Matthew 23 Cross References - LEB

¹ Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ² saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. ³ Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as _⌊they do_⌋,* for they tell others to do something* and do not do it themselves.* ⁴ And they tie up heavy burdens* and put them* on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing with their finger to move them. ⁵ And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their* tassels long. ⁶ And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by people. ⁸ But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers, ⁹ And do not call anyone* your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ And the greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. ¹³ "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in* to enter.* ¹⁵ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one 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, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.'* ¹⁷ Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? ¹⁸ And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.'* ¹⁹ Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? ²⁰ Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. ²¹ And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. ²² And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it. ²³ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary* to do these things _⌊while not neglecting those_⌋.* ²⁴ Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel! ²⁵ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish,* so that the outside of it may become clean also. ²⁷ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ²⁹ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!' ³¹ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! ³² And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! ³³ Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? ³⁴ For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation! ³⁷ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together _⌊the way_⌋* a hen gathers her young together under her* wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸ Behold, your house has been left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say,
'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"*

¹⁰ And summoning the crowd, he said to them, "Hear and understand: ¹¹ It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person." ¹² Then the disciples came and* said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they* heard this saying?" ¹³ And he answered and* said, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let* them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit." ¹⁵ But Peter answered and* said to him, "Explain this parable to us." ¹⁶ But he said, "Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech. ²⁰ These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!"

¹⁴ And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand:

³⁸ And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,

¹ During _⌊this time_⌋* when* a crowd of many thousands had gathered together, so that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware for yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

⁵⁷ And why do you not also judge for yourselves what is right?

⁴⁵ And while* all the people were listening, he said to the disciples,* ⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,

⁶ this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh the God of Israel gave. The king granted him all his requests, for the hand of Yahweh was upon him.

²⁵ "You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who can judge all of the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God. And you will teach those who do not know.

⁴ Then Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden podium that had been made for the occasion. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right. On his left was Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵ Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, because he was above all of the people. When he opened it all the people stood up. ⁶ Then Ezra blessed Yahweh the great God, and all of the people answered, "Amen! Amen!" while lifting their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped Yahweh with their noses to the ground. ⁷ And Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites were teaching the people from the law* while the people were in their places. ⁸ So they read the book from the law* of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.

⁷ For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction* from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.

³⁸ And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and greetings in the marketplaces

⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,

¹⁹ Now listen to my voice; I will advise you, and may God be with you. You be for the people before God, and you bring the issues to God. ²⁰ And you warn them of the rules and the instructions, and you make known to them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do.

²³ If you will do this thing and God will command you, then you will be able to endure, and also each of the people will go to his home* in peace."

⁵ See, I now teach* you rules and regulations just as Yahweh my God has commanded me, to observe them just so in the midst of the land where you are going, to take possession of it.

²⁷ You go near and hear _⌊everything_⌋* that Yahweh our God will say; and then you tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you, and we will listen, and we will do it.'

⁹ then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be in office in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you _⌊the verdict_⌋.* ¹⁰ "And _⌊you shall carry out exactly the decision_⌋* that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and _⌊you shall diligently observe_⌋* according to all that they instruct you. ¹¹ And so according to _⌊the instruction of the law_⌋* that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or to the left. ¹² And the man who treats with contempt* so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

¹² The hand of God was also upon Judah, to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and the princes concerning the word of Yahweh.

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to recite my statutes and _⌊mention my covenant with your mouth_⌋,* ¹⁷ while you yourself hate discipline, and cast my words behind you? ¹⁸ When you see a thief, then you are pleased with him, and your association is with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth free rein for evil, and you harness your tongue to deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your mother's son.

² "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat _⌊a meal_⌋."* ³ So he answered and* said to them, "Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, 'Honor your* father and your* mother,'* and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother _⌊must certainly die_⌋*.'* ⁵ But you say, 'Whoever says to his* father or his* mother, "Whatever _⌊benefit you would have received_⌋* from me is a gift to God," ⁶ need not honor his father,'* and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying, ⁸ 'This people honors me with their* lips, but their heart is far, far away from me, ⁹ and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"*

³⁰ And he approached the second* and* said the same thing. So he answered and* said, 'I will, sir,' and he did not go.

²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered and* said, "It is necessary to obey God rather than men!

¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth in the law. ²¹ Therefore, the one who teaches someone else, do you not teach yourself? The one who preaches not to steal, do you steal? ²² The one who says not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? The one who abhors idols, do you rob temples? ²³ Who boast in the law, by the transgression of the law you dishonor God!* ²⁴ For just as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."*

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except by God, and those that exist are put in place by God.

⁵ maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these people.

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him, because they* are detestable and disobedient, and unfit for every good deed.

²⁸ Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke on 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 to carry and my burden is light."

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

⁴⁶ So he said, "Woe to you also, legal experts, because you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers!

¹⁰ So now why are you putting God to the test by* placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

²⁸ For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to place on you no greater burden except these necessary things:

¹³ For not even those who are circumcised observe the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised in order that they may boast in your flesh.

²⁴ But I say to you, to the rest who are in Thyatira, all those who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they say, I do not put upon you any other burden.

⁹ And it will be as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes so that the law of Yahweh will be in your mouth, that with a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from Egypt.

³⁸ "Speak to the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* and tell them to make for themselves tassels* on the hems of their garments throughout their generations* and to put a blue cord on the tassel of the hem. ³⁹ You will have a tassel _⌊for you to look at_⌋* and remember all the commands of Yahweh and do them, and not follow _⌊after the unfaithfulness of your own heart and eyes_⌋,*

⁸ And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes.

¹⁸ "And you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your inner self,* and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be as an emblem between your eyes.

¹² "You shall make tassels for yourselves* on the four corners of your clothing with which you cover yourself.

¹⁶ Then he said, "Come with me! Look at my zeal for Yahweh!" So he let him ride in his chariot.

³ May loyal love* and truth not forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them upon your heart.

²¹ Bind them on your heart continually; tie them upon your neck. ²² _⌊When you walk_⌋,* she* will lead you, _⌊When you lie down_⌋,* she will watch over you, and when you awake, she will converse with you. ²³ For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light, and the way of life* is the reproof of discipline,

¹ "And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; _⌊otherwise_⌋* you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ² Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! ³ But you, when you* practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ⁵ And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand and* pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! ⁶ But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door and* pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ⁷ "But when you* pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard. ⁸ Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows _⌊what you need_⌋* before you ask him. ⁹ Therefore you pray in this way:
"Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy. ¹⁰ May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread, ¹² and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³ And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.* ¹⁴ For if you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your sins. ¹⁶ "Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

²⁰ And behold, a woman who had been suffering with a hemorrhage twelve years approached from behind and* touched the edge* of his cloak,

¹⁵ And he said to them, "You are the ones who justify themselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts! For what is considered exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

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

⁴⁴ How are you able to believe, if you* accept glory from one another, and do not seek the glory which is from the only God?

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

⁴³ For they loved the praise of men more than praise from God.

¹⁵ Some even because of envy and strife preach Christ, but some also because of good will.

³ Do nothing according to selfish ambition or according to empty conceit, but in humility considering one another better than yourselves, ⁴ who opposes and who exalts himself over every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.

⁶ Do not promote yourself before the king, and in the place of the great ones do not stand. ⁷ For it is better that he say to you, "Ascend here," than he humble you before a noble. What your eyes have seen,

²¹ And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom."

⁴³ Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces! ⁴⁴ Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over them* do not know it!* ⁴⁵ And one of the legal experts answered and* said to him, "Teacher, when you* say these things, you insult us also!" ⁴⁶ So he said, "Woe to you also, legal experts, because you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers! ⁴⁷ Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! ⁴⁸ As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build their tombs!* ⁴⁹ For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building.* Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation! ⁵² Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!" ⁵³ And when* he departed from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly hostile, and to question him closely about many things, ⁵⁴ plotting to catch him with reference to something _⌊he might say_⌋.*

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

⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁷ who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!"

¹⁰ being devoted to one another in brotherly love, esteeming one another more highly in honor,

¹ My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. ² For if someone* enters into your assembly* in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, ³ and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, "Be seated here in a good place," and to the poor person you say, "You stand or be seated there* by my footstool," ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

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

⁸ But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers,

⁵ And Peter answered and* said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."

⁵¹ And Jesus answered him and* said, "What do you want _⌊me to do_⌋* for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Rabboni,* that I may regain my sight."

³⁸ And Jesus, turning around and seeing them following him,* said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means when* translated "Teacher"), "where are you staying?"

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

² This man came to him at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are* a teacher who has come from God, for no one is able to perform these signs that you are performing unless God were with him."

²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, about whom you testified—look, this one is baptizing, and all are coming to him!"

²⁵ And when they* found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned around and* said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni" (which means "Teacher").

²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household?

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

¹⁰ And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ.

⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus immediately and* said, "Greetings, Rabbi," and kissed him.

³² but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. And you, when* once you have turned back,* strengthen your brothers."

¹³ You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you speak correctly, for I am. ¹⁴ If then I—your* Lord and Teacher—wash your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

⁹ For Christ died and became alive again for this reason, in order that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or also, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

¹² But I say this, that each of you is saying, "I am with Paul," and "I am with Apollos," and "I am with Cephas," and "I am with Christ." ¹³ Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he?* Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

³ for you are still fleshly. For where there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and do you not live like unregenerate people?* ⁴ For whenever anyone says, "I am with Paul," and another, "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human? ⁵ Therefore, what is Apollos and what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave.

²⁴ Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.

⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus* as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.

¹⁵ from whom every* family in heaven and on earth is named,

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ² to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

¹ Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you* know that we will receive a greater judgment.*

³ and not as lording it over _⌊those under your care_⌋*, but being examples for the flock.

⁹ I, John, your brother and co-sharer in the affliction and kingdom and steadfastness in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.

¹⁰ And I fell down before his feet to worship him, and he said to me, "_⌊Do not do that!_⌋* I am a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

⁹ And he said to me, "_⌊Do not do that!_⌋* I am your fellow slave, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

¹² while Elisha was watching and crying out, "My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" But he could not see him any longer, and he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces.

²¹ Then the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, "Shall I kill them? Shall I kill, my father?"

¹⁴ Elisha became ill with the illness with which he would die, so Jehoash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, and said, "My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!"

²¹ _⌊Please let me not show partiality to anyone_⌋,* and let me not show flattery to human beings, ²² for I do not know how _⌊to flatter_⌋,* else my Maker would _⌊soon_⌋* put an end to me.

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

⁸ Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows _⌊what you need_⌋* before you ask him. ⁹ Therefore you pray in this way:
"Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be treated as holy.

³² for the pagans seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

¹¹ Therefore if you, although you* are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

¹ "Men—brothers and fathers—listen to my defense to you now!"

¹⁴ For all those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, "Abba!* Father!" ¹⁶ The Spirit himself confirms to our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer together with him so that we may also be glorified together with him.

¹⁵ For if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I fathered you through the gospel.

¹⁸ and I will be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me,"* says the all-powerful Lord.

¹ Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as a father, younger men as brothers, ² older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.

⁹ Furthermore, we have had _⌊our earthly fathers_⌋* who disciplined us, and we respected them. Will we not much rather subject ourselves to the Father of spirits and live?

¹ See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know him.

²⁶ It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be your slave—

⁴³ But it is not like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be most prominent among you must be the slave of all.

²⁶ But you are not to be like this! But the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am in your midst as the one who serves.

¹⁴ If then I—your* Lord and Teacher—wash your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that just as I have done for you, you also do.

¹⁹ For although I* am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more.

²³ Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as though I were beside myself—I am more so, with far greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with beatings to a much greater degree, in danger of death many times.

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

⁵ Think this in* yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself by* taking the form of a slave, by* becoming in the likeness of people. And being found in appearance like a man, ⁸ he humbled himself by* becoming obedient to the point of death, that is, death on a cross.

²⁹ When they are humiliated, _⌊you say_⌋,* 'It is pride,' for* he saves _⌊the humble_⌋.*

⁶ Though Yahweh is high, yet he sees the lowly, but the proud he perceives* at a distance.

³³ Fear of Yahweh is the instruction of the wise, and before honor comes humility.

¹⁸ Before destruction comes pride, and before a fall, a haughty spirit.* ¹⁹ Better a lowly spirit with the poor than dividing the spoil with the proud.

²³ The pride of a person will bring him humiliation, and the lowly of spirit will obtain honor.

¹⁵ For thus says the high and lofty one who resides forever, and whose name is holy:
"I reside in a high and holy place, and with the _⌊contrite_⌋* and humble of spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the _⌊contrite_⌋.*

³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are truth,* and his ways are justice and that he is able to humble those who walk in pride."

³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,

⁵¹ He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has dispersed the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.

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

¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than that one! For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

⁶ But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."*

⁵ In the same way, younger men, be subject to the elders, and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

¹⁴ So Yahweh cut off head and tail from Israel, palm branch and reed in one day. ¹⁵ Elders* and _⌊the respectable_⌋* are the head, and prophets* who teach lies* are the tail.

¹⁴ Sinners are afraid in Zion; trembling has seized the godless: "Who of us can _⌊live_⌋* with devouring fire? Who of us can _⌊live_⌋* with everlasting consuming hearths?"

¹⁷ "Woe, my worthless shepherd who deserts the flock!* May a sword fall on his arm and on _⌊his right eye_⌋!* May his arm wither completely and _⌊his right eye_⌋* be utterly blinded!"

³¹ Which of the two did the will of his* father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going ahead of you into the kingdom of God! ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him. And when* you saw it,* you did not even change your minds later so as to believe in him.

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

¹⁵ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one,* you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!

²⁵ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!

²⁷ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean!

²⁹ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,

⁴³ Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces! ⁴⁴ Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over them* do not know it!*

⁵² Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!"

⁴⁶ The officers replied, "Never has a man spoken like this!" ⁴⁷ Then the Pharisees replied to them, "You have not also been deceived, have you?* ⁴⁸ _⌊None_⌋* of the rulers or of the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?* ⁴⁹ But this crowd who does not know the law is accursed!" ⁵⁰ Nicodemus, the one who came to him previously—who was one of them—said to them, ⁵¹ "Our law does not condemn a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?"* ⁵² They answered and said to him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you?* Investigate and see that a prophet does not arise from Galilee!"

³⁹ And Jesus said,* "For judgment I have come into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind!" ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, "We are not also blind, are we?"* ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

³ And again I testify to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is under obligation to keep the whole law.

¹² Now above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.

²⁶ And you will anoint with it the tent of assembly and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷ and the table and all its equipment and the lampstand and its equipment and the incense altar, ²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering and all its equipment and the basin and its stand. ²⁹ And you will consecrate them, and they will be most holy things; _⌊anyone who_⌋* touches them will be holy.

³⁸ The censers of these _⌊who have sinned_⌋* at the cost of their lives, let them be made into gilded leafing plating for the altar; because they presented them _⌊before Yahweh_⌋,* they are holy; and they will be a sign for the _⌊Israelites_⌋.'"* ³⁹ Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that the ones who were burned presented, and they hammered them out thinly as plating for the altar;

⁸ You pay attention, O brutes among the people. And you fools, when you will show insight?

³⁷ Seven days you will make atonement for the altar, and you will consecrate it, and the altar will be _⌊a most holy thing_⌋.* _⌊Anyone who_⌋* touches the altar will be holy.

²⁹ And you will consecrate them, and they will be most holy things; _⌊anyone who_⌋* touches them will be holy.

¹³ I have certainly built a lofty house for you, a place for you to live forever."

²⁷ For will God really dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens could not contain you! _⌊How could_⌋* this house that I have built?

² But I have built for you an exalted house, even a place for you to dwell in forever."

² And the priests were not able to go into the house of Yahweh, for the glory of Yahweh had filled the house.

⁸ O Yahweh, I love the dwelling of your house,* and _⌊the place where your glory abides_⌋.*

¹³ For Yahweh has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation. ¹⁴ "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

²² in whom you also are built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.*

⁹ because in him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily,

⁴ Yahweh is in his holy temple; Yahweh is in the heavens on his throne. His eyelids see; they test the children of humankind.

¹ Thus says Yahweh:
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool for my feet. Where is this house that you would build for me? And where is this resting place for me?

³⁴ But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

⁴⁹ 'Heaven is my throne and earth is the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

² Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one was seated on the throne. ³ And the one seated was similar in appearance to jasper and carnelian stone, and a rainbow was around the throne similar in appearance to emerald.

³⁰ " 'And any tithe of the land from the land's seed or from the fruit of the trees is for Yahweh; it is a holy object for Yahweh.

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

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

¹⁵ Do you reign as king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and he did justice and righteousness, then it was well with him? ¹⁶ He judged the legal cause of the needy and the poor, and then it was well. _⌊Is that not what it means to know me_⌋?*" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

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

⁸ He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does Yahweh ask from you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

¹⁹ Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

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

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

³⁷ And he said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'* ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'* ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

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

¹² I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.'

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

⁴ Or how will you say to your brother, 'Allow me to remove the speck from your eye,' and behold, the beam of wood is in your own eye?

² "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat _⌊a meal_⌋."* ³ So he answered and* said to them, "Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, 'Honor your* father and your* mother,'* and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother _⌊must certainly die_⌋*.'*

²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person into* the kingdom of God."

¹⁶ "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.'*

⁶ But the chief priests took the silver coins and* said, "It is not permitted to put them into the temple treasury, because it is _⌊blood money_⌋."* ⁷ And after* taking counsel, they purchased _⌊with_⌋* them the Potter's Field, for a burial place for strangers. ⁸ (For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood until today.)

⁷ So the scribes and the Pharisees were watching closely* to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, in order that they could find a reason* to accuse him. ⁸ But he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Get up and stand in the middle," and he got up and* stood there. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, "I ask you whether it is permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?"* ¹⁰ And after* looking around at them all, he said to him, "Stretch out your hand," and he did, and his hand was restored.

²⁸ Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor's residence. Now it was early, and they did not enter into the governor's residence so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.

⁴⁰ Then they shouted again, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" (Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.)*

⁷ And these also stagger because of wine and stagger because of strong drink; priest and prophet stagger because of strong drink; they are confused* because of wine. They stagger because of strong drink; they err in vision. They stagger in the rendering of a decision, ⁸ for all the tables are full of disgusting vomit, _⌊with no place left_⌋.*

⁴ And when they come* from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions* which they have received and* hold fast to—for example,* the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)* ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their* bread with unclean hands?" ⁶ So he said to them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
'This people honors me with their* lips, but their heart is far, far away from me. ⁷ And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'* ⁸ Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men." ⁹ And he said to them, "You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep* your tradition.

³⁹ But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of greediness and wickedness. ⁴⁰ Fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of sin his thoughts. And let him return to Yahweh, that* he may take pity on him, and to our God, for he will _⌊forgive manifold_⌋.*

¹⁴ Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. _⌊How long_⌋* will your thoughts of mischief dwell in your inner part?

²⁷ Your adulteries, and your neighings, the shameful behavior of your fornications on the hills in the countryside, I have seen your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! _⌊How long will you continue to be unclean_⌋?*"

³¹ Throw _⌊away from yourselves_⌋* all of your transgressions that you committed,* and make _⌊for yourselves_⌋* a new heart and new spirit, and so why will you die, house of Israel?

³³ "Either make the tree good and its fruit is good, or make the tree bad and its fruit is bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good, and the evil person out of his* evil treasury* brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

¹ Therefore since we* have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, accomplishing holiness in the fear of God.

²² let us approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!

¹⁶ Anyone _⌊in the open field_⌋* who touches _⌊one who has been slain_⌋,* or a corpse, or a bone of a person, or a burial site, he will be unclean for seven days.

¹ "Call with the throat; you must not keep back! lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare* to my people their rebellion, and to the house of Jacob their sins. ² Yet* they seek me day by day, and they desire the knowledge of my ways like a nation that _⌊practiced_⌋* righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of its God; they ask me for _⌊righteous judgments_⌋,* they desire the closeness of God.

⁴⁴ Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over them* do not know it!*

³ Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! And are you sitting there judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?"

⁷ But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For God does not see what man sees, for a man _⌊looks on the outward appearance_⌋,* but Yahweh _⌊looks on the heart_⌋."*

⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden parts you make me to know wisdom.

⁹ The heart is deceitful more than anything else, and it is disastrous. Who can understand it? ¹⁰ I, Yahweh, examine the _⌊mind_⌋,* I test the _⌊heart_⌋,* and give to each one according to his way, according to the fruit of his deeds.

³⁴ Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you* are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good person from his* good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his* evil treasury brings out evil things.

⁵ And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their* tassels long.

²¹ For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, ²² adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, _⌊envy_⌋,* abusive speech, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile a person."

¹² For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, and able to judge the reflections and thoughts of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden in the sight of him, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom _⌊we must give our account_⌋*.

⁴⁷ Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! ⁴⁸ As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build their tombs!*

²⁹ "Men and brothers, it is possible to speak with confidence to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us until this day.

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

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

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

³⁴ For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

²² And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "We are witnesses."

⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. ⁶ Your mouth condemns you, and not I; and your lips testify against you.

⁸ * And they who would cause him* to stumble, their own tongue will be against them. All who gaze on them will shake.*

²² He said to him, '_⌊By your own words_⌋* I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am a severe man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.

⁵¹ "You stiff-necked people and uncircumcised in hearts and in your* ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so also do you! ⁵² Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become,

¹⁶ And the fourth generation shall return here, for the guilt of the Amorites _⌊is not yet complete_⌋."*

¹⁴ Behold, you stand in the place of your fathers, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more _⌊Yahweh's fierce anger_⌋* against Israel.

⁶ And I asked, "What is it?" And he said, "This is a basket* going out. And he said, "This is their iniquity* throughout all the earth. ⁷ And look, the lead cover was lifted and a woman was sitting inside the basket.* ⁸ And he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he thrust her back down into the basket,* and threw the lead cover on top of it.* ⁹ And I _⌊looked up_⌋* and saw, and look!—two women coming forward, and the wind was in their wings, and they had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket* between the earth and the sky.* ¹⁰ And I asked the angel who was talking to me, "Where are they taking the basket?"* ¹¹ And he said to me, "To build for it a house* in the land of Shinar,* and when it is put in place, it will be placed there on its site."

¹⁶ hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles in order that they may be saved, so that they always fill up their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the end.*

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

³ The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray from the belly, speaking lies. ⁴ Their venom is like snake venom; They are like a deaf viper that closes its ear ⁵ so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or the skilled caster of spells.

³ "But* you, come near here, you children of a soothsayer, offspring of an adulterer and she who commits fornication. ⁴ At whom do you make fun? At whom do you _⌊open_⌋* your mouth and _⌊stick out_⌋* your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of deception,

⁷ But when he* saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

³⁴ Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you* are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

³⁴ And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenant farmers seized his slaves, one of whom they beat, and one of whom they killed, and one of whom they stoned.

⁷ Therefore he was saying to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

³ But I am afraid lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds may be led astray from the sincerity and the purity of devotion to Christ.

³ how will we escape if we* neglect so great a salvation which had its beginning when it* was spoken through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard,

²⁹ How much worse punishment do you think the person will be considered worthy of who treats with disdain the Son of God and who considers ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy and who insults the Spirit of grace?

²⁵ Watch out that you do not refuse the one who is speaking! For if those did not escape when they* refused the one who warned them on earth, much less will we escape,* if we* reject the one who warns from heaven,

⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

¹⁵ And Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* had repeatedly and persistently sent to them by the hand of his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they were mocking the messengers of God and despising his words and scoffing at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh rose against his people until there was no remedy.

³⁰ The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and he who captures souls* is wise.

¹⁶ "Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues.

²³ And whenever they persecute you in this town, flee to another, for truly I say to you, you will never finish going through the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

⁵² And he said to them, "For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things."

¹⁹ Therefore, go* and* make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age."

⁴⁹ For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' ⁵⁰ so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building.* Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation!

⁴⁷ and repentance and the forgiveness* of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations,* beginning from Jerusalem.

² _⌊They will expel you from the synagogue_⌋,* but an hour is coming that everyone who kills you will think they are offering service to God.

²¹ So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you."

⁸ But you will receive power when* the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth."

⁵⁸ And after they* had driven him* out of the city, they began to stone* him,* and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And they kept on stoning Stephen as he* was calling out and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

¹ But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and* asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring them* tied up* to Jerusalem.

²⁷ Now in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

² So he executed James the brother of John with a sword.

¹ Now there were prophets and teachers in Antioch in the church that was there: Barnabas, and Simeon (who was called Niger), and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

³² Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers by a long message.

¹⁹ And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I was imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and was approving, and was guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.'

⁶ Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but wisdom not of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing,

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must direct his attention to how he is building upon it.

³ Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed," and no one is able to say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, ⁵ and there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord, ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but the same God, who works all things in all people. ⁷ But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is beneficial to all. ⁸ For to one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another a word of knowledge by the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another* gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another* _⌊miraculous powers_⌋*, to another* prophecy, to another* distinguishing of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another* interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But in all these things one and the same Spirit is at work, distributing to each one individually just as he wishes.

²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I have spent in the deep water.

⁸ Therefore it says,
"Ascending on high he led captivity captive; he gave gifts to men."* ⁹ Now "he ascended," what is it, except that he also descended* to the lower regions of the earth? ¹⁰ The one who descended himself is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order that he might fill all things. ¹¹ And he himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers ¹² for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

²⁸ whom we proclaim, by* admonishing every person* and teaching every person* with all wisdom, in order that we may present every person* mature in Christ,

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted, mistreated,

¹⁰ And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them, and will celebrate and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.

⁸ Then* Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out into the field."* And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

⁵ And* _⌊your lifeblood_⌋* I will require; from _⌊every animal_⌋* I will require it. And from the hand of humankind, from the hand of each man to his brother I will require the life of humankind. ⁶ "As for the one shedding the blood of humankind, by humankind his blood shall be shed, for God made humankind in his own image.

³³ So you will not pollute the land in which you are; because blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is poured out on it except with the blood of the one who poured it out.

⁷ And they shall declare, and they shall say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see what was done. ⁸ Forgive your people, Israel, whom you redeemed, Yahweh, and do not _⌊allow_⌋* the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, and let them be forgiven with regard to blood.'

¹⁶ Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he filled Jerusalem _⌊from one end to another_⌋,* apart from his sin which he caused Judah to sin by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

⁴ Also, for the blood of the innocent that he had shed—and he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood—Yahweh was not willing to forgive.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.'" ²¹ Then they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the command of the king in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. ²² So King Joash did not remember the loyal love that Jehoiada had shown to him, and he killed his son. And as he was dying he said, "May Yahweh see and avenge!"

²¹ For look! Yahweh is about to come out from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants* of the earth against him, and the earth will disclose her blood and will no longer cover her slain.

³⁴ Also on your skirts is found the blood of the life of the innocent, the poor. You did not find them in the act of breaking into a house. But in spite of all these things,

¹⁵ Only you must certainly know that if you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves innocent blood, and on this city and on its inhabitants, for _⌊truly_⌋* Yahweh sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears."

²³ And they brought out Uriah from Egypt and they brought him to King Jehoiakim, and he struck him down with the sword, and he threw his dead body into the burial sites of the sons of the people.

¹³ Because of the sins of her prophets, the guilt of her priests, who shed blood in her midst, of righteous people. ¹⁴ They wander blindly in the streets; they were defiled with the blood, their clothes could not be touched.

¹ In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came* to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying,

⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building.* Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation!

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a greater sacrifice than Cain, by which he was approved that he was righteous, because* God approved him for his gifts, and through it* he still speaks, although he* is dead.

²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and _⌊to the sprinkled blood_⌋* that speaks better than Abel's does.

¹¹ For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, ¹² not as Cain, who was of the evil one and violently murdered his brother. And _⌊for what reason_⌋* did he violently murder him? Because his deeds were evil and the deeds of his brother were righteous.

²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and all those who had been slaughtered on the earth.

²¹ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²² "Son of man,* what is this proverb _⌊you people have_⌋* about the land of Israel, _⌊saying_⌋,* '_⌊The days are prolonged_⌋,* and every vision has come to nothing.' ²³ Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "I will put an end to this proverb, and they will not quote it as a proverb again in Israel." ' But* say to them, 'The days are near, and also the word of every vision.' ²⁴ For there will not be any longer _⌊any false vision_⌋* or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I, Yahweh, I will speak what I will speak as a word, and it will be done. It will not prolong itself any longer, for in your days, house of rebellion, I will speak a word and I will fulfill it!" _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²⁶ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁷ "Son of man,* look! The house of Israel is saying, 'The vision that he is seeing is for many days from now, and for distant times he is prophesying.' ²⁸ Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "None of my words will be prolonged any longer that I speak as a word, and it will be fulfilled!" '" _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

³⁴ Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place!

³⁰ Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³² Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all things take place! ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

¹¹ As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreads out its wings, takes them,* carries them* on its pinions,* ¹² so Yahweh alone guided him,* and _⌊there was no foreign god accompanying him_⌋.*

¹² May Yahweh reward your work and may a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you came to take refuge."

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

⁸ Keep me as _⌊the apple of your eye_⌋.* Hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁷ How precious is your loyal love, O God, and the children of humankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

¹ For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy. Of David. A miktam. When he fled from Saul into the cave.*
Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, because in you my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.

⁷ Because you have been my help, therefore* in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

⁸ Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me. ⁹ There shall be no strange god among you, and you shall not bow down to a foreign god. ¹⁰ I am Yahweh your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. ¹¹ But my people did not listen to my voice, and Israel did not yield to me.

⁴ With his feathers he will cover you, and under his wings you can take refuge. His faithfulness will be a shield and a buckler.*

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

² Why was there no man when I came, no one who answered when I called? _⌊Do I lack the strength to save_⌋?* Or is there no power in me to deliver? Look! by my rebuke I dry up the sea; I _⌊make_⌋* the rivers a desert; their fish stink because there is no water, and they* die because of thirst.

⁸ Be warned, O Jerusalem, lest I turn away from you in disgust, lest I make you a desolation, a land that is not inhabited."

¹⁶ Thus says Yahweh: "Stand at the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is, and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves.* But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'* ¹⁷ And I raised up watchmen over you: 'Listen attentively to the sound of a horn.' But they said, 'We will not listen attentively.'

⁷ for I solemnly admonished your ancestors* in the day of my leading them out from the land of Egypt and up to this day, _⌊admonishing persistently_⌋,* _⌊saying_⌋,* "Obey my voice." ⁸ But they did not obey and they did not incline their ear. Instead each one walked in the stubbornness of his* evil heart. Therefore, I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I commanded them* to do, and they did not do it.'"*

³ "From the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, even up to this day, these twenty-three years* the word of Yahweh has come to me, and _⌊I have spoken to you over and over again_⌋,* but you have not listened. ⁴ And though Yahweh has sent all his servants the prophets to you _⌊over and over again_⌋* you have not listened, and you have not inclined your ear to hear, ⁵ _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors* from a long time back and until forever, ⁶ and you must not go after other gods to serve them, and to bow in worship to them, and you must not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will not do something bad to you.' ⁷ 'Yet you have not listened to me,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'so that you* have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands for your own harm.'

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

⁹ and said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to cause your plea to fall _⌊before him_⌋:* ¹⁰ 'If only you will stay in this land, then I will build you and I will not tear you down, and I will plant you and I will not pluck you up, for I relent of the disaster that I have brought to you. ¹¹ You must not be afraid _⌊of_⌋* the king of Babylon whom you are _⌊afraid of_⌋.* You must not be afraid of him,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, 'for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand. ¹² And I will show you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and will restore you to your soil. ¹³ But if you are saying, "We will not stay in this land," so as to not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God,

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

² When I called* them, they went from my face.* They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.

⁷ My people are bent on backsliding from me. To the Most High they call, he does not raise them at all.

⁴ "Do not be like your ancestors,* to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!" ' But they did not hear* and they did not pay attention* to me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

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

³ And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the wedding celebration, and they did not want to come.

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

³⁰ and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!'

³ And they seized him and* beat him* and sent him* away empty-handed. ⁴ And again he sent to them another slave, and that one they struck on the head and dishonored. ⁵ And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent* many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed. ⁶ He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

³⁴ "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together _⌊the way_⌋* a hen gathers* her own brood under her* wings, and you were not willing! ³⁵ Behold, your house has been left to you! And I tell you, you will never see me until the time* will come when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"*

¹⁷ And he sent his slave at the hour of the banquet to say to those who have been invited, 'Come, because now it is ready!' ¹⁸ And they all _⌊alike_⌋* began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field, and _⌊I must_⌋* go out to look at it. I ask you, consider me excused.' ¹⁹ And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. I ask you, consider me excused.' ²⁰ And another said, 'I have married a wife, and for this reason I am not able to come.'

²⁸ But he became angry and did not want to go in. So his father came out and* began to implore* him.

¹⁴ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to be king over us!' ¹⁵ And it happened that when he returned after* receiving the kingdom, he ordered these slaves to whom he had given the money to be summoned to him, so that he could know what they had gained by trading. ¹⁶ So the first arrived, saying, 'Sir, your mina has made ten minas more!' ¹⁷ And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small thing, _⌊have authority_⌋* over ten cities.' ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, 'Sir, your mina has made five minas.' ¹⁹ So he said to this one also, 'And you be over five cities.' ²⁰ And another came, saying, 'Sir, behold your mina, which I had put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. ²¹ For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man—you withdraw what you did not deposit, and you reap what you did not sow!' ²² He said to him, '_⌊By your own words_⌋* I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am a severe man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. ²³ And why did you not give my money to the bank, and I, when I* returned, would have collected it with interest?' ²⁴ And to the bystanders he said, 'Take away from him the mina and give it* to the one who has the ten minas!' ²⁵ And they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten minas.' ²⁶ 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them* here and slaughter them in my presence!'" ²⁸ And after he* had said these things, he traveled on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ And it happened that when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, to the hill* called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, 'Go into the village in front of you, in which as you* enter you will find a colt tied, on which _⌊no person has ever_⌋* sat, and untie it and* bring it.* ³¹ And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?'* you will say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'" ³² So those who were sent went and* found it* just as he had told them. ³³ And as* they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, 'Why are you untying the colt?' ³⁴ So they said, 'The Lord has need of it.' ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they put Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as* he was going along, they were spreading out their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ Now as* he was drawing near by this time to the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began rejoicing to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles that they had seen, ³⁸ saying,
"Blessed is the king, the one who comes in the name of the Lord!* Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" ³⁹ And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" ⁴⁰ And he answered and* said, "I tell you that* if these keep silent, the stones will cry out!" ⁴¹ And when he approached and* saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, "If you had known on this day—even you—the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For days will come upon you and your enemies will put up an embankment* against you, and will surround you and press you hard from all directions. ⁴⁴ And they will raze you to the ground, you and your children within you, and will not leave a stone upon a stone within you, _⌊because_⌋* you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

¹¹ And he proceeded to send another slave, but they beat and dishonored that one also, and* sent him* away empty-handed. ¹² And he proceeded to send a third, but they wounded and* threw out this one also. ¹³ So the owner of the vineyard said, 'What should I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' ¹⁴ But when* the tenant farmers saw him, they began to reason* with one another, saying, 'This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will become ours!'

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

⁷ And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is called symbolically Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.
And _⌊I was greatly astonished when I saw her_⌋*.

⁷ then I will cut Israel off from the face of the land that I have given to them, even the house which I have consecrated for my name I will cast away from my face; and Israel shall become a proverb and an object of taunting among all the peoples.

²⁰ then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations. ²¹ And as for this house, which was exalted, all who pass by it will be appalled and will say, 'Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?'

²⁴ Pour out your indignation on them, and let your burning anger overtake them.

¹⁰ _⌊Your holy cities_⌋* have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. ¹¹ _⌊Our holy and beautiful temple_⌋,* where our ancestors* praised you has _⌊been burned_⌋* by fire, and all our precious objects have become ruins.* ¹² Will you control yourself because of these, Yahweh? Will you be silent? And will you oppress us exceedingly?

⁹ Will you steal? Will you murder? And will you commit adultery? And will you swear _⌊falsely_⌋?* And will you make a smoke offering to the Baal? And will you go after other gods whom you have not known? ¹⁰ And then you come and you stand _⌊before_⌋* me in this house, which is called _⌊by my name_⌋,* and you say, 'we are safe _⌊to go on doing_⌋* all of these detestable things.' ¹¹ Has this house, which is called _⌊by my name_⌋,* become a cave of robbers in your eyes? Look, I, even I, have seen it," * _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ¹² "For go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell in the beginning, and see what I did to it _⌊because of_⌋* the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³ And now, because of your doing all these things," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and _⌊I have spoken to you over and over again_⌋,* and you have not listened, and I called you, and you have not answered, ¹⁴ therefore I will do to the house that is called _⌊by my name_⌋,* in which you are trusting, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors* _⌊what_⌋* I did to Shiloh.

⁵ But if you do not obey these words, I swear by myself," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "that this house will become a site of ruins." '"

²⁶ "And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one* shall be cut off, and _⌊he shall have nothing_⌋,* and the people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary,* and its end will be with the flood and on to the end there shall be war; these desolations are determined.

¹ Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire will devour your cedars! ² Wail, O juniper,* for the cedar has fallen, for the magnificent trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!

⁶ For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. "Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand."

¹ Look! A day is coming for Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst. ² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city.

² But he answered and* said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!"

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

³⁵ Behold, your house has been left to you! And I tell you, you will never see me until the time* will come when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"*

⁶ "As for these things that you see—days will come in which not one stone will be left on another stone that will not be thrown down!"

²⁰ "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.

²⁴ and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations,* and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

¹³ And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place* and the law! ¹⁴ For we have heard him saying that this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh. We bless you* from the house* of Yahweh.

⁹ _⌊Get yourself_⌋* up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news! Lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, bringer of good news! Lift it up; you must not fear! Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" ¹⁰ Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with _⌊strength_⌋,* and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his recompense _⌊in his presence_⌋.* ¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arm, and he will carry them in his bosom; he will lead those who nurse.

⁴ The children of Israel will remain for many days without a king and prince, without sacrifice and stone pillar, ephod and teraphim.

¹⁰ " 'I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants* of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as one grieves bitterly over a firstborn.

⁹ And the crowds who went ahead of him and the ones who followed were shouting, saying,
"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!* Hosanna in the highest heaven!"*

²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he would see the Lord's Christ.* ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus so that they could do for him according to what was customary under the law, ²⁸ he took him in his* arms and praised God and said, ²⁹ "Now dismiss your slave in peace, Lord, according to your word. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation

²² All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him."* ²³ And turning to the disciples, he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see!

²² And he said to the disciples, "Days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.*

²¹ So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come!"

²⁴ Thus I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."

⁵⁶ Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it* and was glad."

⁹ Jesus said to him, "Am I with you so long a time and you have not known me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, 'Show us the Father?'

¹⁹ Yet a little time and the world will see me no longer, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.

²⁵ For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you will not be wise _⌊in your own sight_⌋,* that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in,

¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For until this very day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not being uncovered, because it is done away with in Christ. ¹⁵ But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart, ¹⁶ but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting* the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.