Matthew 11 Cross References - MSB

¹ After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. ² Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent two of his disciples ³ to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.” ⁷ As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? ⁸ Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces. ⁹ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ For this is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear. ¹⁶ To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to one another: ¹⁷ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge for you, and you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her children.” ²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, which is lifted up to heaven, will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” ²⁵ At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight. ²⁷ All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn, ³ to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

²⁰ and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”

³⁸ But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.” ³⁹ So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone. ¹⁶ Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, ¹⁷ the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, ²¹ and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

¹ Soon afterward, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him,

¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you.

² until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

⁴² And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.

² For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

¹⁰ For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

¹⁴ Keep this commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁷ In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee.

¹⁴ At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

³ Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

¹⁷ For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.

¹⁹ But when he rebuked Herod the tetrarch regarding his brother’s wife Herodias and all the evils he had done,

¹⁸ Then John’s disciples informed him about all these things. ¹⁹ So John called two of his disciples and sent them to ask Jesus, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” ²⁰ When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’” ²¹ Now at that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind. ²² So Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ²³ Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.” ²⁴ After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? ²⁵ Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear elegant clothing and live in luxury are found in palaces. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ²⁸ For I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater prophet than John the Baptist, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. ³¹ “To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge for you, and you did not weep.’ ³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

²⁴ (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) ²⁵ Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of ceremonial washing. ²⁶ So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.” ²⁷ John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’

¹ When the Lord realized that the Pharisees were aware that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John

¹ While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples ² and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ “Into what, then, were you baptized?” Paul asked. “The baptism of John,” they replied.

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

¹⁷ I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁵ The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him. ¹⁶ This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!” ¹⁷ Then the LORD said to me, “They have spoken well. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

⁶ “I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.” ⁷ I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. ⁸ Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. ⁹ You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.” ¹⁰ Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹² Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

¹ A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ² The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” ³ Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth. ⁴ The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ⁵ The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

⁵ Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

²³ I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.

²⁴ Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. ²⁵ Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress. ²⁶ Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.

⁵ Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

²⁸ And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. ²⁹ Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. ³⁰ I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. ³² And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

¹¹ “In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, ¹² that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the LORD, who will do this.

²¹ The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.

² But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

¹⁴ Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm. ¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. ¹⁷ The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

⁷ I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts.

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

¹ “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.

² “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

² asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the King heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ⁶ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

⁵ “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁹ The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

⁹ The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

³⁸ “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

²¹ “Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

³¹ Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?”

⁴¹ Others declared, “This is the Christ.” But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? ⁴² Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, crying out: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

¹⁴ He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.

³⁷ For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.

⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see that he is seeking a quarrel with me!”

¹⁴ So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored and became like that of a little child, and he was clean.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. ¹³ He will take pity on the poor and needy and save the lives of the oppressed.

⁸ the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.

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

⁴ Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.” ⁵ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ⁶ Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.

⁶ “I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, ⁷ to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

⁸ Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf.

² Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.

⁷ So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹ When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. ² Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ³ Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

²⁴ “Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.

³⁰ And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!”

⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

³⁰ Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the mute, the crippled, and many others, and laid them at Jesus' feet, and He healed them. ³¹ The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

¹⁴ The lame and the blind came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.

³⁷ The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You mute and deaf spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

¹⁴ Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. “Young man,” He said, “I tell you, get up!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶ A sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said. “God has visited His people!”

²¹ Now at that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind. ²² So Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

²³ While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.

² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

³⁶ But I have testimony more substantial than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works I am doing—testify about Me that the Father has sent Me.

²⁵ “I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf.

³⁸ But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in Him.”

⁴³ After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.

¹¹ Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe Me on account of the works themselves. ¹² Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to My Father.

²² Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.

² And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked directly at him, as did John. “Look at us!” said Peter. ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹ If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed, ¹⁰ then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

⁸ In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. ⁹ This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed. ¹⁰ In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk.

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. ² But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.

¹ Of David. A Maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ² Blessed is the man whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him, in whose spirit there is no deceit.

¹ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.

¹⁴ And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare. ¹⁵ Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say every evil thing against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”

¹² Then His disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” ¹³ But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. ¹⁴ Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

⁷ Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

¹⁰ At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’” ²⁴ Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged. ²⁹ They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff.

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!” ²⁸ But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

⁶⁰ On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?” ⁶¹ Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?

⁶⁶ From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.

³² Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works of the law. For they stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

²² Jews demand a sign and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks,

¹⁴ The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

¹¹ Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

⁸ and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

⁴ Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan.

²⁵ What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

³ “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’” ⁴ John came baptizing in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were all baptized by him in the Jordan River.

³ He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth. ⁶ And all humanity will see God’s salvation.’” ⁷ Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

²⁴ After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? ²⁵ Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear elegant clothing and live in luxury are found in palaces. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’ ²⁸ For I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater prophet than John the Baptist, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

¹⁸ Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

³⁸ Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁵ John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.

¹⁷ When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” when I really mean “No, no”? ¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you was not “Yes” and “No.”

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

⁶ But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

⁸ “He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.

² the LORD had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.

⁴ And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.

⁴ John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

¹¹ To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

²⁷ in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

³ And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.

⁵ Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

¹² But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

²⁴ “I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”

¹¹ And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹² He replied, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected? ¹³ But I tell you that Elijah has indeed come, and they have done to him whatever they wished, just as it is written about him.”

¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the presence of the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

³ A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

⁵ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

² As it is written in the prophets: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.”

²⁶ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

³⁰ Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.

¹ “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.

⁴ Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!

¹⁴ What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

⁴ How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

⁵ Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

²⁶ The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.

⁸ On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going before them.

¹¹ I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹ So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.

²⁸ For I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater prophet than John the Baptist, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

⁴⁸ And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he will be the greatest.”

¹⁵ John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”

²⁷ He is the One who comes after me, who is preferred before me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

³⁰ He must increase; I must decrease.

³⁹ He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴¹ Many came to Him and said, “Although John never performed a sign, everything he said about this man was true.”

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—

⁴ So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

³ All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

²⁶ the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

¹⁰ And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,

⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,

²³ When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?” ²⁴ “I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁸ But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ ²⁹ ‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

¹⁶ The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

⁶ And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

¹⁷ Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.

⁴⁴ Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

⁴⁶ If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But since you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

²² For Moses said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you. ²³ Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’ ²⁴ Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have proclaimed these days.

²⁷ The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

²¹ But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

⁵ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

¹⁰ “Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart. ¹¹ Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”

¹⁰ His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he will restore all things.

¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

²¹ “Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

¹² I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.

² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,

⁴ Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

⁹ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

⁹ Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁵ Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.

⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop—a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

¹¹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.

¹⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

²⁹ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

⁶ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

¹³ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

¹³ What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?

³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

³⁶ Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.

³⁰ Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we illustrate it?

¹⁸ Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

⁴⁰ All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.

⁹ Whom is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His message? To infants just weaned from milk? To babies removed from the breast? ¹⁰ For they hear: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there.” ¹¹ Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues, He will speak to this people ¹² to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen. ¹³ Then the word of the LORD to them will become: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” so that they will go stumbling backward and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.

²⁹ You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.

¹⁷ This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them. ¹⁸ Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water. ¹⁹ For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’” ²⁰ Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament.

⁴ Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

¹⁵ Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

²³ When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.

²⁵ Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

¹⁹ Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law, to win those under the law. ²¹ To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. ²² To the weak I became like one who is weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

¹¹ When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.

¹⁷ I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.

⁸ You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink. ⁹ For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.

²⁶ ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.

⁷ The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.

²⁵ It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁰ “You have a demon,” the crowd replied. “Who is trying to kill You?”

⁴⁸ The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”

²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”

²⁴ At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”

²⁷ No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

⁵ How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts! ⁶ A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,

²⁴ Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

¹⁰ Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

²⁹ Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them. ³⁰ But their scribes and the Pharisees complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

²⁹ All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

³⁴ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” ³⁶ Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

¹ One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.

¹ Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus. ² So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

⁷ And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”

² and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

² So they hosted a dinner for Jesus there. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, who was going to betray Him, asked, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” ⁶ Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it. ⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “She has kept this perfume in preparation for the day of My burial. ⁸ The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.”

² Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. ²⁶ Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast in His presence.

⁸ Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” ¹³ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever. Amen!” ¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹¹ But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me. ¹² So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. ¹³ If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways,

² Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. ³ The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” ⁴ Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. ⁵ Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.

⁶ I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle.

¹ Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. ² Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel: ³ ‘My people, what have I done to you? Testify against Me how I have wearied you! ⁴ For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam. ⁵ My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

¹⁹ “O unbelieving generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”

¹⁴ Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

¹³ Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven to heaven, will be brought down to Hades!

²⁰ For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”

²⁵ He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. ²⁶ Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

²¹ Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.

²⁰ Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹ Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.

⁹ And the people were scorched by intense heat, and men cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

¹¹ and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.

⁶ Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

²⁷ Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”

⁶ not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. ¹⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. ¹⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. ¹⁶ Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹ You are foolish and blind! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? ²⁰ So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. ²² And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it. ²³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. ²⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and unrighteousness. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. ²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. ²⁹ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

²⁴ The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

⁸ Jerusalem, Idumea, the region beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to Him when they heard what great things He was doing.

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Not wanting anyone to know He was there, He entered a house, but was unable to escape their notice.

³¹ Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and Sidon and went toward the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.

²² When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.

²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.

¹⁷ Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place. A crowd of His disciples was there, along with a great number of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon.

¹⁰ Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a deserted place of the city called Bethsaida.

⁴² Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.” ⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.” ⁴⁶ “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you bear witness and consent to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ⁵⁰ As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation. ⁵² Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” ⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. ¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and you do not understand these things?

²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

²⁰ Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

⁴⁴ On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” ⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

³ The next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul with consideration, allowing him to visit his friends and receive their care.

²⁵ They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to our fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ²⁶ ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” ²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ ²⁸ Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

¹¹ Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

¹ This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus. ² Be silent, O dwellers of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea. ³ On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.” ⁵ When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre. ⁶ Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coastland! ⁷ Is this your jubilant city, whose origin is from antiquity, whose feet have taken her to settle far away? ⁸ Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose traders are princes, whose merchants are renowned on the earth? ⁹ The LORD of Hosts planned it, to defile all its glorious beauty, to disgrace all the renowned of the earth. ¹⁰ Cultivate your land like the Nile, O Daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer a harbor. ¹¹ The LORD has stretched out His hand over the sea; He has made kingdoms tremble. He has given a command that the strongholds of Canaan be destroyed. ¹² He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.” ¹³ Look at the land of the Chaldeans—a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin. ¹⁴ Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your harbor has been destroyed! ¹⁵ At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years—the span of a king’s life. But at the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: ¹⁶ “Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.” ¹⁷ And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. ¹⁸ Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.

²² all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;

³ Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

¹ In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’ ³ therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, O Tyre, I am against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and make her a bare rock. ⁵ She will become a place to spread nets in the sea, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. She will become plunder for the nations, ⁶ and the villages on her mainland will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ ⁷ For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company of troops. ⁸ He will slaughter the villages of your mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp to your walls, and raise his shields against you. ⁹ He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his axes. ¹⁰ His multitude of horses will cover you in their dust. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots. ¹¹ The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your wealth and pillage your merchandise. They will demolish your walls, tear down your beautiful homes, and throw your stones and timber and soil into the water. ¹³ So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard. ¹⁴ I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread the fishing nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.’ ¹⁵ This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan at the slaughter in your midst? ¹⁶ All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled over you. ¹⁷ Then they will lament for you, saying, “How you have perished, O city of renown inhabited by seafaring men—she who was powerful on the sea, along with her people, who imposed terror on all peoples! ¹⁸ Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall; the islands in the sea are dismayed by your demise.”’ ¹⁹ For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I make you a desolate city like other deserted cities, and when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living. ²¹ I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

⁹ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood. ¹⁰ So I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre to consume its citadels.”

² and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd. ³ Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.

¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

³⁶ But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

¹⁴ But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

⁴⁷ That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

³ how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— ⁶ and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame. ⁷ For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.

²⁶ If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

⁹ if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

⁷ And by His word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

¹⁷ In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him.

¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

²⁴ Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. ²⁵ Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.

¹³ You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” ¹⁵ But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

¹ How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of His anger! He has cast the glory of Israel from heaven to earth. He has abandoned His footstool in the day of His anger.

⁴⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

¹² “Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. ¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. ¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. ¹⁵ From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways—until wickedness was found in you. ¹⁶ By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. ¹⁷ Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings. ¹⁸ By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you. ¹⁹ All the nations who know you are appalled over you. You have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

¹⁶ I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. ¹⁷ They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

⁴ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

¹³ Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him,

¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

²⁴ After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”

¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

⁴⁶ So once again Jesus came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. ⁴⁸ Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” ⁴⁹ “Sir,” the official said, “come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ “Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed. ⁵¹ And while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news: “Your boy is alive.” ⁵² So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” ⁵³ Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed. ⁵⁴ This was now the second sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea into Galilee.

²⁷ because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; ⁵ if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight; ⁶ if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; ⁷ and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

⁷ In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.

⁸ Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.

⁶ The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.

¹¹ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

¹⁹ and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

²² But Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

¹⁴ Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it. ¹⁵ Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.

¹⁸ Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.

⁴ Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸ Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. ⁹ “Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰ Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” ¹¹ Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle. ¹² On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his family, from beginning to end. ¹³ I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” ¹⁵ Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶ but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel. ¹⁷ “What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.” ¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. ²⁰ So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. ²¹ And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word.

¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

¹³ Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious name.

² From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.

²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

¹⁰ For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers. ¹¹ And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” ¹² Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.” ¹³ Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men. ¹⁴ Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”

¹⁸ On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see. ¹⁹ The humble will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

¹ This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” ⁶ “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” ⁷ But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

²³ To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

¹¹ He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ ¹⁴ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

³ “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

¹⁶ “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”

¹⁰ As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable. ¹¹ He replied, “To know the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables, ¹² so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven their sins.’”

¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.

²¹ At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.” ²² And turning to the disciples, He said, “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” ²³ Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

⁴² “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

⁴⁸ “Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the law, they are under a curse.”

³⁹ Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?” ⁴¹ “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

⁴¹ So they took away the stone from where the dead man was lying. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” ³⁹ For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: ⁴⁰ “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.

⁸ as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.” ⁹ And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them. ¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand a sign and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks,

⁶ Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” ²⁰ And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

¹⁴ But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

¹³ But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. ¹⁴ To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹³ Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks?

¹⁰ I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

²¹ At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.”

¹⁸ Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

³³ O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways! ³⁴ “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” ³⁵ “Who has first given to God, that God should repay him?” ³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

⁹ And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

¹¹ In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

¹¹ according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

²² And turning to the disciples, He said, “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.

²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. ²² Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. ²⁷ And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

⁴⁶ not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.

²⁹ but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.”

¹⁵ just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.

³ Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. ⁷ If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” ⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

² For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him. ³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

⁶ I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

²⁵ Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him.

²⁰ which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

⁸ and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ⁹ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰ In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

²² who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one. ²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

⁹ Anyone who transgresses without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁷ And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. ¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

⁷ Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah

⁴ For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.

⁷ For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath. ⁸ You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence. ⁹ For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh. ¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

¹³ to grant him relief from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.

⁷ Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

⁸ All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.

¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

²² For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? ²³ Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

⁸ There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

⁴ Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.

¹⁰ On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious.

¹² to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.

²² Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. ²³ By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. ²⁴ Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. ²⁵ In the LORD all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.

¹⁷ Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go. ¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.

² He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! ² Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. ³ Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

³ to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

¹⁶ This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

⁶ With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? ⁷ Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

⁴ They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

³⁷ Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

¹⁰ Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. ²³ But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

¹ In the freedom with which Christ has set us free, stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

⁷ and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels

¹ Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

³ Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty. I do not aspire to great things or matters too lofty for me.

¹ “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations. ² He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets. ³ A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. ⁴ He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”

²⁴ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them I will liken to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

²⁷ All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. ²⁰ A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.

⁵ While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

⁴⁶ Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say? ⁴⁷ I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because its foundation was on the rock.

³⁵ So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

⁵¹ As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them, just as Elijah did?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are. ⁵⁶ For the Son of Man did not come to destroy the lives of men, but to save them.” And He and His disciples went on to another village.

³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet listening to His message. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” ⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” Jesus replied, “you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

¹⁵ I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.

¹⁷ If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

²¹ Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.” ²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³ Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. The word that you hear is not My own, but it is from the Father who sent Me.

¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that My joy may abide in you and your joy may be complete. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you.

²² For Moses said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you. ²³ Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’

³⁷ This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘The Lord our God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’

²¹ To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.

¹ Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away.

⁵ We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

²⁰ But this is not the way you came to know Christ. ²¹ Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus—

⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:

⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

⁸ in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

³ Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world. ⁴ For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.” ⁵ And again, as He says in the passage above: “They shall never enter My rest.” ⁶ Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience, ⁷ God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

⁹ And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him

²¹ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps: ²² “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” ²³ When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

⁶ Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.

¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful.

⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

³³ I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

²⁸ It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:

⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

¹⁷ For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.

⁹ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹³ I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,