Seek the Lord and Live

1 Hear this word that I ^ktake 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, ^gthe God of hosts, the Lord:

Let Justice Roll Down

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

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

8 ⁿThe Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

9 And ^qif ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, ^rthe 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, ^s“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

Taw

Greeting

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

3 ^fGrace, 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 ^gI rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—^hnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—ⁱthat we love one another. 6 And ^jthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^kas you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For ^lmany deceivers ^mhave gone out into the world, ⁿthose who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, ^oso that you may not lose what we¹ have worked for, but ^pmay win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, ^qdoes not have God. Whoever abides 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 ^stakes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

12 ^tThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. ^uInstead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, ^vso that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you.

Greeting

1 ^aThe elder to the beloved Gaius, ^bwhom 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 ^cI rejoiced greatly when the brothers¹ came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that ^dmy children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for ^ethese brothers, ^fstrangers 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 ^gworthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of ^hthe name, ⁱaccepting nothing from 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, who 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, ^jdo not imitate evil but imitate good. ^kWhoever does good is from God; ^lwhoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius ^mhas received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and ⁿyou know that our testimony is true.

Final Greetings

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

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

Greeting

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

^aTo those who are called, ^bbeloved in God the Father and ^ckept for² Jesus Christ:

2 May ^dmercy, ^epeace, and love be multiplied to you.

Judgment on False Teachers

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our ^fcommon salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you ^gto contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For ^hcertain people ⁱhave crept in unnoticed ^jwho long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert ^kthe grace of our God into sensuality and ^ldeny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I want ^mto remind you, although you once fully knew it, that ⁿJesus, who saved³ a people out of the land of Egypt, ^oafterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And ^pthe 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 just as ^qSodom and Gomorrah and ^rthe surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and ^spursued unnatural 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, reject authority, and ^tblaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when ^uthe archangel ^vMichael, contending with the devil, was disputing ^wabout the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ^x“The Lord rebuke you.” 10 ^yBut these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in ^zthe way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain ^ato Balaam’s error and ^bperished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs^{5 c}at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, ^dshepherds feeding themselves; ^ewaterless clouds, ^fswept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, ^guprooted; 13 ^hwild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of ⁱtheir own shame; ^jwandering stars, ^kfor whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

14 It was also about these that Enoch, ^lthe seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ^m“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 ⁿto execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have ^ocommitted in such an ungodly way, and of all ^pthe harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, ^qfollowing their own sinful desires; ^rthey are loud-mouthed boasters, ^sshowing favoritism to gain advantage.

A Call to Persevere

17 But you must ^tremember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They⁶ said to you, ^u“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, ^vdevoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, ^wbuilding yourselves up in your most holy faith and ^xpraying in the Holy Spirit, 21 ^ykeep yourselves in the love of God, ^zwaiting 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 ^asnatching them out of ^bthe fire; to others show mercy ^cwith fear, hating even ^dthe garment⁷ stained by the flesh.

Doxology

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