:
'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.'* ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!" ¹⁹ And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay their* hands on him at that same hour, and they were afraid of the people, for they knew that he had told this parable with reference to them.

⁹ So they said to him, "Where do you want us to prepare it?"*

¹ "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch that does not bear fruit in me, he removes it, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it in order that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. Just as the branch is not able to bear fruit from itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. ⁵ "I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and dries up, and they gather them and throw them* into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this: that you bear much fruit, and prove to be my disciples.

³⁸ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who with our fathers received living oracles to give to us,

⁴⁶ who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.* ⁴⁷ But Solomon built a house for him.

¹ Therefore, what is the advantage of the Jew, or what is the use of circumcision? ² Much in every way. For first, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

⁴ who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, ⁵ to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed _⌊forever_⌋*! Amen.

¹⁷ Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although you* were a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them and became a sharer of the root of the olive tree's richness, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you boast against them, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, "Branches were broken off in order that I could be grafted in." ²⁰ Well said! They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand firm because of faith. Do not think arrogant thoughts, but be afraid. ²¹ For if God did not spare the _⌊natural_⌋* branches, neither will he spare you.* ²² See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity upon those who have fallen, but upon you the kindness of God—if you continue in his kindness, for otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And those also, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are _⌊natural branches_⌋* be grafted into their own olive tree?

⁸ Yahweh sent a prophet to the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* and he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought you up from Egypt; I brought you from the house of slavery.* ⁹ I delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors, and drove them out from _⌊before you_⌋;* and I gave you their land. ¹⁰ And I said to you, 'I am Yahweh your God; do not fear* the gods of the Amorites,* in whose land you are living.' But you have not listened to my voice."

¹³ Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of his every prophet, with every seer saying, "Turn from all of your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my ordinances, according to all the law which I commanded your ancestors,* which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets."

¹⁵ And Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* had repeatedly and persistently sent to them by the hand of his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.

¹¹ which you commanded by the hand of your servants the prophets saying, 'The land that you are entering to possess is a land of impurity with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their detestable things which they have filled from end to end with their uncleanness.

³ And so, he is like a tree planted by streams of water that gives its fruit in its season; its leaf also does not wither. Therefore all that he does prospers.

⁴ And though Yahweh has sent all his servants the prophets to you _⌊over and over again_⌋* you have not listened, and you have not inclined your ear to hear, ⁵ _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors* from a long time back and until forever,

¹⁵ And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, _⌊I have sent them over and over again_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please each one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and you must not go after other gods to serve them, _⌊so that you may live_⌋* on the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.'* But you did not incline your ear and you did not listen to me.

⁴ And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, _⌊sending over and over again_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* "Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate."

¹ Woe is me! For I have become like the gatherings of summer, like the gleanings of the grape harvest, when there is no cluster of grapes to eat or early ripened fruit that my soul desires.

³ You must say to them: 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return to me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts, "and I will return to you," says Yahweh of hosts. ⁴ "Do not be like your ancestors,* to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!" ' But they did not hear* and they did not pay attention* to me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁵ "Your ancestors,* where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors?* And they repented and said, 'Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.'" '"

⁷ Are not these the words that Yahweh proclaimed _⌊through_⌋* the former prophets, when Jerusalem and _⌊its surrounding towns_⌋* were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev* and the Shephelah* were inhabited?'"

³⁴ And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit.

⁴⁸ But the one who did not know and did things deserving blows _⌊will be given a light beating_⌋.* And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him for even more.

¹⁰ And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed after* beating him.*

¹ Although* God spoke long ago in many parts* and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets,

⁴ It had happened that when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them _⌊by fifties_⌋* in the cave and sustained them with food and water.)

¹³ Has it not been told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh? I hid a hundred men of the prophets of Yahweh _⌊by fifties_⌋* in the cave, and I sustained them with food and water.

¹⁰ Then he said, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of hosts, for the _⌊Israelites_⌋* have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life.

¹⁴ He said, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of Hosts, for the _⌊Israelites_⌋* have forsaken your covenant, demolished your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword; I alone am left, and they seek to take my life!"

²⁷ and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this fellow in the house of imprisonment and feed him reduced rations of food and water until I come in peace." '"

¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in _⌊the prison_⌋,* for he was enraged with him concerning this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

¹⁹ But he sent prophets among them, to bring them back to Yahweh. And they testified against them, and they did not obey. ²⁰ Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.'" ²¹ Then they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh.

¹⁶ But they were mocking the messengers of God and despising his words and scoffing at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh rose against his people until there was no remedy.

²⁶ "But they rebelled and were rebellious against you and cast your law* behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them to turn back to you, and they did great blasphemies.

³⁰ "For _⌊in vain_⌋* I have struck your children. They accepted no discipline. Your sword devoured your prophets, like a ravening* lion.

² Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the temple of Yahweh.

²⁰ Indeed, there also was a man prophesying in the name of Yahweh, Uriah, the son of Shemaiah, from Kiriath-Jearim, and he prophesied against this city and against this land like all the words of Jeremiah. ²¹ And when King Jehoiakim, and all his warriors, and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard, and he was afraid, and he fled and went to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt. Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and men with him went to Egypt. ²³ And they brought out Uriah from Egypt and they brought him to King Jehoiakim, and he struck him down with the sword, and he threw his dead body into the burial sites of the sons of the people. ²⁴ However, the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not given into the hand of the people to put him to death.

²⁶ "Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers in the house of Yahweh over any mad man who exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron,

¹⁵ And the officials were angry at Jeremiah and they struck him. And they put him in _⌊prison_⌋,* in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for they had converted it to the _⌊prison_⌋*. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah came to the _⌊dungeon_⌋*, even to the vaulted cells, and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

⁴ Then the officials said to the king, "Please, this man must be killed, _⌊because_⌋* he is making slack the hands of _⌊the soldiers_⌋* who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking to them words like these, for this man is not seeking for welfare* to this people, _⌊but only_⌋* for harm." ⁵ And Zedekiah the king said, "Look, he is in your hand, for the king is not able to do a thing against you." ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit* of Malchiah, the son of the king, which was in the courtyard of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now in the pit* there was no water,* _⌊but only_⌋* mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

⁴ And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, _⌊sending over and over again_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* "Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate." ⁵ But they did not listen and they did not incline their ears* to turn back from their wickedness, to not make smoke offerings to other gods.

¹⁶ "Concerning the word that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we are not going to listen to you!

¹⁰ and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law _⌊which he placed before us_⌋* by the hand of his servants the prophets. ¹¹ "And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

⁹ "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Judge with trustworthy justice, and show* steadfast love and compassion _⌊to one another_⌋.* ¹⁰ You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart _⌊against one another_⌋.'* ¹¹ But they refused to listen, and turned* a stubborn shoulder and _⌊stopped their ears from listening_⌋.* ¹² _⌊They made their hearts adamant_⌋* in order not to hear the law* and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through* the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. ¹³ 'Thus, just as I* called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,' says Yahweh of hosts.

³⁴ For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation! ³⁷ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together _⌊the way_⌋* a hen gathers her young together under her* wings, and you were not willing!

⁴⁷ Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! ⁴⁸ As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build their tombs!* ⁴⁹ For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building.* Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation!

³³ Nevertheless, it is necessary for me to be on the way today and tomorrow and on the next day, because it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem. ³⁴ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together _⌊the way_⌋* a hen gathers* her own brood under her* wings, and you were not willing!

¹⁰ And at the proper time he sent a slave to the tenant farmers, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenant farmers sent him away empty-handed after* beating him.* ¹¹ And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, and* sent him* away empty-handed. ¹² And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded and* threw out this one also.

⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become,

¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecuted us, and who are not pleasing to God and are opposed to all people,

³⁶ And others _⌊experienced mocking and flogging_⌋*, and in addition bonds and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted, mistreated,

³⁰ You were patient toward them for many years, and you have warned them by your spirit through the hand of your prophets, but they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the nations of the lands.

²⁵ From the day that your ancestors* came out from the land of Egypt until this day I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, day after day, _⌊sending again and again_⌋.* ²⁶ Yet they have not listened to me and they have not inclined their ear, but they have hardened their neck, they did more evil than their ancestors.* ²⁷ So you shall speak to them all these words, but they will not listen to you, and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. ²⁸ "And you shall say to them, 'This is the nation that has not obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God, and they have not accepted discipline. The truth has perished, and it is cut off from their mouths.*

¹² Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

³⁵ And the tenant farmers seized his slaves, one of whom they beat, and one of whom they killed, and one of whom they stoned. ³⁶ Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first ones, and they did the same thing to them.

⁶ And the others, seizing his slaves, mistreated them* and killed them.*

³⁷ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together _⌊the way_⌋* a hen gathers her young together under her* wings, and you were not willing!

¹³ But I tell you that indeed Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him."

²² Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to do the same things to the prophets.

³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!*

² And he said, "Take your son, your only child, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains where* I will tell you."

¹² And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the boy; do not do anything to him. For now I know that you are _⌊one who fears_⌋* God, since you have not withheld your son, your only child, from me."

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a son of his old age. And he made a robe with long sleeves* for him.

¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. ¹² Now his brothers went to pasture the flock of their father in Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, let me send you to them." And he said, "Here I am."

²⁰ And we said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and a younger brother, the child of his old age, and his brother died, and he alone remains from his mother, and his father loves him.'

⁷ I will tell the decree; Yahweh said to me: "You are my son; today I have begotten you.

¹² Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish on the way, for his anger burns quickly. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

¹ Look! here is my servant; I hold him, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have _⌊put_⌋* my spirit on him; he will bring justice forth to the nations.

²³ "Behold, the virgin _⌊will become pregnant_⌋* and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,"*
which is translated, "God with us."*

¹⁷ And behold, there was* a voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and _⌊anyone to whom_⌋* the Son wants to reveal him.*

⁵ While* he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

⁶³ But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!"

¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

⁷ And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!"

²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

³⁵ And a voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him!"

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him* known.

³⁴ And I have seen and testify that this one is the Chosen One* of God.

⁴⁹ Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!"

¹⁶ For in this way God loved the world, so that he gave his one and only Son, in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world in order that he should judge* the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him. ¹⁸ The one who believes in him is not judged,* but the one who does not believe has already been judged,* because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

²³ in order that all people* will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

¹ Although* God spoke long ago in many parts* and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets, ² in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world,*

⁶ And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
"And let all the angels of God worship him."*

⁹ By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God sent his one and only Son into the world in order that we may live through him.

¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

⁹ And they were singing a new song, saying,
"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and bought people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation, ¹⁰ and made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth." ¹¹ And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and of the living creatures and of the elders, and their number was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands times thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" ¹³ And I heard every creature that is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and everything in them saying,
"To the one who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power* _⌊forever and ever_⌋*."

¹⁵ And I will put hostility between you and between the woman, and between your offspring* and between her offspring;* he will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel."

²⁰ Now then, come, let us kill him and throw him in one of the pits. Then we will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams become."

² The kings of the earth establish themselves, and the rulers conspire* together against Yahweh and his anointed: ³ "Let us tear off their bonds, and cast their cords from us!"

¹² Many bulls have encircled me; mighty bulls of Bashan have surrounded me. ¹³ They open their mouth against me like a lion tearing and roaring. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted _⌊within me_⌋.* ¹⁵ My strength is dry like a potsherd, and my tongue is sticking to my jaws; and you have placed me in the dust of death.

⁷ Thus says Yahweh, the redeemer of Israel, his holy one,
to the one who despises* life, to the one who abhors the nation, to the slave of rulers: "Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall bow down, for the sake of Yahweh, who is faithful, the holy one of Israel, and he has chosen you."

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet* he did not open his mouth; he was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep is dumb before its shearers, so* he did not open his mouth. ⁸ He was taken by restraint of justice, and who concerned himself with his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he received a blow because of the transgression of my people.

³ And when* King Herod heard it,* he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, ⁴ and after* calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶ 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will go out a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"* ⁷ Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and* determined precisely from them the time when* the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and* said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and* worship him." ⁹ After* they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising* led them until it came and* stood above the place where the child was. ¹⁰ Now when they* saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. ¹¹ And when they* came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and* worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. ¹³ Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he* saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers* and* executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.

¹² And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and* went away.

⁴⁷ So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Sanhedrin and said, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs! ⁴⁸ If we allow him to go on in this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place* and our* nation." ⁴⁹ But a certain one of them, Caiaphas (who was high priest in that year), said to them, "You do not know anything at all! ⁵⁰ Nor do you consider that it is profitable for you that one man should die for the people, and the whole nation not perish."

²³ this man, delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by* nailing to a cross* through the hand of lawless men.

²⁸ saying, "_⌊We strictly commanded_⌋* you* not to teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching! And you are intending to bring upon us the blood of this man!"

²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they* did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them* by* condemning him.* ²⁸ And although they* found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed.

³³ "Listen to another parable: There was a man—a master of a house—who planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.

³⁹ And they seized him and* threw him* out of the vineyard and killed him.*

¹⁵ And they threw him out of the vineyard and* killed him.* What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

¹¹ For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sins are burned up outside the camp. ¹² Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, in order that he might sanctify the people by his own blood. ¹³ So we must go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.

¹⁵ and if you reject my statutes and if your inner self* abhors my regulations, to not carry out* all my commands by your breaking my covenant, ¹⁶ I _⌊in turn_⌋* will do this to you: then* I will summon onto you horror, the wasting disease, and the fever that wastes eyes and that drains away life; and you shall sow your seed _⌊in vain_⌋,* and your enemies shall eat it. ¹⁷ And I will set my face against you, and you shall be defeated _⌊before_⌋* your enemies; and your haters shall rule over you, and you shall flee away, but* there shall not be _⌊anybody who is pursuing_⌋* you. ¹⁸ " 'And if in spite of these things you do not listen to me, then* I will continue to discipline you seven times for your sins.

²³ " 'And if you do not accept correction from* me through these things, but* you go against me in hostility, ²⁴ then* I myself* will also go against you in hostility, and I myself* also will strike you seven times for your sins.

²⁷ " 'And if through this you do not listen to me and you go against me in hostility, ²⁸ then* I will go against you in hostile anger, and also* I myself* will discipline you seven times for your sins.

²⁶ I call* to witness against you today the heaven and the earth, that you will perish soon and completely from the land that you are crossing the Jordan into it to take possession of it; _⌊you will not live long on it_⌋,* but you will be completely destroyed. ²⁷ And Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left _⌊few in number_⌋* among the nations _⌊to where Yahweh will lead you_⌋.*

¹⁵ "_⌊And then_⌋* if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God _⌊by diligently observing_⌋* all of his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋,* then all of these curses shall come upon you, and they shall overtake you: ¹⁶ "You shall* be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field. ¹⁷ "Your basket shall be cursed and your kneading trough. ¹⁸ "The fruit of your womb shall be cursed and the fruit of you ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock. ¹⁹ "You shall be cursed _⌊when you come in_⌋,* and you shall be cursed _⌊when you go out_⌋.* ²⁰ "Yahweh will send upon you* the curse,* the panic,* and the threat* _⌊in everything that you undertake_⌋,* _⌊until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly_⌋* _⌊because of_⌋* the evil of your deeds in that* you have forsaken me. ²¹ Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you _⌊until it consumes you_⌋* from the land that you are going to,* to take possession of it. ²² Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword* and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you _⌊until you perish_⌋.* ²³ And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron. ²⁴ Yahweh will change the rain of your land to fine dust and to sand; from the heaven it shall come down upon you _⌊until you are destroyed_⌋.* ²⁵ "Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated _⌊before_⌋* your enemies; on one road you shall go _⌊against_⌋* them,* but you will flee on seven roads _⌊before_⌋* them,* and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ And your dead bodies shall be as food for all of the birds of the heaven and to the animals of the earth, and there shall not be _⌊anyone to frighten them away_⌋.* ²⁷ "Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with _⌊the skin rash that cannot be healed_⌋.* ²⁸ Yahweh shall afflict you with madness and with blindness and with confusion of heart. ²⁹ And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed _⌊all the time_⌋,* and there will not be _⌊anyone who will rescue you_⌋. * ³⁰ You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall sleep* with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not live in it; a vineyard you shall plant, but you shall not enjoy it. ³¹ Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat it; your donkey shall be stolen right _⌊before you_⌋,* and it shall not be returned to you; your sheep and your goats shall be given to your enemies, and _⌊there shall not be anyone who rescues you_⌋.* ³² Your sons and your daughters shall be given to other people, and _⌊you will be looking on_⌋* _⌊longingly_⌋* for* them all day, _⌊but you will be powerless to do anything_⌋.* ³³ A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed _⌊for the rest of your lives_⌋.* ³⁴ You shall become mad _⌊because of what your eyes shall see_⌋.* ³⁵ Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which _⌊you will not be able to be healed_⌋,* from the sole of your foot and up to your crown. ³⁶ Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors* have not known, and there you will serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ And you will become a horror and a proverb and ridicule among all the peoples where Yahweh drives you there. ³⁸ "You shall carry out much seed to the field, but you shall gather little produce, for the locust shall devour it. ³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress* them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it.* ⁴⁰ There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives* shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall bear sons and daughters, but they shall not be _⌊yours_⌋,* for they shall go into captivity. ⁴² The cricket shall take possession of all your trees and the fruit of your ground. ⁴³ The alien that is in your midst shall ascend over you, higher and higher, but you shall go down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, but you shall be the tail. ⁴⁵ "And all of these curses shall come over you, and they shall pursue you, and they shall overtake you _⌊until you are destroyed_⌋,* because _⌊you did not listen_⌋* to the voice of Yahweh your God, _⌊by observing_⌋* his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. ⁴⁶ And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring _⌊forever_⌋.* ⁴⁷ "_⌊Because_⌋* of the fact that you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything, ⁴⁸ then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you under conditions of famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in a lack of everything; and he shall place* a yoke of iron on your neck _⌊until he has destroyed you_⌋.* ⁴⁹ Yahweh will raise up against you a nation from far off, from the end of the earth, attacking as the eagle swoops down, _⌊a nation whose language you will not understand_⌋,* ⁵⁰ _⌊a grim-faced nation_⌋* _⌊who does not show respect_⌋* to the old and the young and does not show pity. ⁵¹ And it* shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground _⌊until you are destroyed_⌋,* and who will not leave for you any grain, wine, and olive oil, _⌊calves of your herds_⌋,* and _⌊lambs of_⌋* your flock _⌊until it has destroyed you_⌋.* ⁵² And it shall besiege you in all your towns _⌊until your high and fortified walls fall_⌋,* which you are trusting in* _⌊throughout your land_⌋;* and it shall besiege you in all of your towns in all of your land that Yahweh your God has given to you. ⁵³ And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave to you, _⌊during the siege and during the distress_⌋* your enemy inflicts upon you. ⁵⁴ The most refined and the very sensitive* man among you _⌊shall be mean with his brother_⌋* and _⌊against his beloved wife_⌋* and against the rest* of his children that he has left over, ⁵⁵ _⌊by refraining from giving_⌋* to even one of them any of the meat of his children that he eats, because there is not anything that is left over for him _⌊during the siege and distress_⌋* that your enemy inflicts upon you. ⁵⁶ The most refined and the most delicate woman among you, who shall* not venture to put the sole of her foot on the ground from being so delicate and from such gentleness, _⌊shall be mean to her beloved husband_⌋* and against her son and against her daughter, ⁵⁷ and even concerning her afterbirth _⌊that goes out_⌋* from between her feet and also concerning her children that she bears, because she eats them for lack of anything in secret _⌊during the siege and during the distress_⌋* that your enemy inflicts upon her in your _⌊towns_⌋.* ⁵⁸ "If _⌊you do not diligently observe_⌋* all the words of this law written in this scroll by revering this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your God, ⁵⁹ then Yahweh shall overwhelm you with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring. ⁶⁰ And he shall bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt concerning which _⌊you were in dread_⌋* _⌊because of them_⌋.* ⁶¹ Also any illness and any plague* that is not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed. ⁶² And you shall remain _⌊only a few people_⌋* in place of the fact you were formerly as the stars of heaven as far as number is concerned, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. ⁶³ _⌊And then_⌋* as Yahweh delighted over you _⌊to make you prosperous_⌋* to make you numerous, so Yahweh shall delight over you to exterminate you* and to destroy you, and so you shall be plucked from the land that you are going there to take possession of it. ⁶⁴ And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor* your ancestors,* gods of wood and stone. ⁶⁵ And among these nations you shall not find rest, and there shall not be a resting place for the sole of your foot, and Yahweh shall give you there an anxious heart and a weakening of eyes* and a languishing of your inner self.* ⁶⁶ And _⌊your life shall hang in doubt before you_⌋,* and you shall be startled* night and day, and you shall not be confident of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you shall say, '_⌊If only it was evening_⌋!'* and in the evening you shall say '_⌊If only it was morning_⌋!'* because of the dread of your heart that you shall feel, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see. ⁶⁸ And Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt in ships by the route that I _⌊promised_⌋* to you that '_⌊You shall not see it again_⌋!'* And you shall sell yourself there to your enemies as slaves and as female slaves, but there will not be a buyer."

¹⁵ But just as all the good things* came to you that Yahweh your God promised, so will Yahweh bring to you all the bad things* until he has destroyed you from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

²⁴ Because I called out and you refused me, I stretched out my hand, yet there is none who heeds. ²⁵ You have ignored all my counsel, and my reproof you are not willing to accept. ²⁶ I will also laugh at your calamity;* I will mock when panic* comes upon you. ²⁷ When your panic comes like a storm, and your calamity arrives like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, ²⁸ then they will call* me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but not find me. ²⁹ Since they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Yahweh, ³⁰ they were not willing to accept my counsel, they despised all my reproof. ³¹ They shall eat from the fruit of their way, and they shall be sated from their own schemes,

⁵ And now let me tell you what I myself am about to do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge, and it shall become a devastation. I will break down its wall, and it shall become a trampling. ⁶ And I will make it a wasteland; it shall not be pruned and hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers* and thornbushes.* And concerning the clouds, I will command _⌊them not to send_⌋* rain down upon it. ⁷ For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel, and the man* of Judah is the plantation of his delight. And he waited for justice,* but look! Bloodshed!* For righteousness,* but look! A cry of distress!*

¹⁷ _⌊In a very little while_⌋* shall not Lebanon change into a fruitful land, and the fruitful land be regarded as a forest?

¹⁵ Until a spirit is poured out on us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is reckoned as the forest. ¹⁶ Then* justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness will live in the fruitful field.

¹⁵ And you shall leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse, and the Lord Yahweh will kill you, and he will _⌊give_⌋* his servants another name.

³ O my mountain in the open country, I will give your wealth, all your treasures, for spoil, your high places, because of your sin, throughout all your territories.

²⁶ "And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one* shall be cut off, and _⌊he shall have nothing_⌋,* and the people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary,* and its end will be with the flood and on to the end there shall be war; these desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week, but in half of the week he will let cease sacrifice and offering _⌊and in its place_⌋* a desolating abomination comes even until _⌊the determined complete destruction_⌋* is poured out on the desolator."

⁷ "O sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, so that the sheep* may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the small ones. ⁸ _⌊And then_⌋* in all the land," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "_⌊two thirds_⌋* will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left alive* in it. ⁹ And I will bring the remaining third into the fire, and I will refine them like one refines silver, and I will test them like one tests gold. They* will call my name, and I will answer them.* I will say, 'They* are my people,' and they* will say, 'Yahweh is my God.'"

¹¹ From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations," says Yahweh of hosts.

⁹ And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁰ Already now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

¹¹ But I say to you that many will come from east and west and _⌊be seated at the banquet_⌋* with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" ¹³ And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you." And the slave* was healed at that hour.

⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and* live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be for this evil generation also!"

⁴⁰ Now when the master of the vineyard arrives, what will he do to those tenant farmers?" ⁴¹ They said to him, "He will destroy those evil men completely and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their season."

⁴³ For this reason, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people* who produce its fruits.

⁷ And the king was angry and sent his troops and* destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

³⁴ For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation! ³⁷ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together _⌊the way_⌋* a hen gathers her young together under her* wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸ Behold, your house has been left to you desolate!

²⁷ But these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them* here and slaughter them in my presence!'"

⁴¹ And when he approached and* saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, "If you had known on this day—even you—the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For days will come upon you and your enemies will put up an embankment* against you, and will surround you and press you hard from all directions. ⁴⁴ And they will raze you to the ground, you and your children within you, and will not leave a stone upon a stone within you, _⌊because_⌋* you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

¹⁵ And they threw him out of the vineyard and* killed him.* What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others." And when they* heard this,* they said, "May this never happen!"

⁴⁶ Both Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and* said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you, since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life! Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles! ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us:
'I have appointed you _⌊to be_⌋* a light for the Gentiles, _⌊that you would bring_⌋* salvation to the end of the earth.'* ⁴⁸ And when* the Gentiles heard this,* they began to rejoice* and to glorify the word of the Lord. And all those who were designated for eternal life believed.

²³ And when they* had set a day with him, many more came to him at his lodging place, to whom he was explaining from early in the morning until evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and attempting to convince* them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. ²⁴ And some were convinced by* what was said, but others refused to believe. ²⁵ So being in disagreement with one another, they began to leave after* Paul made one statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through the prophet Isaiah to your fathers, ²⁶ saying,
'Go to this people and say, "_⌊You will keep on hearing_⌋* and will never understand, and _⌊you will keep on seeing_⌋* and will never perceive. ²⁷ For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their* ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, lest they see with their* eyes, and hear with their* ears, and understand with their* heart, and turn, and I would heal them." '* ²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They also will listen!"*

³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness—even the righteousness that is by faith. ³¹ But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, did not attain to the law. ³² Why that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if by works. They stumbled over the _⌊stone that causes people to stumble_⌋*, ³³ just as it is written,
"Behold, I am laying in Zion _⌊a stone that causes people to stumble_⌋*, and _⌊a rock that causes them to fall_⌋*, and the one who believes in him will not be put to shame."*

²⁰ And Isaiah is very bold and says,
"I was found by those who did not seek me; I became known to those who did not ask for me."*

²² The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. ²³ This is from Yahweh; it is wonderful in our eyes.

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this:
"Look! I am laying a stone in Zion, a _⌊tested_⌋* stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation:
'The one who trusts will not _⌊panic_⌋.'*

³ So he said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him,

⁴ And he answered and* said, "Have you not read that the one who created them* from the beginning made them male and female

¹⁶ And they said to him, "Do you hear what these children* are saying?" So Jesus said to them, "Yes, have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of children and nursing babies you have prepared for yourself praise'?"*

⁴² Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures,
'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.* This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?*

³¹ Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said,

²⁵ And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry—

²⁶ Now concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses _⌊in the passage about the bush_⌋* how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'?*

¹⁴ "But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be" (let the one who reads understand), "then those in Judea must flee to the mountains!

³ And Jesus answered and* said to them, "Have you not read this, what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry—

¹⁷ But he looked intently at them and* said, "What then is this that is written:
'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.'* ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!"

¹¹ This one* is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.* ¹² And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."

³³ just as it is written,
"Behold, I am laying in Zion _⌊a stone that causes people to stumble_⌋*, and _⌊a rock that causes them to fall_⌋*, and the one who believes in him will not be put to shame."*

²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,* ²¹ in whom the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.*

⁷ Therefore the honor is for you who believe, but for those who refuse to believe,
"The stone that the builders rejected, this one has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋*," ⁸ and
"A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,"*
who stumble because they* disobey the word to which also they were consigned.

²³ Because there is no sorcery against Jacob, and there is no divination against Israel. Now* it will be said to Jacob and Israel, what God has done!

²³ This is from Yahweh; it is wonderful in our eyes.

⁵ "Look among the nations and see; be astonished and astounded. For a work is about to be done in your days that you will not believe if it is told.

¹² And all were amazed and greatly perplexed, saying _⌊to one another_⌋,* "_⌊What can this mean?_⌋"*

³² This Jesus God raised up, of which* we all are witnesses. ³³ Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out this that you see and hear.* ³⁴ For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,
'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, ³⁵ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '* ³⁶ Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified!"

¹² And when he* saw it,* Peter replied to the people, "Men and Israelites, why are you astonished at this? Or why are you staring at us, as if by our own power or godliness we have made him walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham and of Isaac* and of Jacob,* the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, after* he had decided to release him.* ¹⁴ But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and demanded that a man—a murderer—be granted to you. ¹⁵ And you killed the originator of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses! ¹⁶ And on the basis of faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith that is through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

⁴⁰ Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon you:* ⁴¹ 'Look, you scoffers, and be astonished and perish! For I am doing a work in your days, a work that you would never believe even if someone were to tell it* to you.'"*

⁸ To me, the least of all the saints, was given this grace: to proclaim the good news of the fathomless riches of Christ to the Gentiles, ⁹ and to enlighten everyone as to what is the administration of the mystery hidden from the ages by God, who created all things, ¹⁰ in order that the many-sided wisdom of God might be made known now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places through the church, ¹¹ according to the purpose of the ages which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

²⁷ to whom God wanted to make known what is the glorious wealth of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,

¹⁶ And most certainly, great is the mystery of godliness:
Who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated by* the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the Gentiles*, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

⁷ Then Nathan said to him, "You are the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you the household of your master and the women of your master into your lap. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah; if that had been too little, I would have added to you _⌊much more_⌋.* ⁹ Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes?* Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the _⌊Ammonites_⌋!* ¹⁰ So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!' ¹¹ Thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I am going to raise up evil against you from within your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives _⌊in broad daylight_⌋.* ¹² Though you did this in secret, I will do this thing before all of Israel _⌊in broad daylight_⌋!'"* ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh!"* Nathan said to David, "Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ But because you have _⌊utterly scorned_⌋* Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you _⌊will certainly die_⌋."* ¹⁵ Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill.

³⁸ Then the prophet went and _⌊waited_⌋* for the king along the road and disguised himself with a* headband over his eyes. ³⁹ As the king was passing by, he called to the king and said, "Your servant went out in the thick of the battle, and suddenly a man turned and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man. If by any means he should be missed, it will be your life in his place, or you shall pay a talent of silver.' ⁴⁰ It happened that your servant _⌊was busy here and there_⌋,* and he _⌊disappeared_⌋."* Then the king said to him, "Your own judgment has been determined." ⁴¹ He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was from the prophets.

¹⁷ The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ "Arise, go down to meet Ahab the king of Israel who is in Samaria. Look in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it. ¹⁹ You shall say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Have you committed murder and also taken possession?" ' You shall also say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh: "In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will also lick your blood." '" ²⁰ Then Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He said, "I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ²¹ 'Look, I am bringing disaster on you, and I will sweep away after you. I will cut off for Ahab _⌊every male_⌋* in Israel, bond or free. ²² I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, _⌊because you made me angry_⌋* and have caused Israel to sin.' ²³ Moreover, concerning Jezebel, Yahweh has said, 'The dogs will eat Jezebel in the outer rampart of Jezreel.' ²⁴ The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat." ²⁵ Truly, there was no one like Ahab who had sold himself by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, whose wife Jezebel urged him on. ²⁶ Also, he acted very abominably by going after idols like all the Amorites had done whom Yahweh had driven out from before the _⌊Israelites_⌋."* ²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his flesh, fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.

²⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet."

⁴⁵ And when* the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them, ⁴⁶ and although they* wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they looked upon him as a prophet.

²² And when they* heard this,* they were astonished, and they left him and* went away.

¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it,* and began considering* how they could destroy him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching.

³² But if we say, 'From men'"—they were afraid of the crowd, because they all looked upon John _⌊as truly a prophet_⌋.*

⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, because they are convinced that John was a prophet."

¹⁹ And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay their* hands on him at that same hour, and they were afraid of the people, for they knew that he had told this parable with reference to them.

²⁵ Then some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem began to say,* "Is this not the one whom they are seeking to kill?

³⁰ So they were seeking to seize him, and no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

⁴⁴ And some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid hands on him.

¹² Those who seek my life lay snares as well, and those intent on my harm speak threats. They also plot deceit all day.

⁵ All day they twist my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. ⁶ They attack,* they hide, they watch my _⌊steps_⌋,* as they lie in wait for my life.

⁵ The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords. They have spread out a net along the _⌊side_⌋* of the path. They have set snares for me. Selah

²¹ those who mislead a person into sin with a word and set a trap for the _⌊arbitrator_⌋* in the gate and guide away the righteous by emptiness.

¹⁸ Then they said, "Come and let us plan plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will not be lost from the priest, nor advice from the wise man, nor the word from the prophet. Come and _⌊let us bring charges against him_⌋,* and let us not listen attentively to any of his words."

⁶ And Jesus said to them, "Watch out for and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went _⌊and consulted_⌋* so that they could entrap him with a statement. ¹⁶ And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and _⌊you do not care what anyone thinks_⌋,* _⌊because you do not regard the opinion of people_⌋.* ¹⁷ Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" ¹⁸ But because he* knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, "Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax!" So they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" ²¹ They said to him, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" ²² And when they* heard this,* they were astonished, and they left him and* went away.

⁶ And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians _⌊and began to conspire_⌋* against him with regard to how they could destroy him.

¹⁵ And he ordered them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!"

⁵⁴ plotting to catch him with reference to something _⌊he might say_⌋.*

²⁰ And they watched him* closely and* sent spies who pretended they were upright, in order that they could catch him in a statement, so that they could hand him over to the authority and the jurisdiction of the governor. ²¹ And they asked him, saying, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and do not _⌊show partiality_⌋,* but teach the way of God in truth. ²² Is it permitted for us to pay taxes* to Caesar or not?" ²³ But seeing through their craftiness, he said to them, ²⁴ "Show me a denarius! Whose image and inscription does it have?" And they answered and* said,* "Caesar's." ²⁵ So he said to them, "Well then, give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" ²⁶ And they were not able to catch him** in a statement in the sight of the people, and astonished at his answer, they became silent.

² You will not _⌊follow_⌋* a majority* for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority* to pervert justice. ³ You will not be partial to a powerless person* in his legal dispute. ⁴ " 'If you come upon the ox of your enemy or his donkey going astray, you will certainly bring it back to him. ⁵ If you see the donkey of your enemy lying down under its burden, you will refrain from abandoning him. You will surely arrange* it with him. ⁶ " 'You will not pervert the justice of your poor in his legal dispute.

¹⁹ You shall not subvert* justice; you shall not _⌊show partiality_⌋;* and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe makes blind the eyes of the wise and misrepresents the words of the righteous.

⁹ The one saying of his father and of his mother, 'I have not regarded them,' and his brothers he did not acknowledge, and his children* he did not know, but rather they observed your word, and your covenant they kept. ¹⁰ They taught* your regulations to Jacob, and your law to Israel; they placed incense smoke _⌊before you_⌋,* and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

¹³ But Micaiah said, "As Yahweh lives, only what my God has said, that will I speak."

⁷ So now, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you all. _⌊Be careful what you do_⌋,* for there is neither wickedness nor _⌊showing partiality_⌋* and taking bribes with Yahweh our God."

¹² be it known to the king that the Jews who have come up from near you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the wall and repairing the foundation. ¹³ Now be it known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute and toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.

³⁷ Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have given over us because of our sins, and they are ruling over our dead bodies and our livestock at their pleasure. We are in great trouble.

² They speak falseness _⌊to each other_⌋.* With flattering lips, with _⌊a double heart_⌋* they speak. ³ May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, the tongue speaking great boasts— ⁴ those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are on our side. Who is master over us?"

²¹ The _⌊buttery words_⌋* of his mouth were smooth, but there was battle in his heart. His words were smoother than oil, but they were drawn swords.

² "Deliver my life, O Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue."

²³ Like _⌊impure silver_⌋* which overlays an earthen vessel, so are smooth lips and an evil heart*. ²⁴ On his lips, an enemy will pretend, but _⌊inside_⌋* he will harbor deceit. ²⁵ When he makes his voice gracious, do not believe him, for seven abominations are in his heart. ²⁶ Though hatred is covered with guile, its evil will be exposed in the assembly.

⁷ And the Lord Yahweh helps me,
therefore I have not been put to shame; therefore I have set my face like flint. And I know that I shall not be ashamed; ⁸ he who obtains rights for me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is the master of my judgment? Let him approach me. ⁹ Look! The Lord Yahweh helps me. Who is the one who will declare me guilty? Look! All of them will be worn out like a garment; the moth will eat them.

¹⁹ Therefore thus says Yahweh,
"If you turn back, then I will take you back. You will stand _⌊before me_⌋.* And if you utter what is precious and not what is worthless, you will be as my mouth. They will turn back to you, and you will not turn back to them. ²⁰ And I will make you to this people a wall of fortified bronze, and they will fight against you, but they will not prevail over you, for I am with you, to save you, and to deliver you," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ²¹ "And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the hand of the tyrant."

² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "May our plea please fall _⌊before you_⌋,* and pray for us to Yahweh your God, for all this remnant, for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes are seeing us. ³ And let Yahweh your God inform us the way in which we should go and the thing that we should do."

²⁰ that _⌊you have made a fatal mistake_⌋,* for you sent me to Yahweh your God, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Pray for us to Yahweh our God, and all that Yahweh our God says, so tell us and we will do it.'*

⁶ And you, son of man,* you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because* briers and thorns are with you, and you are sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their _⌊looks_⌋,* for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail to listen, for they are rebellious.

⁸ But I, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of Yahweh, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his rebellion, and to Israel his sin.

²⁵ He said, "Yes." And when he* came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tolls or taxes—from their own sons, or from foreigners?" ²⁶ And when he* said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. ²⁷ But so that we do not give offense to them, go out to the sea, cast a line with* a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you* open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that and* give it* to them for me and you."

¹⁷ Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

⁴⁵ And when he* arrived, he came up to him immediately and* said, "Rabbi," and kissed him.

²² Is it permitted for us to pay taxes* to Caesar or not?"

² And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us* to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying he himself is Christ, a king!"

¹⁸ The one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory. But the one who seeks the glory of the one who sent him—this one is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities* are servants of God, busily engaged in this very thing.

² For if I cause you sorrow, then who will make me glad except the one who is caused to be sad by me?

¹⁷ For we are not like the majority who peddle the word of God, but as from pure motives—but as from God—we speak before God in Christ.

¹ Because of this, since we* have this ministry, just as we have been shown mercy, we do not lose heart,

¹¹ Therefore, because we* know the fear of the Lord, we are attempting to persuade people, but we are revealed to God, and I hope to be revealed in your consciences.

¹⁶ So then, from now on we know no one _⌊from a human point of view_⌋*, if indeed we have known Christ _⌊from a human point of view_⌋*, but now we know him this way no longer.

¹⁰ For am I now making an appeal to people or to God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.

⁶ But from those _⌊who were influential_⌋* (whatever they were, it makes no difference to me, _⌊God does not show partiality_⌋*)—for those who were influential added nothing to me.

¹¹ But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was condemned. ¹² For before certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he* was afraid of those who were of the circumcision, ¹³ and the rest of the Jews also joined in this hypocrisy with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with them in their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not being straightforward with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of them all, "If you, although you* are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

⁴ but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts.

² "Son of man,* tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel,

¹⁸ But because he* knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, "Hypocrites! Why are you testing me?

² And they asked* him if it was permitted for a man to divorce his* wife, in order to* test him.

²³ But seeing through their craftiness, he said to them,

²⁴ But Jesus himself did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people,* ²⁵ and because he did not _⌊need_⌋* anyone _⌊to testify_⌋* about man, for he himself knew what was in man.*

¹⁷ He said to him a third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed because he said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything! You know that I love you!" Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep!

⁹ So Peter said to her, "How is it that it was agreed by you two* to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!"

⁹ nor put Christ to the test, as some of them tested him, and were destroyed by snakes,

¹³ And no creature is hidden in the sight of him, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom _⌊we must give our account_⌋*.

²³ And I will kill her children with deadly disease, and all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

¹⁹ However, the solid foundation of God stands firm, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his,"* and "Everyone who names the name of the Lord must abstain from unrighteousness."

¹² The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go outside again, and I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God, and my new name.

¹² He is frustrating the devices of the crafty, and their hands do not achieve success. ¹³ He is capturing the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

²⁶ My child, may you give your heart* to me, and may your eyes delight in my ways.

²¹ Fear Yahweh, my son, and the king; with those who change, do not associate.

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for _⌊he takes no pleasure_⌋* in fools. Fulfill what you vow! ⁵ It is better that you not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

⁶ "A son honors his father, and a slave his master;* but if I am a father, where is my honor, and if I am a master,* where is my reverence?" says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests, _⌊who despise_⌋* my name. "But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'

³³ And when* the crowds heard this,* they were amazed at his teaching.

⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him any more questions.*

³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.'*

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and* said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! ²⁰ For we are not able to refrain from speaking about the things that we have seen and heard."

¹³ and do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.

¹ Therefore I exhort you, brothers, through the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.

⁷ Pay to everyone what is owed: pay taxes to whom taxes are due; pay customs duties to whom customs duties are due; pay respect to whom respect is due; pay honor to whom honor is due.*

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God with your body.

²⁴ But if all prophesy, and some unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all, ²⁵ the secret things of his heart become evident, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God, proclaiming, "God is truly among you!"

¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we* have concluded this: that one died for all; as a result all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, in order that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

¹⁷ Honor all people, love the community of believers, fear God, honor the king.*

²³ On that day Sadducees—who say there is no resurrection—came up to him and asked him, ²⁴ saying, "Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and _⌊father_⌋* descendants for his brother. ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died after* getting married, and because he* did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. ²⁷ And last of all the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife."* ²⁹ But Jesus answered and* said to them, "You are mistaken, because* you do not know the scriptures or the power of God! ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God* in heaven. ³¹ Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said, ³² "I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"?* He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!" ³³ And when* the crowds heard this,* they were amazed at his teaching.

²⁷ Now some of the Sadducees—who deny _⌊that there is a resurrection_⌋*—came up and* asked him, ²⁸ saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us if someone's brother dies having a wife, and this man is childless, that his brother should take the wife and _⌊father_⌋* descendants for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and* died childless, ³⁰ and the second, ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise also the seven did not leave children and died. ³² Finally the woman also died. ³³ Therefore in the resurrection, the woman—whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife." ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for they are not even able to die any longer, because they are like the angels and are sons of God, because they* are sons of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed in the passage about* the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him!" ³⁹ And some of the scribes answered and* said, "Teacher, you have spoken well." ⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

¹ And while* they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees approached them, ² greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

⁶ Now when* Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, "Men and brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!" ⁷ And when* he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) ⁹ And there was loud shouting, and some of the scribes from the party of the Pharisees stood up and* contended sharply, saying, "We find nothing wrong with this man! But what if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁴ But if Christ has not been raised, then* our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ And also we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if after all, then, the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is empty; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ And as a further result, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁸ who have deviated concerning the truth by* saying the resurrection has already taken place, and they are upsetting the faith of some.

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother."

⁵ "When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a _⌊man of another family_⌋;* her brother-in-law _⌊shall have sex with her_⌋,* and he shall take her _⌊to himself_⌋* as a wife, and he shall perform his duty as a brother-in-law with respect to her. ⁶ And then the firstborn that she bears _⌊shall represent his dead brother_⌋,* so that his name is not blotted out from Israel. ⁷ But if the man does not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say, 'My brother-in-law refused _⌊to perpetuate his brother's name_⌋* in Israel, for he is not willing _⌊to marry me_⌋.'* ⁸ Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him, and if he persists and says, '_⌊I do not desire to_⌋* marry her' ⁹ then his sister-in-law shall go near him before the eyes of the elders, and she shall pull off his sandal from his foot, and she shall spit in his face, and she shall _⌊declare_⌋* and she shall say, 'This is how it is done to the man who does not build the house of his brother.' ¹⁰ And his _⌊family_⌋* shall be called in Israel, 'The house where the sandal was pulled off.'*

¹¹ And Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. _⌊Why do you still want to go with me_⌋?* Are there sons _⌊in my womb_⌋* that may be husbands for you? ¹² Turn back, my daughters! Go, for _⌊I am too old to have a husband_⌋.* If I should think there is hope for me, even if I should have a husband this night, and even if I should bear sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore _⌊refrain from marrying_⌋?* No, my daughters, for it is far more bitter to me than to you. For the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me."

⁵ And Boaz said, "On the day of your acquiring the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead man, in order to raise up for the name of the dead his inheritance."

²⁵ Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died after* getting married, and because he* did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ So also the second and the third, up to the seventh. ²⁷ And last of all the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her as wife."*

²⁹ Now there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife and* died childless, ³⁰ and the second, ³¹ and the third took her, and likewise also the seven did not leave children and died. ³² Finally the woman also died. ³³ Therefore in the resurrection, the woman—whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."

¹⁴ Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you _⌊in the spring_⌋* and Sarah shall have a son."

²⁵ But* I myself* know that my redeemer is alive, and at the last he will stand up upon _⌊the earth_⌋.* ²⁶ And after my skin has been thus destroyed, but* from* my flesh I will see God, ²⁷ whom _⌊I will see for myself_⌋,* and whom my eyes will see and not a stranger.* _⌊My heart faints within me_⌋.*

²⁰ for teaching and for testimony?" _⌊surely they who speak like this have no dawn_⌋.*

⁸ He will _⌊destroy_⌋* death forever, and the Lord Yahweh will wipe off the tears from all faces, and he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth,
for Yahweh has spoken.

¹⁹ Your dead shall live; _⌊their corpses_⌋* shall rise. Wake up and sing for joy, dwellers of the dust, for your dew is _⌊celestial dew_⌋,* and the earth will give birth to dead spirits.*

⁷ Even the stork in heaven knows its appointed time, and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the song bird, they observe the time of their coming. But my people do not know the ordinance* of Yahweh. ⁸ How can you say, 'We are wise and the law of Yahweh is with us'? Look, surely _⌊the lying stylus of the scribes_⌋* has made it a lie. ⁹ The wise will be put to shame, they will be dismayed, and they will get taken. Look, they have rejected the word of Yahweh, and what is wisdom to them?

¹⁷ 'Ah Lord Yahweh! Look, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. _⌊Nothing_⌋* is too difficult for you,

¹ The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me by the Spirit of Yahweh, and he _⌊let me rest_⌋* in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. ² And he led me _⌊all around_⌋* over them, and look, very many on the surface of the valley, and look, very dry. ³ And he said to me, "Son of man,* can these bones live?" And I said, "Lord Yahweh, you know." ⁴ And he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and you must say to them, to the dry bones, 'Hear the word of Yahweh! ⁵ Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: "Look! I am bringing into you breath, and you will live! ⁶ And I will lay on you sinews, and I will let flesh come upon you, and I will cover you over with skin, and I will put breath into you, and you will live, and you will know that I am Yahweh." '" ⁷ And I prophesied _⌊just as_⌋* I had been commanded, and there was a sound at my prophesying, and look! A rattling, and they came together—the bones! Bone to its bone! ⁸ And I looked, and indeed, sinews were on them, and flesh went up,* and skin covered over* them _⌊upward_⌋,* but breath was not in them. ⁹ And he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man,* and you must say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh _⌊from the four winds_⌋,* "Come, O spirit and breath, on these dead ones, so that they may live!" '" ¹⁰ And I prophesied _⌊as_⌋* he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they became alive, and they stood on their feet, a very, very large group. ¹¹ And he said to me, "Son of man,* these bones are all of the house of Israel; look! they are saying, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is destroyed; _⌊we are cut off as far as we are concerned_⌋.'* ¹² Therefore prophesy, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am opening your graves, and I will bring you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel! ¹³ And you will know that I am Yahweh when I open your graves when I bring you up from your graves, my people! ¹⁴ And I will put my breath into you so that you may live, and I will cause you to rest on your soil, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act!" ' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh."

² And many from those sleeping _⌊in the dusty ground_⌋* will awake, some to _⌊everlasting life_⌋* and some to disgrace and _⌊everlasting contempt_⌋.*

² He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his presence.*

⁶ Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

¹² I write for him myriads of my instruction;* they are regarded as a strange thing.

¹⁴ Should I redeem them from _⌊the power_⌋* of Sheol? * Should I deliver them from death? Where are your plagues, O Death? Where is your destruction, O Sheol?* Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

²⁹ But Jesus answered and* said to them, "You are mistaken, because* you do not know the scriptures or the power of God!

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and* said, "With human beings it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

³⁷ For _⌊nothing will be impossible with God_⌋."*

³⁹ You search* the scriptures because you think that you have eternal life in them, and it is these that testify about me.

⁹ (For they did not yet know the scripture that it was necessary for him to rise from the dead.)

¹¹ Now these were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. _⌊They_⌋* accepted the message with all eagerness, examining the scriptures every day to see if these things were so.

⁴ For whatever was written beforehand was written for our instruction, in order that through patient endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.

¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength

²¹ who will transform our humble body to be conformed to his glorious body, in accordance with the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the holy writings that are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God* in heaven.

³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, ³⁶ for they are not even able to die any longer, because they are like the angels and are sons of God, because they* are sons of the resurrection.

⁴² Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruptibility. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ Thus also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul";* the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, made of earth; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As the one who is made of earth, so also are those who are made of earth, and as the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the image of the one who is made of earth, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. ⁵⁰ But I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruptibility. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For it is necessary for this perishable body to put on incorruptibility, and this mortal body to put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But whenever this perishable body puts on incorruptibility and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
"Death is swallowed up in victory.

²² But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to tens of thousands of angels, to the festal gathering ²³ and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,

² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever he is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.

⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant to be as God for you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And I will give to you and to your offspring after you _⌊the land in which you are living as an alien_⌋,* all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting property. And I will be to them as God."

²⁴ And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and make your descendants numerous for the sake of my servant Abraham."

¹³ And behold, Yahweh was standing beside him,* and he said, "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you were sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants.

⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, indeed now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my misery and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."

⁹ Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your land and to your family, and I will deal well with you.'

²⁰ And there he erected an altar and called it "El Elohe Israel."*

² And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and there was the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed. ³ And Moses said, "Let me turn aside and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn up?" ⁴ And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush, and he said, "Moses, Moses." And he said, "Here I am." ⁵ And he said, "You must not come near to here. Take off your sandals from on your feet, because the place on which you are standing, it is holy ground." ⁶ And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face because he was afraid of looking at God.

¹⁶ Go and gather the elders of Israel and say to them, 'Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,* appeared to me, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, "I have carefully attended to you and what has been done to you in Egypt."

⁸ But* you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you, the _⌊offspring_⌋* of Abraham my _⌊friend_⌋,* ⁹ you whom I grasped from the ends of the earth and called from its remotest parts and told, "You are my servant; I have chosen you and I have not rejected you." ¹⁰ You must not fear, for I am with you; you must not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, indeed I will help you, indeed I will take hold of you with the right hand of my salvation.

³¹ Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said, ³² "I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"?* He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!"

¹⁰ Have you not read this scripture:
'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become _⌊the cornerstone_⌋.*

³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed in the passage about* the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

³⁰ "And when* forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. ³¹ And when* Moses saw it,* he was astonished at the sight, and when* he approached to look at it,* the voice of the Lord came: ³² 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!'* So Moses began trembling and* did not dare to look at it.*

²⁷ Cease to listen to instruction, my child, _⌊and you will stray_⌋* from sayings of knowledge.

²⁴ Jesus said to them, "Are you not deceived because of this, because you* do not know the scriptures or the power of God?

¹⁷ (just as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")* before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as though they are,

⁹ For Christ died and became alive again for this reason, in order that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and I said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they do not know my ways.'

¹³ These all died in faith without receiving the promises, but seeing them from a distance and welcoming them, and admitting that they were strangers and temporary residents on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things make clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ And if they remember* that land from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

¹⁹ Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

¹⁸ He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,

³⁴ Now when* the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same place.* ³⁵ And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to him* to test him: ³⁶ "Teacher, which commandment is greatest in the law?" ³⁷ And he said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'* ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'* ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

²³ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary* to do these things _⌊while not neglecting those_⌋.*

²⁵ And behold, a certain legal expert stood up to test him, saying, "Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?" ²⁶ And he said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"* ²⁷ And he answered and* said, "You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,* and your neighbor as yourself."* ²⁸ And he said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live."

⁴² "But woe to you, Pharisees, because you pay a tenth of mint and rue and every garden herb, and neglect justice and love for God! But it was necessary to do these things without neglecting those things also.

³⁹ And some of the scribes answered and* said, "Teacher, you have spoken well."

⁴ "Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.*

¹² And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking* from you, except* to revere Yahweh your God, to go* in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,*

⁶ "And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self* _⌊so that you may live_⌋.*

³⁷ The one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

⁹ And do not call anyone* your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father.

³² And the scribe said to him, "That is true, Teacher. You have said _⌊correctly_⌋* that he is one and there is no other except him. ³³ And to love him from your* whole heart and from your* whole understanding and from your* whole strength, and to love your* neighbor as yourself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

²⁷ And he answered and* said, "You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,* and your neighbor as yourself."*

³⁰ since God is one, who will justify _⌊those who are circumcised_⌋* by faith and _⌊those who are uncircumcised_⌋* through faith.

⁴ Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that "an idol is nothing in the world" and that "there is no God except one."*

²⁰ Now the mediator is not for one, but God is one.

⁵ But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith without hypocrisy,

⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, the man Christ Jesus,

¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder!

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

⁵ And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart* and with all of your soul* and with all of your might.

¹³ " 'You* shall not exploit your* neighbor, and you* shall not rob him; a hired worker's wage you* shall not _⌊withhold_⌋* overnight until morning.

¹⁸ You* shall not seek vengeance, and you* shall not harbor a grudge against _⌊your* fellow citizens_⌋;* and you* shall love your* neighbor like yourself; * I am Yahweh.

¹² Therefore in all things, whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.

¹⁸ He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your* father and your* mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

³⁹ And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'*

³⁶ Which of these three do you suppose became a neighbor of the man who fell among the robbers?" ³⁷ So he said, "The one who showed mercy to him." And Jesus said to him, "You go and do likewise."

⁸ Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves someone else has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,"* and if there is any other commandment, are summed up in this statement: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."*

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, ⁵ it does not behave dishonorably, it _⌊is not selfish_⌋*, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs, ⁶ it does not rejoice at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will pass away. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will pass away.

¹⁴ For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."*

⁸ However, if you carry out the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself,"* you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and thus* are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it. ¹¹ For the one who said "Do not commit adultery"* also said "Do not murder."* Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² Thus speak and thus act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁷ But whoever has the world's material possessions and observes his brother _⌊in need_⌋* and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ By this* we know that we are of the truth and will convince our heart before him,

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

²¹ And this is the commandment we have from him: that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

³⁵ You yourselves* were shown this wonder in order for you to acknowledge that Yahweh is the God;* there is no other God _⌊besides him_⌋.*

³⁹ So you shall acknowledge _⌊today_⌋,* and _⌊you must call to mind_⌋* that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no other God.

⁷ There shall not be for you other gods _⌊besides me_⌋.*

⁸ You must not tremble,* and you must not be paralyzed with fear. Have I not made you hear from of old* and declared it, and you are my witnesses? Is there a god besides me? And there is no rock! I know none!"

⁵ I am Yahweh, and there is none besides me; besides me there is no god. I gird you though* you do not know me, ⁶ so that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides me; I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.

¹⁴ Thus says Yahweh: "The acquisition of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, tall men, shall pass over to you; they shall be yours, and they shall walk behind you. They shall pass over in chains, and they shall bow down to you; they will pray to you: 'Surely God is with you, and there is no other. Besides him there is no God.'"

¹⁸ For thus says Yahweh, _⌊who created_⌋* the heavens, he is God, _⌊who formed_⌋* the earth and _⌊who made_⌋* it. He himself established it; he did not create it as emptiness— he formed it for inhabiting.
"I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.

²¹ Declare and present your case, also let them consult together! Who _⌊made this known_⌋* from _⌊former times_⌋,* declared it from _⌊of old_⌋?* Was it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God besides me, and no savior besides me. ²² Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none besides me.

⁹ Remember the former things from _⌊a long time ago_⌋,* for I am God and there is none besides me, God and there is none like me,

¹⁰ But Yahweh is the true God, he is the living God, and _⌊an everlasting king_⌋.* Because of his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his anger. ¹¹ "_⌊Thus_⌋* you shall say to them,
'Gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens. ¹² He is the maker of the earth by his power, who created the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.

²⁹ Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

²² Then Samuel said,
"Is there as much delight for Yahweh in burnt offerings and sacrifices as there is in _⌊obeying_⌋* Yahweh? Look! _⌊To obey_⌋* is better than sacrifice; to give heed than the fat of rams.

⁸ It is not concerning a lack of your sacrifices that I rebuke you, and your burnt offerings are before me continually. ⁹ I will not take from your house a bull or from your stalls a he-goat, ¹⁰ because every animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know every bird of the mountains, and every moving creature in the field is mine. ¹² If I were hungry I would not tell you, because the world and its fullness are mine. ¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? ¹⁴ Offer to God a thank offering and pay your vows to the Most High. ¹⁵ And call me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me."

²³ He who sacrifices a thank offering honors me, and he who orders his way; I will show him the salvation of God."

³ Doing righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.

¹¹ What is the abundance of your sacrifices to me? says Yahweh. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened animals and I do not delight in the blood of bulls and ram-lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before me, who asked for this from your hand: you trampling my courts? ¹³ You must not _⌊continue_⌋* to bring offerings* of futility, incense—it is an abomination to me; new moon and Sabbath, the calling of a convocation— I cannot endure iniquity with solemn assembly. ¹⁴ Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become to me like a burden, I am not able to bear them. ¹⁵ And when you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers,* I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood. ¹⁶ Wash! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil! ¹⁷ Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue the oppressed! Defend the orphan! Plead for the widow!

⁵ Is the fast I choose like this, a day for humankind to humiliate _⌊himself_⌋*? To bow his head like a reed, and _⌊make_⌋* his bed on sackcloth and ashes; you call this a fast and a day of pleasure to Yahweh? ⁶ Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and _⌊tear_⌋* every yoke to pieces? ⁷ Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring _⌊home_⌋* the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your _⌊relatives_⌋.*

²¹ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. ²² For I did not speak with your ancestors,* nor did I command them in the day of bringing them out from the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offering and sacrifice. ²³ But I only commanded them this word, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Obey my voice, and I will be to you God, and you will be to me people, and you must walk in all of the way that I command you, so that it goes well with you.'

²¹ "I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your assemblies. ²² Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them, and I will not look at the fellowship offerings of your fattened animals. ²³ Remove from me the noise of your songs, and I do not want to hear the melody of your harps! ²⁴ But let justice roll on like the water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

⁶ With what shall I approach Yahweh, and bow down to God on high? Shall I approach him with burnt offerings, with bull calves a year old? ⁷ Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriads of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ⁸ He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does Yahweh ask from you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

¹³ But go and* learn what it means, "I want mercy and not sacrifice."* For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

⁷ And if you had known what _⌊it means_⌋,* 'I want mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.

¹ If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a ringing brass gong or a clashing cymbal. ² And if I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I parcel out all my possessions, and if I hand over my body in order that I will be burned,* but do not have love, it benefits me nothing.

⁸ When he says above,
"Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin you did not want, nor did you delight in,"*
which are offered according to the law,

¹⁵ "They are dismayed; they no longer answer; _⌊they have nothing to say_⌋.* ¹⁶ And I have waited because they do not speak, because they stand there and no longer answer.

²⁰ A crushed reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish, until he brings justice to victory.

⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him anything.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God. ²⁰ For by the works of the law _⌊no person will be declared righteous_⌋* before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.

⁹ And I was alive once, apart from the law, but when* the commandment came, sin sprang to life

¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law, in order that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ,

⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how it is necessary for you to answer each one.

⁹ holding fast to the faithful message according to the teaching, in order that he may be able both to exhort with sound instruction and to reprove those who speak against it. ¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whom it is necessary to silence, whoever are ruining whole families by* teaching things which must not be taught for the sake of dishonest gain.

²⁷ And as* Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

⁴¹ Now while* the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "David's." ⁴³ He said to them, "How then does David, by the Spirit, call him 'Lord,' saying, ⁴⁴ 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet" '?* ⁴⁵ If then David calls him 'Lord,' how is he his son?"

⁵⁵ At that time Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? Every day in the temple courts* I sat teaching, and you did not arrest me!

²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as* he was walking in the temple courts,* the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came up to him

⁴⁷ And he was teaching every day in the temple courts,* and the chief priests and the scribes and the most prominent men of the people were seeking to destroy him.

¹ And it happened that on one of the days while* he was teaching the people in the temple courts* and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes approached together with the elders

⁴¹ But he said to them, "In what sense do they say that the Christ is David's son? ⁴² For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, ⁴³ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '* ⁴⁴ David therefore calls him 'Lord,' and how is he his son?"

³⁷ So throughout the days he was teaching in the temple courts,* and throughout the nights he was going out and* spending the night on the hill that is called the Mount of Olives.

⁴² Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"

²⁰ Jesus replied to him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple courts* where all the Jews assemble, and I have said nothing in secret.

² "The spirit of Yahweh speaks through me, and his word is upon my tongue.

¹ Of David. A psalm.*
A declaration of Yahweh to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."

¹⁶ "Men and brothers, it was necessary that the scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit proclaimed beforehand through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus,

²⁵ So being in disagreement with one another, they began to leave after* Paul made one statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through the prophet Isaiah to your fathers,

²⁵ For it is necessary for him to reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,

¹³ But to which of the angels has he ever said,
"Sit down at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."*

⁷ Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
"Today, if you hear his voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,

⁷ again he ordains a certain day, today, speaking by David after so long a time, just as had been said before,
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."*

¹² But this one, after he* had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from now on waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.

¹¹ investigating for what person or which time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he* testified beforehand to the sufferings with reference to Christ and the glories after these things,

²¹ for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

⁵ the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news announced to them.*

²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and* said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.*

⁴⁶ and although they* wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they looked upon him as a prophet.

⁴⁸ And they did not find anything they could do, because all the people were paying close attention to what they were hearing from him.

³⁸ And all the people were getting up very early in the morning to come* to him in the temple courts* to listen to him.

⁴⁶ The officers replied, "Never has a man spoken like this!" ⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied to them, "You have not also been deceived, have you?* ⁴⁸ _⌊None_⌋* of the rulers or of the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?* ⁴⁹ But this crowd who does not know the law is accursed!"

⁹ Now a large crowd* of Jews found out that he was there, and they came, not only because of Jesus, but so that they could see Lazarus also, whom he raised from the dead.

³ concerning his Son, who was born _⌊a descendant_⌋* of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared Son of God in power according to _⌊the Holy Spirit_⌋* by the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord,

⁵ to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed _⌊forever_⌋*! Amen.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

¹⁶ "I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

⁵ And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand and* pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

¹⁷ But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues.

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ² saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. ³ Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as _⌊they do_⌋,* for they tell others to do something* and do not do it themselves.* ⁴ And they tie up heavy burdens* and put them* on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing with their finger to move them. ⁵ And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their* tassels long. ⁶ And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by people.

⁴³ Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces!

⁷ Now he told a parable to those who had been invited when he* noticed how they were choosing for themselves the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸ "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,* do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him, ⁹ and the one who invited you _⌊both_⌋* will come and* say to you, 'Give the place to this person,' and then with shame you will begin to take the last place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and* recline at the table in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then it will be an honor to you in the presence of all those who are reclining at the table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

⁴⁵ And while* all the people were listening, he said to the disciples,* ⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁷ who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!"

⁹ I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who wants to be first among them, does not acknowledge us.

² For if someone* enters into your assembly* in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, ³ and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, "Be seated here in a good place," and to the poor person you say, "You stand or be seated there* by my footstool,"

²⁵ The conspiracy of its prophets in the midst of her is like a roaring lion that is tearing prey. They devour people, and they take wealth and treasure; they make its widows numerous in the midst of her.

² They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and they take them away. They oppress a man and his house; a man and his inheritance.

¹ And I said, "Listen, O heads of Jacob and leaders of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? ² Those of you who are haters of good and lovers of evil, who tear their skin from them and their flesh from their bones, ³ and who eat the flesh of my people, and strip their skin from them, and break their bones, and chop them like meat in the pot, and like flesh in the midst of a cooking pot." ⁴ Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, when they have made their deeds evil.

⁷ "But when you* pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.

²² Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and for Sidon on the day of judgment than for you! ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. ²⁴ Nevertheless I tell you that it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!"

¹³ "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in* to enter.*

³³ Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell?

⁴⁷ And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will _⌊will be given a severe beating_⌋.* ⁴⁸ But the one who did not know and did things deserving blows _⌊will be given a light beating_⌋.* And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him for even more.

⁴⁷ who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!"

⁶ For from these are those who slip into houses and captivate foolish women loaded down with sins, led by various kinds of desires,

⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest took a certain chest and bored a hole in its lid, and he put it beside the altar to the right as a man enters into the temple of Yahweh; then the priests who were keepers of the threshold would put there all of the money brought into the temple.

⁶ But the chief priests took the silver coins and* said, "It is not permitted to put them into the temple treasury, because it is _⌊blood money_⌋."*

¹ And he looked up and* saw the rich putting their gifts into the contribution box, ² and he saw a certain poor widow putting in there two small copper coins.* ³ And he said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all of them. ⁴ For these all put gifts* into the offering out of their abundance, but this woman out of her poverty put in all the means of subsistence that she had."

²⁰ He spoke these words by the treasury while* teaching in the temple courts,* and no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹ And they came—every man whose heart lifted him and every man whose spirit impelled him—they brought Yahweh's contribution for the work of the tent of assembly and for all its service and for the holy garments. ²² And they came, the men in addition to the women, all who were willing of heart; they brought brooches and jewelry rings and signet rings and ornaments—every variety of gold object—every man who waved a wave offering of gold for Yahweh, ²³ and every man with whom was found blue and purple and crimson yarns and fine linen and goat hair and red-dyed ram skins and fine leather brought it. ²⁴ All who were presenting a contribution of silver and bronze brought Yahweh's contribution, and all with whom was found acacia wood for all the work of service brought it. ²⁵ And every woman who was skilled of heart with her hands they spun, and they brought yarn—the blue and the purple, the crimson and the fine linen. ²⁶ And all the women whose heart lifted them with skill spun the goat hair. ²⁷ And the leaders brought the onyx stones and stones for mountings for the ephod and for the breast piece ²⁸ and the balsam oils and the oil for light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. ²⁹ Every man and woman whose heart impelled them to bring for all the work to be done that Yahweh had commanded _⌊by the agency of_⌋* Moses—the _⌊Israelites_⌋* brought freely to Yahweh.

⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will never lose his reward."

²⁹ So from the disciples, _⌊according to their ability to give_⌋,* each one of them determined to send financial aid* for support to the brothers who lived in Judea,

² that with a great ordeal of affliction, the abundance of their joy and the extreme depth of their poverty have overflowed to the wealth of their generosity.

¹² For if the eagerness is present _⌊according to what one has_⌋*, it is acceptable not _⌊according to what one does not have_⌋*.

⁶ Now the point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Each one should give as he has decided in his heart, not _⌊reluctantly_⌋* or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, because you* have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work.

⁶ "A person* shall not take* a pair of millstones or an upper millstone, for _⌊he is taking necessities of life as a pledge_⌋.*

² So I have provided for the house of my God according to all my strength, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and the wood for the things of wood, along with an abundance of onyx stones, stones for settings, stones of turquoise, and variegated stones, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster stones. ³ And moreover, with respect to my provisions for the house of my God I have a treasure of gold and silver that I have given to the house of my God above all that I have provided for the holy house: ⁴ three thousand talents of gold from the gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of refined silver to overlay the walls of the houses, ⁵ gold for the golden things and silver for the silver things, for all the work by the hand of skilled craftsmen. Now who will offer willingly, _⌊consecrating himself_⌋* today to Yahweh?" ⁶ Then the commanders of the _⌊families_⌋,* the commanders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the work of the king offered themselves willingly. ⁷ And they gave for the service of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸ And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of Yahweh under the authority* of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ And the people rejoiced over their freewill offering, for with a whole heart they had willingly offered to Yahweh, and King David also rejoiced with great joy. ¹⁰ Then David blessed Yahweh in the sight of all the assembly, and David said, "Blessed are you, O Yahweh, God of Israel, our father forever and ever! ¹¹ To you, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the splendor and the glory and the strength, for everything in the heavens and in the earth. Yours, O Yahweh, is the kingdom and exaltation over all as head! ¹² And wealth and glory are from you, and you rule over all. And in your hand is power and might. And in your hand is power to make great and to give strength to all. ¹³ And now, our God, we give thanks to you and offer praise to the name of your splendor. ¹⁴ And indeed, who am I, and who are my people that we retain power to offer according to these offerings willingly? For everything is from you, and from your hand we have given to you. ¹⁵ For we are strangers before you and sojourners like all our ancestors.* Our days are like the shadow upon earth, and there is no hope of abiding. ¹⁶ O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build for you a house for your holy name is from your hand, and all of it is yours. ¹⁷ And I know, my God, that you yourself test the heart and are pleased with uprightness. I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these things, and now I have seen your people who are found here willingly offer to you.

¹⁰ And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and they brought their tax and threw it into the chest until it was finished. ¹¹ And whenever he brought the chest to the appointee of the king by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money in it, then the secretary of the king and the officer of the chief priest came and emptied the chest, then they took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day and gathered money in abundance. ¹² And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh. And they hired stonemasons and skilled craftsmen to restore the house of Yahweh, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of Yahweh. ¹³ So those doing the work labored, and the restoration for the work made progress under their hand. And they restored the house of God to its position and strengthened it. ¹⁴ And when they had finished, they brought the remainder of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and they used it for objects for the house of Yahweh, objects for the service and the burnt offerings, dishes, and objects of gold and silver. And they were offering burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh regularly, all the days of Jehoiada.

⁵ And the word spread. The Israelites gave abundantly from the firstfruits of grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all kinds of grains from the field. And they brought tithes of everything in abundance. ⁶ Then the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps upon heaps. ⁷ In the third month the heaps began to pile up, and in the seventh month they ceased. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed Yahweh and his people Israel. ⁹ And Hezekiah questioned* the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, saying, "Since the offerings began to be brought to the house of Yahweh, we have eaten and been satisfied, and have much to spare, for Yahweh has blessed his people. Now see this abundant remainder!"

⁷ Then Josiah provided for the _⌊lay people_⌋* sheep, lambs, and young goats, all for the Passover for all who were found there, to the sum of thirty thousand, along with three thousand bulls. These were the possession of the king. ⁸ And his officials contributed a freewill offering to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, commanders of the house of God, gave to the priests two thousand six hundred Passover lambs and three hundred bulls.

⁶⁸ When some of the heads of _⌊families_⌋* came to the house of Yahweh that is in Jerusalem, they gave freewill offerings for the house of God to erect it on its place. ⁶⁹ According to their ability they gave to the treasury room for the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly tunics.

⁷⁰ Now some from the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* gave to the work. The governor gave to the storehouse one thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly tunics. ⁷¹ Now some of the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* gave to the storehouse of the work twenty thousand gold darics and two thousand two hundred silver minas. ⁷² And what the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly tunics.

⁸ She has done what she could; _⌊she has anointed my body beforehand_⌋* for burial.

⁴³ And a woman who was _⌊suffering from hemorrhages_⌋* for twelve years (who, although she* had spent all her* assets on physicians, was not able to be healed by anyone)

¹² And the younger of them said to his* father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that is coming to me.' So he divided his* assets between them.

³⁰ But when this son of yours returned—who has consumed your assets with prostitutes—you killed the fattened calf for him!'

² that with a great ordeal of affliction, the abundance of their joy and the extreme depth of their poverty have overflowed to the wealth of their generosity. ³ I testify that they gave* according to their ability, and beyond their ability, by their own choice,

¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last _⌊you have renewed your concern for me_⌋*, for whom also you were thinking, but you had no opportunity to express it. ¹¹ Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² I know how both _⌊to make do with little_⌋* and I know how _⌊to have an abundance_⌋*. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both _⌊to have an abundance_⌋* and to go without. ¹³ I am able to do all things by the one who strengthens me. ¹⁴ Nevertheless you have done well by sharing* with me in my affliction. ¹⁵ Now you also know, Philippians, that at the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone, ¹⁶ because even in Thessalonica _⌊on more than one occasion_⌋* you sent for my need. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift, but I seek for the profit that increases to your account.

¹⁷ But whoever has the world's material possessions and observes his brother _⌊in need_⌋* and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him?