Genesis 47:28–50:26

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. rSo the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.

29 And swhen the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, If now tI have found favor in your sight, uput your hand under my thigh and vpromise to deal kindly and truly with me. wDo not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and xbury me in their burying place. He answered, I will do as you have said. 31 And he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. Then yIsrael bowed himself upon the head of his bed.1

After this, Joseph was told, Behold, your father is ill. So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And it was told to Jacob, Your son Joseph has come to you. Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. And Jacob said to Joseph, zGod Almighty2 appeared to me at aLuz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you bfor an everlasting possession. And now your ctwo sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, dare mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow eRachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance3 to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, Who are these? Joseph said to his father, fThey are my sons, whom God has given me here. And he said, Bring them to me, please, that gI may bless them. 10 Now hthe eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, iand he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, jI never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also. 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 kAnd Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, lcrossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,

The God mbefore whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

16  nthe angel who has oredeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;

and in them let pmy name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

and let them qgrow into a multitude4 in the midst of the earth.

17 When Joseph saw that his father rlaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head. 19 But his father refused and said, rI know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, shis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude5 of nations. 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,

tGod make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I am about to die, but uGod will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to vyou rather than to your brothers one mountain slope6 that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.

wThen Jacob called his sons and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you xin days to come.

Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,

listen to Israel your father.

Reuben, you are ymy firstborn,

my might, and the zfirstfruits of my strength,

preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

because you awent up to your father’s bed;

then you defiled ithe went up to my couch!

bSimeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons cof violence are their swords.

Let my soul come not into their council;

dO my glory, ebe not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they fhamstrung oxen.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will gdivide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, hyour brothers shall praise you;

iyour hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

jyour father’s sons shall bow down before you.

Judah is ka lion’s cub;

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

lHe stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10  The mscepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff nfrom between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;7

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11  Binding his foal to the vine

and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine

and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

12  His oeyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth whiter than milk.

13  pZebulun shall dwell at the qshore of the sea;

he shall become a haven for ships,

and his border shall be at Sidon.

14  rIssachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.8

15  He saw that a resting place was good,

and that the land was pleasant,

so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and sbecame a servant at forced labor.

16  tDan shall ujudge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17  Dan vshall be a serpent in the way,

a viper by the path,

that bites the horse’s heels

so that his rider falls backward.

18  I wwait for your salvation, O Lord.

19  xRaiders shall raid yGad,9

but he shall raid at their heels.

20  zAsher’s food shall be rich,

and he shall yield royal delicacies.

21  aNaphtali is a doe let loose

that bears beautiful fawns.10

22  Joseph is ba fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough by a spring;

his branches run over the wall.11

23  The archers cbitterly attacked him,

shot at him, and harassed him severely,

24  yet dhis bow remained unmoved;

his arms12 were made agile

by the hands of the eMighty One of Jacob

(from there is fthe Shepherd,13 gthe Stone of Israel),

25  hby the God of your father who will help you,

by ithe Almighty14 jwho will bless you

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26  The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,

up to the bounties kof the everlasting hills.15

May they be lon the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

27  mBenjamin is a ravenous wolf,

in the morning devouring the prey

and at evening ndividing the spoil.

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, I am to be ogathered to my people; pbury me with my fathers qin the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, rwhich Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 sThere they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There tthey buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites. 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and uwas gathered to his people.

Then Joseph vfell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to wembalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians xwept for him seventy days.

And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, yIf now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, I am about to die: in my tomb zthat I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me. Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return. And Pharaoh answered, Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear. So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ain the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, bthey lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he cmade a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians. Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;16 it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for dhis sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ebought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him. 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, Your father gave this command before he died: 17 Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you. And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of fthe God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and gfell down before him and said, Behold, we are your servants. 19 But Joseph said to them, Do not fear, for ham I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but iGod meant it for good, to bring it about that many people17 should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; jI will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children kof the third generation. The lchildren also of Machir the son of Manasseh were mcounted as Joseph’s own.18 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to die, but nGod will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land othat he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 25 Then pJoseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here. 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They qembalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Read in Context

1 Kings 2:1–12

nWhen David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, oI am about to go the way of all the earth. pBe strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, qthat you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may restablish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, sIf your sons pay close attention to their way, tto walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, uyou shall not lack1 a man on the throne of Israel.

Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah vdid to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, wAbner the son of Ner, xand Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging2 in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war3 on the belt around his4 waist and on the sandals on his feet. Act therefore yaccording to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. But deal loyally with the sons of zBarzillai the Gileadite, and let them be aamong those who eat at your table, bfor with such loyalty5 they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother. And there is also with you cShimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day dwhen I went to Mahanaim. eBut when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, ffor you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall gbring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.

10 hThen David slept with his fathers and was buried in ithe city of David. 11 And the time that David reigned over Israel was jforty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 kSo Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

Read in Context

Ezekiel 4

And you, rson of man, stake a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. tAnd put siegeworks against it, uand build a siege wall against it, vand cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, wand plant battering rams against it all around. And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; xand set your face toward it, yand let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is za sign for the house of Israel.

Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment1 of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ayou shall bear their punishment. For I assign to you a number of days, b390 days, cequal to the number of the years of their punishment. aSo long shall you bear dthe punishment of the house of Israel. And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ebear fthe punishment of the house of Judah. gForty days I assign you, a day for each year. hAnd you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, iwith your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. And behold, jI will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed kthe days of your siege.

And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,2 and put them into a single vessel and make your lbread from them. mDuring the number of days that you lie on your side, n390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be oby weight, ptwenty shekels3 a day; from day to day4 you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink oby measure, the sixth part of a hin;5 from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it qin their sight on human dung. 13 And the Lord said, Thus shall the people of Israel eat rtheir bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them. 14 Then I said, sAh, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.6 tFrom my youth up till now I have never eaten uwhat died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has vtainted meat come into my mouth. 15 Then he said to me, See, I assign to you cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread. 16 Moreover, he said to me, wSon of man, behold, xI will break the supply7 of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread oby weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water oby measure and in dismay. 17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ylook at one another in dismay, and zrot away because of their punishment.

Read in Context

Leviticus 26

You shall not make sidols for yourselves or erect an timage or upillar, and you shall not set up a vfigured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. wYou shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

xIf you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then yI will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. zYour threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And ayou shall eat your bread to the full and bdwell in your land securely. cI will give peace in the land, and dyou shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And eI will remove harmful beasts from the land, fand the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. gFive of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. hI will turn to you and imake you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. 10 You shall eat jold store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. 11 kI will make my dwelling1 among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 lAnd I mwill walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. 13 nI am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. oAnd I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

14 pBut if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but qbreak my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with rwasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And syou shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will tset my face against you, and uyou shall be struck down before your enemies. vThose who hate you shall rule over you, and wyou shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again xsevenfold for your sins, 19 and I will break ythe pride of your power, and I zwill make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And ayour strength shall be spent in vain, for byour land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

21 cThen if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And dI will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that eyour roads shall be deserted.

23 And fif by this discipline you are not turned to me cbut walk contrary to me, 24 gthen I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. 25 And hI will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, iI will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 jWhen I break your supply2 of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and kyou shall eat and not be satisfied.

27 But lif in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, 28 then I will walk contrary to you min fury, and I myself will discipline you xsevenfold for your sins. 29 nYou shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 And oI will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and pcast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you. 31 And I will qlay your cities waste and will rmake your sanctuaries desolate, and sI will not smell your pleasing aromas. 32 And tI myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be uappalled at it. 33 And vI will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

34 wThen the land shall enjoy3 its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it. 36 And as for those of you who are left, xI will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The ysound of a zdriven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues. 37 They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. And ayou shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left shall brot away in your enemies’ lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.

40 But if cthey confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they dcommitted against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemiesif then their euncircumcised heart is fhumbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will gremember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will hremember the land. 43 But wthe land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, iI will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and jbreak my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, kwhom I brought out of the land of Egypt lin the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.

46 mThese are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses non Mount Sinai.

Read in Context

Jeremiah 3

gIf1 a man divorces his wife

and she goes from him

and becomes another man’s wife,

will he return to her?

hWould not that land be greatly polluted?

iYou have played the whore with many lovers;

and would you return to me?

declares the Lord.

Lift up your eyes to jthe bare heights, and see!

Where have you not been ravished?

kBy the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers

like an Arab in the wilderness.

hYou have polluted the land

with your vile whoredom.

lTherefore the showers have been withheld,

and the spring rain has not come;

yet you have mthe forehead of a whore;

you refuse to be ashamed.

Have you not just now ncalled to me,

My father, you are the friend of my youth

owill he be angry forever,

will he be indignant to the end?

Behold, you have spoken,

but you have done all the evil that you could.

The Lord said to me in the days of pKing Josiah: Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, qhow she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there iplayed the whore? And I thought, After she has done all this she will return to me, but she did not return, and her treacherous rsister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, sI had sent her away with ta decree of divorce. uYet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went iand played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with vstone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me wwith her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.

11 And the Lord said to me, xFaithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward ythe north, and say,

zReturn, faithless Israel,

declares the Lord.

I will not look on you in anger,

for aI am merciful,

declares the Lord;

bI will not be angry forever.

13  cOnly acknowledge your guilt,

that you rebelled against the Lord your God

and scattered your favors among foreigners under devery green tree,

and that you have not obeyed my voice,

declares the Lord.

14  eReturn, O faithless children,

declares the Lord;

ffor I am your master;

I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,

and I will bring you to Zion.

15 And gI will give you shepherds after my own heart, hwho will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of the Lord. It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, iand all nations shall gather to it, jto the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 kIn those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land lof the north to mthe land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

19  I said,

How I would set you among my sons,

and give you a pleasant land,

a heritage most beautiful of all nations.

And I thought you would ncall me, My Father,

and would not turn from following me.

20  oSurely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,

so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,

declares the Lord.

21  A voice on the pbare heights is heard,

qthe weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons

because they have perverted their way;

they have forgotten the Lord their God.

22  rReturn, O faithless sons;

sI will heal your faithlessness.

Behold, we come to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

23  Truly tthe hills are a delusion,

the orgies2 on the mountains.

uTruly in the Lord our God

is the salvation of Israel.

24 But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 vLet us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For wwe have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.

Read in Context

Jeremiah 23

uWoe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning uthe shepherds who care for my people: You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. vBehold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. wThen I will gather the remnant of my flock xout of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, yand they shall be fruitful and multiply. zI will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

aBehold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous bBranch, and che shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and dIsrael will edwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: fThe Lord is our righteousness.

gTherefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he1 had driven them. Then they shall dwell in their own land.

Concerning the prophets:

hMy heart is broken within me;

iall my bones shake;

I am like a drunken man,

like a man overcome by wine,

because of the Lord

and because of his holy words.

10  jFor the land is full of adulterers;

kbecause of the curse lthe land mourns,

and mthe pastures of the wilderness are dried up.

nTheir course is evil,

and their might is not right.

11  oBoth prophet and priest are ungodly;

even pin my house I have found their evil,

declares the Lord.

12  qTherefore their way shall be to them

like slippery paths rin the darkness,

into which they shall be driven and fall,

for I will bring disaster upon them

sin the year of their punishment,

declares the Lord.

13  In the prophets of tSamaria

uI saw an unsavory thing:

vthey prophesied by Baal

wand led my people Israel astray.

14  But in the prophets of Jerusalem

I have seen a horrible thing:

xthey commit adultery and walk in lies;

ythey strengthen the hands of evildoers,

so that no one turns from his evil;

zall of them have become like Sodom to me,

zand its inhabitants like Gomorrah.

15  Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:

aBehold, I will feed them with bitter food

aand give them bpoisoned water to drink,

for from the prophets of Jerusalem

ungodliness has gone out into all the land.

16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, cfilling you with vain hopes. dThey speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, eIt shall be well with you; and to everyone who fstubbornly follows his own heart, they say, gNo disaster shall come upon you.

18  For hwho among them has stood in the council of the Lord

to see and to hear his word,

or who has paid attention to his word and listened?

19  iBehold, the storm of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

ja whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

20  kThe anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and kaccomplished

the intents of his heart.

lIn the latter days you will understand it clearly.

21  mI did not send the prophets,

yet they ran;

I did not speak to them,

yet they prophesied.

22  nBut if they had stood in my council,

then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,

oand they would have turned them from their evil way,

and pfrom the evil of their deeds.

23 qAm I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 qCan a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. rDo I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said swho prophesy lies in my name, saying, tI have dreamed, I have dreamed! 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of uthe prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name tby their dreams that they tell one another, even as their vfathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 wLet the prophet who has a dream xtell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. yWhat has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 yIs not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and zlike a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 aTherefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, declares the Lord. 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and blead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when cI did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.

33 dWhen one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, What is the burden of the Lord? you shall say to them, You are the burden,2 and fI will cast you off, declares the Lord. 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, The burden of the Lord, dI will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, What has the Lord answered? or What has the Lord spoken? 36 But the burden of the Lord you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and gyou pervert the words of hthe living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, What has the Lord answered you? or What has the Lord spoken? 38 But if you say, The burden of the Lord, thus says the Lord, Because you have said these words, The burden of the Lord, when I sent to you, saying, You shall not say, The burden of the Lord, 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up3 and fcast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 iAnd I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and iperpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

Read in Context

Jeremiah 30–31

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: eWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. fFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, gwhen I will restore hthe fortunes of my people, iIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, jand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.

These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning iIsrael and Judah:

Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

kWhy then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach klike a woman in labor?

lWhy has every face turned pale?

Alas! mThat day is so great

nthere is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will obreak his pyoke from off your neck, and I will oburst your bonds, qand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.1 But they shall serve the Lord their God and rDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10  sThen fear not, tO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for behold, sI will save you from far away,

uand your offspring from the land of their captivity.

sJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

11  vFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;

vI will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

vI will wdiscipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

12  For thus says the Lord:

xYour hurt is incurable,

yand your wound is grievous.

13  There is none to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

zno healing for you.

14  aAll your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of ban enemy,

the punishment cof a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

dbecause your sins are flagrant.

15  xWhy do you cry out over your hurt?

xYour pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

dbecause your sins are flagrant,

I have done these things to you.

16  eTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

and fall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;

gthose who plunder you shall be plundered,

hand all who prey on you I will make a prey.

17  iFor I will restore jhealth to you,

and kyour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,

because lthey have called you an outcast:

lIt is Zion, for whom no one cares!

18  Thus says the Lord:

Behold, mI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt on nits mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

19  oOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,

and the voices of those who celebrate.

pI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;

I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

20  qTheir children shall be as they were of old,

and their congregation shall be established before me,

and I will punish all who oppress them.

21  rTheir prince shall be one of themselves;

rtheir ruler shall come out from their midst;

sI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,

tfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.

22  uAnd you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.

23  vBehold wthe storm of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

24  xThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intentions of his mind.

yIn the latter days you will understand this.

zAt that time, declares the Lord, aI will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.

Thus says the Lord:

The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness;

bwhen Israel sought for rest,

the Lord appeared to him2 from far away.

cI have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore dI have continued emy faithfulness to you.

fAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

gAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines

and shall go forth in hthe dance of the merrymakers.

iAgain you shall plant vineyards

on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant

and shall enjoy the fruit.

For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in jthe hill country of Ephraim:

kArise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.

For thus says the Lord:

lSing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for mthe chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

nO Lord, save your people,

the remnant of Israel.

Behold, I will bring them ofrom the north country

and pgather them from qthe farthest parts of the earth,

among them rthe blind and the lame,

the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

sWith weeping they shall come,

tand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,

I will make them uwalk by brooks of water,

vin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,

for wI am a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is xmy firstborn.

10  Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,

and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, He who scattered Israel will pgather him,

and will keep him yas a shepherd keeps his flock.

11  zFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob

and has redeemed him from ahands too strong for him.

12  They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

band they shall be radiant cover the goodness of the Lord,

dover the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

etheir life shall be like a watered garden,

fand they shall languish no more.

13  gThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

hI will turn their mourning into joy;

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

14  iI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,

and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

declares the Lord.

15  Thus says the Lord:

jA voice is heard in kRamah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

lRachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

mbecause they are no more.

16  Thus says the Lord:

Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears,

for there is a reward for your work,

declares the Lord,

and nthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.

17  oThere is hope for your future,

declares the Lord,

and your children shall come back to their own country.

18  I have heard pEphraim grieving,

You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,

like an untrained calf;

qbring me back that I may be restored,

for you are the Lord my God.

19  For after rI had turned away, I relented,

and after I was instructed, sI struck my thigh;

tI was ashamed, and I was confounded,

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.

20  pIs Ephraim my dear son?

uIs he my darling child?

For as often as I speak against him,

I do remember him still.

vTherefore my heart3 yearns for him;

I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

21  wSet up road markers for yourself;

make yourself guideposts;

xconsider well the highway,

wthe road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel,

return to these your cities.

22  yHow long will you waver,

zO faithless daughter?

For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:

a woman encircles a man.

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, awhen I restore their fortunes:

bThe Lord bless you, cO habitation of righteousness,

dO holy hill!

24 eAnd Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and ethe farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will fsatisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 gBehold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when hI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with ithe seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that jas I have watched over them kto pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, jso I will watch over them lto build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

mThe fathers have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

30 nBut everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 oBehold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make pa new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when qI took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, rthough I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 sFor this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: sI will put my law within them, and I will write it ton their hearts. uAnd I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord, vfor they shall all know me, wfrom the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For xI will forgive their iniquity, and yI will remember their sin no more.

35  Thus says the Lord,

who zgives the sun for light by day

and athe fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar

bthe Lord of hosts is his name:

36  cIf this fixed order departs

from before me, declares the Lord,

then shall the offspring of Israel cease

from being a nation before me forever.

37  Thus says the Lord:

If the heavens above can be measured,

and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,

dthen I will cast off all the offspring of Israel

for all that they have done,

declares the Lord.

38 eBehold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord ffrom the Tower of Hananel to gthe Corner Gate. 39 hAnd the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 iThe whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the jbrook Kidron, to the corner of kthe Horse Gate toward the east, lshall be sacred to the Lord. mIt shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.

Read in Context

Hosea 1

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, ain the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of bJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, cGo, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have dchildren of whoredom, for ethe land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord. So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while fI will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and gI will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day hI will break the bow of Israel iin the Valley of Jezreel.

She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, jCall her name No Mercy,1 for kI will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But lI will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I mwill not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.

When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said, nCall his name Not My People,2 for oyou are not my people, and I am not your God.3

10 4 Yet pthe number of the children of Israel shall be qlike the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. rAnd sin the place where it was said to them, oYou are not my people, it shall be said to them, tChildren5 of uthe living God. 11 And vthe children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and wthey shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Read in Context

Luke 4:31–5:11

31 vAnd he wwent down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And xhe was teaching them yon the Sabbath, 32 and zthey were astonished at his teaching, zfor his word possessed authority. 33 And xin the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 Ha!1 aWhat have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? bI know who you arecthe Holy One of God. 35 But Jesus drebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And ethey were all amazed and said to one another, What is this word? eFor with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out! 37 And freports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

38 gAnd he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now hSimon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and irebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and jhe laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 kAnd demons also came out of many, lcrying, You are mthe Son of God! But he rebuked them and kwould not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was nthe Christ.

42 oAnd when it was day, he departed and went pinto a desolate place. And qthe people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, rI must spreach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose. 44 And he was preaching tin the synagogues of Judea.2

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by uthe lake of Gennesaret, vand he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were wwashing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And xhe sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, yPut out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered, Master, zwe toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, athey enclosed a large number of fish, and atheir nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. bAnd they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, cDepart from me, for dI am a sinful man, O Lord. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.3 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, ethey left everything and followed him.

Read in Context

Acts 7:15–16

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.

Read in Context

Romans 7–11

Or do you not know, brothers1for I am speaking to those who know the lawthat the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For ea married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.2 Accordingly, fshe will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, gyou also have died hto the law ithrough the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, jin order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work kin our members lto bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the mnew way of nthe Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.3

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, oI would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if pthe law had not said, You shall not covet. But sin, qseizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. rFor apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment sthat promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, tseizing an opportunity through the commandment, udeceived me and through it killed me. 12 So vthe law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, wsold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For xI do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with ythe law, that it is good. 17 So now zit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells ain me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 bFor I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, cit is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For dI delight in the law of God, ein my inner being, 23 but I see in my members fanother law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from gthis body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.4 For the law of hthe Spirit of life ihas set you5 free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For jGod has done what the law, kweakened by the flesh, lcould not do. mBy sending his own Son nin the likeness of sinful flesh and ofor sin,6 he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that pthe righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, qwho walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For rthose who live according to the flesh set their minds on sthe things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on tthe things of the Spirit. For to set uthe mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is vhostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; windeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact xthe Spirit of God dwells in you. yAnyone who does not have zthe Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of ahim who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus7 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies bthrough his Spirit who dwells in you.

12 So then, brothers,8 we are debtors, cnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you dput to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are eled by the Spirit of God are fsons9 of God. 15 For gyou did not receive hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, jAbba! Father! 16 kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then lheirsheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, mprovided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time nare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for othe revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation pwas subjected to futility, not willingly, but qbecause of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that rthe creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that sthe whole creation thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, vgroan inwardly as wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, xthe redemption of our bodies. 24 For yin this hope we were saved. Now zhope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we await for it with patience.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For bwe do not know what to pray for as we ought, but cthe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And dhe who searches hearts knows what is ethe mind of the Spirit, because10 the Spirit fintercedes for the saints gaccording to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together hfor good,11 for ithose who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he jforeknew he also kpredestined lto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be mthe firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also njustified, and those whom he justified he also oglorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? pIf God is for us, who can be12 against us? 32 qHe who did not spare his own Son but rgave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? sIt is God who justifies. 34 tWho is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who diedmore than that, who was raiseduwho is at the right hand of God, vwho indeed is interceding for us.13 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

wFor your sake xwe are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

37 No, in all these things we are more than yconquerors through zhim who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

aI am speaking the truth in ChristI am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For bI could wish that I myself were caccursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,14 my kinsmen daccording to the flesh. They are eIsraelites, and to them belong fthe adoption, gthe glory, hthe covenants, ithe giving of the law, jthe worship, and kthe promises. To them belong lthe patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, mwho is God over all, nblessed forever. Amen.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham obecause they are his offspring, but pThrough Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but qthe children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: rAbout this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. 10 And not only so, but salso when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or badin order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of thim who calls 12 she was told, uThe older will serve the younger. 13 As it is written, vJacob I loved, but Esau I hated.

14 What shall we say then? wIs there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, xI will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,15 but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, yFor this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, Why does he still find fault? For zwho can resist his will? 20 But who are you, O man, ato answer back to God? bWill what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this? 21 cHas the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump done vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience evessels of wrath fprepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known gthe riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he hhas prepared beforehand for glory 24 even us whom he ihas called, jnot from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

kThose who were not my people I will call my people,

and her who was not beloved I will call beloved.

26  lAnd in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people,

there they will be called msons of the living God.

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: nThough the number of the sons of Israel16 be as the sand of the sea, oonly a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay. 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

pqIf the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,

rwe would have been like Sodom

and become like Gomorrah.

30 What shall we say, then? sThat Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, ta righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel uwho pursued a law that would lead to righteousness17 vdid not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the wstumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

xBehold, I am laying in Zion ya stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;

zand whoever believes in him will not be aput to shame.

Brothers,18 my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that bthey have a zeal for God, cbut not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of dthe righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For eChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.19

For fMoses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that gthe person who does the commandments shall live by them. But hthe righteousness based on faith says, iDo not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or Who will descend into the jabyss? (that is, kto bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? lThe word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if myou confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and nbelieve in your heart othat God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, pEveryone who believes in him will not be put to shame. 12 qFor there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; rfor the same Lord is Lord of all, sbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For teveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him uof whom they have never heard?20 And how are they to hear vwithout someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, wHow beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! 16 But xthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, yLord, who has believed what he has heard from us? 17 So zfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for

aTheir voice has gone out bto all the earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

cI will dmake you jealous of those who are not a nation;

with a efoolish nation I will make you angry.

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

fI have been found by those who did not seek me;

I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.

21 But of Israel he says, gAll day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.

I ask, then, hhas God rejected his people? By no means! For iI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,21 a member of the tribe of Benjamin. jGod has not rejected his people whom he kforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? lLord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what is God’s reply to him? mI have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too at the present time there is na remnant, chosen by grace. oBut if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

What then? pIsrael failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest qwere hardened, as it is written,

rGod gave them a spirit of stupor,

seyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.

And David says,

tLet their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

10  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and bend their backs forever.

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass usalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion22 mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as vI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and wthus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means xthe reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 yIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 But if zsome of the branches were broken off, and you, aalthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root23 of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you bstand fast through faith. So cdo not become proud, but dfear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, eprovided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise fyou too will be cut off. 23 And geven they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

25 hLest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:24 ia partial hardening has come upon Israel, juntil the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

kThe Deliverer will come lfrom Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob;

27  and this will be my mcovenant with them

nwhen I take away their sins.

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are obeloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and pthe calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as qyou were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now25 receive mercy. 32 For God rhas consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and swisdom and knowledge of God! tHow unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34  For uwho has known the mind of the Lord,

or vwho has been his counselor?

35  Or wwho has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?

36 For xfrom him and through him and to him are all things. yTo him be glory forever. Amen.

Read in Context

Hebrews 11:21–22

21 By faith nJacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, obowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith pJoseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

Read in Context

1 Peter 1:1–9

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of athe Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to bthe foreknowledge of God the Father, cin the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and dfor sprinkling with his blood:

May egrace and fpeace be multiplied to you.

gBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! hAccording to his great mercy, ihe has caused us to be born again to a living hope jthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and lunfading, mkept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded nthrough faith for a salvation oready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by pvarious trials, so that qthe tested genuineness of your faithmore precious than gold that perishes rthough it is tested by sfiremay be found to result in tpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. uThough you have not seen him, you love him. vThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining wthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Read in Context

1 Peter 2:11–17

11 Beloved, I urge you has sojourners and exiles ito abstain from the passions of the flesh, jwhich wage war against your soul. 12 kKeep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, lthey may see your good deeds and glorify God on mthe day of visitation.

13 nBe subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,1 whether it be to the emperor2 as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him oto punish those who do evil and pto praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, qthat by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 rLive as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but sliving as servants3 of God. 17 tHonor everyone. uLove the brotherhood. vFear God. Honor the emperor.

Read in Context

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2 View All Leviticus 19:27