Seek the Lord and Live

1 Hear this word that I ^ltake up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

3 For thus says the Lord God:

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

16 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord:

Let Justice Roll Down

25 ⁿ“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

8 The Lord God ^yhas sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

9 And if ^bten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, ^c“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

Taw

Greeting

1 ^aThe elder to the ^belect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^cknow the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 ^dGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children ^ewalking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—^fnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we ^glove one another. 6 And ^hthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, ⁱjust as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For ^jmany ^kdeceivers have gone out into the world, those who ^ldo not confess the coming of Jesus Christ ^min the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the ⁿantichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we¹ have worked for, but may win a full ^oreward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever ^pabides in the teaching ^qhas both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

12 ^sThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead ^tI hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that ^uour joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.

Greeting

1 ^aThe elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.

2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers¹ came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are ^bwalking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, ^cstrangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing ^dfrom the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, ^ewho likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. ^fWhoever does good is from God; ^gwhoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that ^hour testimony is true.

Final Greetings

13 ⁱI had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 ^jI hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, ^keach by name.

Greeting

1 Jude, a servant¹ of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

To those who are ^acalled, ^bbeloved in God the Father and kept for² Jesus Christ:

2 May mercy, peace, and love be ^cmultiplied to you.

Judgment on False Teachers

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our ^dcommon salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have ^ecrept in unnoticed who ^flong ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into ^gsensuality and ^hdeny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, ⁱwho saved³ a people out of the land of Egypt, ^jafterward destroyed ^kthose who did not believe. 6 ^lAnd the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 ^mjust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise ⁿindulged in sexual immorality and pursued ^ounnatural desire,⁴ serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, ^preject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the ^qarchangel ^rMichael, contending with the devil, was disputing about ^sthe body of Moses, he ^tdid not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ^u“The Lord rebuke you.” 10 ^vBut these people blaspheme all that ^wthey do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in ^xthe way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to ^yBalaam’s ^zerror and perished in ^aKorah’s rebellion. 12 ^bThese are hidden reefs⁵ at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, ^cshepherds feeding themselves; ^dwaterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 ^ewild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

14 It was also about these that ^fEnoch, ^gthe seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ^hten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are ⁱloud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

A Call to Persevere

17 But ^jyou must remember, beloved, the predictions of the ^kapostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They⁶ said to you, ^l“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who ^mcause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, ⁿbuilding yourselves up in your most holy faith and ^opraying in the Holy Spirit, 21 ^pkeep yourselves in the love of God, ^qwaiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even ^rthe garment⁷ stained by the flesh.

Doxology

24 ^sNow to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you ^tblameless ^ubefore the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, ^vbe glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time⁸ and now and forever. Amen.