1 Then the Lord said to Noah, ^p“Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that ^qyou are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all ^rclean animals,¹ the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs² of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days ^sI will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, ^tand every living thing³ that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 ^uAnd Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the ^vfountains of the great deep burst forth, and ^wthe windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They ^xwent into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in ^yas God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

17 The flood ^zcontinued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits⁴ deep. 21 And ^aall flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land ^bin whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only ^cNoah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Judging Others

1 ^r“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 ^sFor with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and ^twith the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but ^udo not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

6 ^v“Do not give ^wdogs what is holy, and do not throw your ^xpearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

7 ^y“Ask, ^zand it will be given to you; ^aseek, and you will find; ^bknock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for ^cbread, will give him ^ca stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, ^dwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^zyour Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule

12 “So ^ewhatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is ^fthe Law and the Prophets.

13 ^g“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy¹ that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and ^hthe way is hard that leads to life, and ⁱthose who find it are few.

A Tree and Its Fruit

15 ^j“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ^kravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them ^lby their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, ^mevery healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 ⁿEvery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them ^lby their fruits.

I Never Knew You

21 ^o“Not everyone who ^psays to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will ^qenter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who ^rdoes the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 ^sOn that day ^tmany will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not ^uprophesy in your name, and cast out demons ^vin your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 ^tAnd then will I declare to them, ‘I ^wnever knew you; ^xdepart from me, ^yyou workers of lawlessness.’

Build Your House on the Rock

24 ^z“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like ^aa wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like ^aa foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The Authority of Jesus

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, ^bthe crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 ^cfor he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Ezra Sent to Teach the People

1 Now after this, ^vin the reign of ^vArtaxerxes king of Persia, ^wEzra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe ^xskilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, ^yfor the hand of the Lord his God was on him.

7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and ^zsome of the priests and ^aLevites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple ^bservants. 8 And Ezra¹ came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^cfor the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it ^dand to ^eteach his statutes and rules in Israel.

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, ^fking of kings, to Ezra the priest, the ^gscribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.^{2 h}And now 13 ⁱI make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king ^jand his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to carry the silver and gold that the king ^jand his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^kwhose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 ^lwith all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and ^mwith the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ⁿyou shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king’s treasury.

21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents³ of silver, 100 cors⁴ of wheat, 100 baths⁵ of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose ^otribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, ^pappoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. ^qAnd those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

27 ^rBlessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^swho put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, 28 ^tand who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.

Stephen’s Speech

1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

^j“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^kThe God ^lof glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^mbefore he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ⁿ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 ^mThen he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And ^oafter his father died, ^pGod removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised ^qto give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^rthough he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that ^shis offspring would ^tbe sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^ufour hundred years. 7 ‘But ^vI will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out ^wand worship me in this place.’ 8 And ^xhe gave him the covenant of circumcision. And ^yso Abraham became the father of Isaac, and ^zcircumcised him on the eighth day, and ^aIsaac became the father of Jacob, and ^bJacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, ^cjealous of Joseph, ^dsold him into Egypt; but ^eGod was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and ^fgave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^gwho made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now ^hthere came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 ⁱBut when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And ^jon the second visit ^kJoseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^lJoseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And ^mJoseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, ⁿseventy-five persons in all. 15 And ^oJacob went down into Egypt, and ^phe died, he ^qand our fathers, 16 and ^rthey were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that ^sAbraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But ^tas the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^uthe people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king ^vwho did not know Joseph. 19 ^wHe dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, ^xso that they would not be kept alive. 20 ^yAt this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and ^zwhen he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses ^awas instructed in ^ball the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^cmighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^dto visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 ^eAnd on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^f‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort ^gMoses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^hwhere he became the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, ⁱan angel appeared to him ^jin the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ^k‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ^l‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 ^mI have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and ⁿhave heard their groaning, and ^oI have come down to deliver them. ^pAnd now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, ^qsaying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer ^rby the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 ^sThis man led them out, performing ^twonders and signs ^uin Egypt and ^vat the Red Sea and ^win the wilderness for ^xforty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ^ya prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one ^zwho was in the congregation in the wilderness with ^athe angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^bHe received ^cliving ^doracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ^ein their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ^f‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And ^gthey made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and ^hwere rejoicing in ⁱthe works of their hands. 42 But ^jGod turned away and ^kgave them over to worship ^lthe host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

44 “Our fathers had ^pthe tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses ^qdirected him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn ^rbrought it in with Joshua when they ^sdispossessed the nations ^tthat God drove out before our fathers. So it was ^uuntil the days of David, 46 ^vwho found favor in the sight of God and ^wasked to find a dwelling place for ^xthe God of Jacob.¹ 47 But it was ^ySolomon who built a house for him. 48 ^zYet the Most High does not dwell ^ain houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

51 ^d“You stiff-necked people, ^euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^fAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 ^gWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^hthe Righteous One, ⁱwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law ^jas delivered by angels and ^kdid not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things ^lthey were enraged, and they ^mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, ⁿfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^othe glory of God, and Jesus standing ^pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see ^qthe heavens opened, and ^rthe Son of Man standing ^pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together² at him. 58 Then ^sthey cast him out of the city and ^tstoned him. And ^uthe witnesses laid down their garments ^vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, ^whe called out, “Lord Jesus, ^xreceive my spirit.” 60 And ^yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^ahe fell asleep.