Podcasts about israel's unfaithfulness

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On Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded Podcast. Expository Notes on Ezekiel, by H A Ironside. Preface & Introduction By H A Ironside Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Bible Truth Depot Neptune, New Jersey First Edition, June 1949 Twelfth Printing, November 1980 For many years it has been on my heart to try to produce a running commentary on the book of Ezekiel, but until the present, circumstances have not permitted this. During the last few months it has brought great blessing to my own soul as I have given many hours daily to meditation upon and study of this remarkable book, of which the present work is the result. No one can be more conscious than I of its many imperfections, and yet it is my hope that there may be enough in it of a truly spiritual character that it will prove a means of blessing and edification to those who take the time to read it thoughtfully and prayerfully. H. A. Ironside Links ⁠⁠https://www.hiawathabible.org/youtube-playlist-index-page⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.hiawathabible.org/matthew-henrys-main-page⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZlTAw2GgUjM0GkOl3tidtZUqdIVGF5tL⁠ You will find the text on my blog at ⁠⁠https://wordpress.com/home/downtoearthbutheavenlyminded.wordpress.com⁠

Today on Meditating the Word, God's blessing on Israel, the follow of idol worship, Israel is not forgotten, Cyrus, God's instrument, Idols cannot save, the humiliation of Babylon and Israel's Unfaithfulness to God the Creator and Redeemer. This is Day 208. Today we are reading Isaiah 44-48 ---- Father God, You are the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, there is no other God but You. And we are Yours. You made us. You formed us in the womb. You chose us aand placed Your blessing on us. Your word has gone out, and it will not be revoked. You declare the end from the beginning. What You have spoken, You will bring to pass. Amen ---- We are reading the entire Bible this year in the order the events actually occured chronologically. You can download a copy of the reading plan from blueletterbible.com. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube, that way you'll get a notification each time a new episode is released.  It's my goal to encourage others to strengthen their Christian walk through daily reading God's Word. You can help, by sharing this podcast, and by rating and reviewing it. Thank you for joining me today and know that I'm praying for you. Join us tomorrow -- and every day -- as we continue our journey through the pages of the Bible. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.  Until next time, be blessed and be a blessing. ---- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/yeti-music/at-dawn License code: SFVKF2JFJJIFZDGT Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/a-journey-of-love License code: VUSCEHWQYYSXTUKG

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 2:8–17 Song of Solomon 2:8–17 (Listen) The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing1 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes2 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes3 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.4 Footnotes [1] 2:12 Or pruning [2] 2:15 Or jackals [3] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [4] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 2–3:6 Judges 2–3:6 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 (Listen) The Potter and the Clay 18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear1 my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' 12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' 13   “Therefore thus says the LORD:  Ask among the nations,    Who has heard the like of this?  The virgin Israel    has done a very horrible thing.14   Does the snow of Lebanon leave    the crags of Sirion?2  Do the mountain waters run dry,3    the cold flowing streams?15   But my people have forgotten me;    they make offerings to false gods;  they made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient roads,  and to walk into side roads,    not the highway,16   making their land a horror,    a thing to be hissed at forever.  Everyone who passes by it is horrified    and shakes his head.17   Like the east wind I will scatter them    before the enemy.  I will show them my back, not my face,    in the day of their calamity.” 18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” 19   Hear me, O LORD,    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.20   Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.  Remember how I stood before you    to speak good for them,    to turn away your wrath from them.21   Therefore deliver up their children to famine;    give them over to the power of the sword;  let their wives become childless and widowed.    May their men meet death by pestilence,    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.22   May a cry be heard from their houses,    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!  For they have dug a pit to take me    and laid snares for my feet.23   Yet you, O LORD, know    all their plotting to kill me.  Forgive not their iniquity,    nor blot out their sin from your sight.  Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. Footnotes [1] 18:2 Or will cause you to hear [2] 18:14 Hebrew of the field [3] 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

With family: Judges 2; Acts 6 Judges 2 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Acts 6 (Listen) Seven Chosen to Serve 6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists1 arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers,2 pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Stephen Is Seized 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Footnotes [1] 6:1 That is, Greek-speaking Jews [2] 6:3 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 15; Mark 1 Jeremiah 15 (Listen) The Lord Will Not Relent 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:   “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,    and those who are for the sword, to the sword;  those who are for famine, to famine,    and those who are for captivity, to captivity.' 3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem. 5   “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,    or who will grieve for you?  Who will turn aside    to ask about your welfare?6   You have rejected me, declares the LORD;    you keep going backward,  so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—    I am weary of relenting.7   I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork    in the gates of the land;  I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;    they did not turn from their ways.8   I have made their widows more in number    than the sand of the seas;  I have brought against the mothers of young men    a destroyer at noonday;  I have made anguish and terror    fall upon them suddenly.9   She who bore seven has grown feeble;    she has fainted away;  her sun went down while it was yet day;    she has been shamed and disgraced.  And the rest of them I will give to the sword    before their enemies,      declares the LORD.” Jeremiah's Complaint 10 Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11 The LORD said, “Have I not1 set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze? 13 “Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” 15   O LORD, you know;    remember me and visit me,    and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.  In your forbearance take me not away;    know that for your sake I bear reproach.16   Your words were found, and I ate them,    and your words became to me a joy    and the delight of my heart,  for I am called by your name,    O LORD, God of hosts.17   I did not sit in the company of revelers,    nor did I rejoice;  I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,    for you had filled me with indignation.18   Why is my pain unceasing,    my wound incurable,    refusing to be healed?  Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,    like waters that fail? 19   Therefore thus says the LORD:  “If you return, I will restore you,    and you shall stand before me.  If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,    you shall be as my mouth.  They shall turn to you,    but you shall not turn to them.20   And I will make you to this people    a fortified wall of bronze;  they will fight against you,    but they shall not prevail over you,  for I am with you    to save you and deliver you,      declares the LORD.21   I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,    and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” Footnotes [1] 15:11 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Mark 1 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.1 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,2   “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way,3   the voice of one crying in the wilderness:    ‘Prepare3 the way of the Lord,    make his paths straight,'” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Baptism of Jesus 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;4 with you I am well pleased.” The Temptation of Jesus 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Jesus Begins His Ministry 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;5 repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus Calls the First Disciples 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”6 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. Jesus Heals Many 29 And immediately he7 left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. Jesus Preaches in Galilee 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus Cleanses a Leper 40 And a leper8 came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus9 sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Some manuscripts omit the Son of God [2] 1:2 Some manuscripts in the prophets [3] 1:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness [4] 1:11 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved [5] 1:15 Or the kingdom of God has come near [6] 1:17 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women [7] 1:29 Some manuscripts they [8] 1:40 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [9] 1:43 Greek he; also verse 45 (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 2–3 Judges 2–3 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit2 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch3 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers [2] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:1–22 Psalm 107:1–22 (Listen) Book Five Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So 107   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever!2   Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,    whom he has redeemed from trouble13   and gathered in from the lands,    from the east and from the west,    from the north and from the south. 4   Some wandered in desert wastes,    finding no way to a city to dwell in;5   hungry and thirsty,    their soul fainted within them.6   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.7   He led them by a straight way    till they reached a city to dwell in.8   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!9   For he satisfies the longing soul,    and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10   Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,    prisoners in affliction and in irons,11   for they had rebelled against the words of God,    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.12   So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;    they fell down, with none to help.13   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.14   He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,    and burst their bonds apart.15   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!16   For he shatters the doors of bronze    and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17   Some were fools through their sinful ways,    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;18   they loathed any kind of food,    and they drew near to the gates of death.19   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.20   He sent out his word and healed them,    and delivered them from their destruction.21   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!22   And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! Footnotes [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe (ESV) New Testament: Romans 8 Romans 8 (Listen) Life in the Spirit 8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.1 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you2 free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,3 he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the 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 him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus4 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Heirs with Christ 12 So then, brothers,5 we are debtors, not 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 put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons6 of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Future Glory 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the 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 the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope 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 wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because7 the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,8 for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. God's Everlasting Love 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be9 against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave 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? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.10 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,   “For your sake we 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 conquerors through him 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. Footnotes [1] 8:1 Some manuscripts add who walk not according to the flesh (but according to the Spirit) [2] 8:2 Some manuscripts me [3] 8:3 Or and as a sin offering [4] 8:11 Some manuscripts lack Jesus [5] 8:12 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 29 [6] 8:14 See discussion on “sons” in the Preface [7] 8:27 Or that [8] 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good [9] 8:31 Or who is [10] 8:34 Or Is it Christ Jesus who died . . . for us? (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 2–3 Judges 2–3 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit2 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch3 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers [2] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) New Testament: John 13:1–30 John 13:1–30 (Listen) Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet 13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,1 but is completely clean. And you2 are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant3 is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled,4 ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” One of You Will Betray Me 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side,5 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus6 of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. Footnotes [1] 13:10 Some manuscripts omit except for his feet [2] 13:10 The Greek words for you in this verse are plural [3] 13:16 Or bondservant, or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) [4] 13:18 Greek But in order that the Scripture may be fulfilled [5] 13:23 Greek in the bosom of Jesus [6] 13:24 Greek lacks Jesus (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:1–22 Psalm 107:1–22 (Listen) Book Five Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So 107   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever!2   Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,    whom he has redeemed from trouble13   and gathered in from the lands,    from the east and from the west,    from the north and from the south. 4   Some wandered in desert wastes,    finding no way to a city to dwell in;5   hungry and thirsty,    their soul fainted within them.6   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.7   He led them by a straight way    till they reached a city to dwell in.8   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!9   For he satisfies the longing soul,    and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10   Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,    prisoners in affliction and in irons,11   for they had rebelled against the words of God,    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.12   So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;    they fell down, with none to help.13   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.14   He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,    and burst their bonds apart.15   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!16   For he shatters the doors of bronze    and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17   Some were fools through their sinful ways,    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;18   they loathed any kind of food,    and they drew near to the gates of death.19   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.20   He sent out his word and healed them,    and delivered them from their destruction.21   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!22   And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! Footnotes [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 14:30–31 Proverbs 14:30–31 (Listen) 30   A tranquil1 heart gives life to the flesh,    but envy2 makes the bones rot.31   Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,    but he who is generous to the needy honors him. Footnotes [1] 14:30 Or healing [2] 14:30 Or jealousy (ESV)

Morning: Judges 1–2 Judges 1–2 (Listen) The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.1 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction [2] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Evening: Luke 7:1–30 Luke 7:1–30 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,' and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,' and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. Jesus Raises a Widow's Son 11 Soon afterward3 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Messengers from John the Baptist 18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers5 are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus6 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,   “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way before you.' 28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just,7 having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) Footnotes [1] 7:2 Or bondservant; also verses 3, 8, 10 [2] 7:3 Greek he [3] 7:11 Some manuscripts The next day [4] 7:15 Greek he [5] 7:22 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [6] 7:24 Greek he [7] 7:29 Greek they justified God (ESV)

Judges 1–2 Judges 1–2 (Listen) The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.1 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction [2] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV)

Judges 1–2 Judges 1–2 (Listen) The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.1 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction [2] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV)

Isaiah 40 NIVComfort for God's People1 Comfort, comfort my people,  says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,  and proclaim to herthat her hard service has been completed,  that her sin has been paid for,that she has received from the Lord's hand  double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:“In the wilderness prepare  the way for the Lord[a];make straight in the desert  a highway for our God.[b]4 Every valley shall be raised up,  every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level,  the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,  and all people will see it together.For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”6 A voice says, “Cry out.”  And I said, “What shall I cry?”“All people are like grass,  and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  but the word of our God endures forever.”9 You who bring good news to Zion,  go up on a high mountain.You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]  lift up your voice with a shout,lift it up, do not be afraid;  say to the towns of Judah,  “Here is your God!”10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,  and he rules with a mighty arm.See, his reward is with him,  and his recompense accompanies him.11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his armsand carries them close to his heart;  he gently leads those that have young.12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,  or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,  or weighed the mountains on the scales  and the hills in a balance?13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d] of the Lord,  or instruct the Lord as his counselor?14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,  and who taught him the right way?Who was it that taught him knowledge,  or showed him the path of understanding?15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;  they are regarded as dust on the scales;  he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,  nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;  they are regarded by him as worthless  and less than nothing.18 With whom, then, will you compare God?  To what image will you liken him?19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,  and a goldsmith overlays it with gold  and fashions silver chains for it.20 A person too poor to present such an offering  selects wood that will not rot;they look for a skilled worker  to set up an idol that will not topple.21 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood since the earth was founded?22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,  and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,  and spreads them out like a tent to live in.23 He brings princes to naught  and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.24 No sooner are they planted,  no sooner are they sown,  no sooner do they take root in the ground,than he blows on them and they wither,  and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.25 “To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?He who brings out the starry host one by one  and calls forth each of them by name.Because of his great power and mighty strength,  not one of them is missing.27 Why do you complain, Jacob?  Why do you say, Israel,“My way is hidden from the Lord;  my cause is disregarded by my God”?28 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,  and his understanding no one can fathom.29 He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall;31 but those who hope in the Lord  will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord[b] Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God[c] Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news[d] Isaiah 40:13 Or mindIsaiah 41 NIVThe Helper of Israel1 “Be silent before me, you islands!  Let the nations renew their strength!Let them come forward and speak;  let us meet together at the place of judgment.2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,  calling him in righteousness to his service[a]?He hands nations over to him  and subdues kings before him.He turns them to dust with his sword,  to windblown chaff with his bow.3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,  by a path his feet have not traveled before.4 Who has done this and carried it through,  calling forth the generations from the beginning?I, the Lord—with the first of them  and with the last—I am he.”5 The islands have seen it and fear;  the ends of the earth tremble.They approach and come forward;6   they help each other  and say to their companions, “Be strong!”7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,  and the one who smooths with the hammer  spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.One says of the welding, “It is good.”  The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.8 “But you, Israel, my servant,  Jacob, whom I have chosen,  you descendants of Abraham my friend,9 I took you from the ends of the earth,  from its farthest corners I called you.I said, ‘You are my servant';  I have chosen you and have not rejected you.10 So do not fear, for I am with you;  do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.11 “All who rage against you  will surely be ashamed and disgraced;those who oppose you  will be as nothing and perish.12 Though you search for your enemies,  you will not find them.Those who wage war against you  will be as nothing at all.13 For I am the Lord your God  who takes hold of your right handand says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you.14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,  little Israel, do not fear,for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,  new and sharp, with many teeth.You will thresh the mountains and crush them,  and reduce the hills to chaff.16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,  and a gale will blow them away.But you will rejoice in the Lord  and glory in the Holy One of Israel.17 “The poor and needy search for water,  but there is none;  their tongues are parched with thirst.But I the Lord will answer them;  I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,  and springs within the valleys.I will turn the desert into pools of water,  and the parched ground into springs.19 I will put in the desert  the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.I will set junipers in the wasteland,  the fir and the cypress together,20 so that people may see and know,  may consider and understand,that the hand of the Lord has done this,  that the Holy One of Israel has created it.21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.  “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob's King.22 “Tell us, you idols,  what is going to happen.Tell us what the former things were,  so that we may consider them  and know their final outcome.Or declare to us the things to come,23   tell us what the future holds,  so we may know that you are gods.Do something, whether good or bad,  so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.24 But you are less than nothing  and your works are utterly worthless;  whoever chooses you is detestable.25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—  one from the rising sun who calls on my name.He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,  as if he were a potter treading the clay.26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,  or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right'?No one told of this,  no one foretold it,  no one heard any words from you.27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!'  I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.28 I look but there is no one—  no one among the gods to give counsel,  no one to give answer when I ask them.29 See, they are all false!  Their deeds amount to nothing;  their images are but wind and confusion.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every stepIsaiah 42 NIVThe Servant of the Lord1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,  my chosen one in whom I delight;I will put my Spirit on him,  and he will bring justice to the nations.2 He will not shout or cry out,  or raise his voice in the streets.3 A bruised reed he will not break,  and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;4   he will not falter or be discouragedtill he establishes justice on earth.  In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,  who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,  who gives breath to its people,  and life to those who walk on it:6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;  I will take hold of your hand.I will keep you and will make you  to be a covenant for the people  and a light for the Gentiles,7 to open eyes that are blind,  to free captives from prison  and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!  I will not yield my glory to another  or my praise to idols.9 See, the former things have taken place,  and new things I declare;before they spring into being  I announce them to you.”Song of Praise to the Lord10 Sing to the Lord a new song,  his praise from the ends of the earth,you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,  you islands, and all who live in them.11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;  let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.Let the people of Sela sing for joy;  let them shout from the mountaintops.12 Let them give glory to the Lord  and proclaim his praise in the islands.13 The Lord will march out like a champion,  like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;with a shout he will raise the battle cry  and will triumph over his enemies.14 “For a long time I have kept silent,  I have been quiet and held myself back.But now, like a woman in childbirth,  I cry out, I gasp and pant.15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills  and dry up all their vegetation;I will turn rivers into islands  and dry up the pools.16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,  along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;I will turn the darkness into light before them  and make the rough places smooth.These are the things I will do;  I will not forsake them.17 But those who trust in idols,  who say to images, ‘You are our gods,'  will be turned back in utter shame.Israel Blind and Deaf18 “Hear, you deaf;  look, you blind, and see!19 Who is blind but my servant,  and deaf like the messenger I send?Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,  blind like the servant of the Lord?20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;  your ears are open, but you do not listen.”21 It pleased the Lord  for the sake of his righteousness  to make his law great and glorious.22 But this is a people plundered and looted,  all of them trapped in pits  or hidden away in prisons.They have become plunder,  with no one to rescue them;they have been made loot,  with no one to say, “Send them back.”23 Which of you will listen to this  or pay close attention in time to come?24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,  and Israel to the plunderers?Was it not the Lord,  against whom we have sinned?For they would not follow his ways;  they did not obey his law.25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,  the violence of war.It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;  it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.Isaiah 43 NIVIsrael's Only Savior1 But now, this is what the Lord says—  he who created you, Jacob,  he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers,  they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned;  the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God,  the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I give Egypt for your ransom,  Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,  and because I love you,I will give people in exchange for you,  nations in exchange for your life.5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  I will bring your children from the east  and gather you from the west.6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!'  and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.'Bring my sons from afar  and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name,  whom I created for my glory,  whom I formed and made.”8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,  who have ears but are deaf.9 All the nations gather together  and the peoples assemble.Which of their gods foretold this  and proclaimed to us the former things?Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,  so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,  “and my servant whom I have chosen,so that you may know and believe me  and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed,  nor will there be one after me.11 I, even I, am the Lord,  and apart from me there is no savior.12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—  I, and not some foreign god among you.You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.13   Yes, and from ancient days I am he.No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness14 This is what the Lord says—  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I will send to Babylon  and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]  in the ships in which they took pride.15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,  Israel's Creator, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says—  he who made a way through the sea,  a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses,  the army and reinforcements together,and they lay there, never to rise again,  extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:18 “Forget the former things;  do not dwell on the past.19 See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland.20 The wild animals honor me,  the jackals and the owls,because I provide water in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland,to give drink to my people, my chosen,21   the people I formed for myself  that they may proclaim my praise.22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,  you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,  nor honored me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with grain offerings  nor wearied you with demands for incense.24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,  or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.But you have burdened me with your sins  and wearied me with your offenses.25 “I, even I, am he who blots out  your transgressions, for my own sake,  and remembers your sins no more.26 Review the past for me,  let us argue the matter together;  state the case for your innocence.27 Your first father sinned;  those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;  I consigned Jacob to destruction[d]  and Israel to scorn.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region[b] Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans[c] Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of[d] Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

Isaiah 40 NIVComfort for God's People1 Comfort, comfort my people,  says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,  and proclaim to herthat her hard service has been completed,  that her sin has been paid for,that she has received from the Lord's hand  double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:“In the wilderness prepare  the way for the Lord[a];make straight in the desert  a highway for our God.[b]4 Every valley shall be raised up,  every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level,  the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,  and all people will see it together.For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”6 A voice says, “Cry out.”  And I said, “What shall I cry?”“All people are like grass,  and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  but the word of our God endures forever.”9 You who bring good news to Zion,  go up on a high mountain.You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]  lift up your voice with a shout,lift it up, do not be afraid;  say to the towns of Judah,  “Here is your God!”10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,  and he rules with a mighty arm.See, his reward is with him,  and his recompense accompanies him.11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his armsand carries them close to his heart;  he gently leads those that have young.12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,  or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,  or weighed the mountains on the scales  and the hills in a balance?13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d] of the Lord,  or instruct the Lord as his counselor?14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,  and who taught him the right way?Who was it that taught him knowledge,  or showed him the path of understanding?15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;  they are regarded as dust on the scales;  he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,  nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;  they are regarded by him as worthless  and less than nothing.18 With whom, then, will you compare God?  To what image will you liken him?19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,  and a goldsmith overlays it with gold  and fashions silver chains for it.20 A person too poor to present such an offering  selects wood that will not rot;they look for a skilled worker  to set up an idol that will not topple.21 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood since the earth was founded?22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,  and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,  and spreads them out like a tent to live in.23 He brings princes to naught  and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.24 No sooner are they planted,  no sooner are they sown,  no sooner do they take root in the ground,than he blows on them and they wither,  and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.25 “To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?He who brings out the starry host one by one  and calls forth each of them by name.Because of his great power and mighty strength,  not one of them is missing.27 Why do you complain, Jacob?  Why do you say, Israel,“My way is hidden from the Lord;  my cause is disregarded by my God”?28 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,  and his understanding no one can fathom.29 He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall;31 but those who hope in the Lord  will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord[b] Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God[c] Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news[d] Isaiah 40:13 Or mindIsaiah 41 NIVThe Helper of Israel1 “Be silent before me, you islands!  Let the nations renew their strength!Let them come forward and speak;  let us meet together at the place of judgment.2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,  calling him in righteousness to his service[a]?He hands nations over to him  and subdues kings before him.He turns them to dust with his sword,  to windblown chaff with his bow.3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,  by a path his feet have not traveled before.4 Who has done this and carried it through,  calling forth the generations from the beginning?I, the Lord—with the first of them  and with the last—I am he.”5 The islands have seen it and fear;  the ends of the earth tremble.They approach and come forward;6   they help each other  and say to their companions, “Be strong!”7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,  and the one who smooths with the hammer  spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.One says of the welding, “It is good.”  The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.8 “But you, Israel, my servant,  Jacob, whom I have chosen,  you descendants of Abraham my friend,9 I took you from the ends of the earth,  from its farthest corners I called you.I said, ‘You are my servant';  I have chosen you and have not rejected you.10 So do not fear, for I am with you;  do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.11 “All who rage against you  will surely be ashamed and disgraced;those who oppose you  will be as nothing and perish.12 Though you search for your enemies,  you will not find them.Those who wage war against you  will be as nothing at all.13 For I am the Lord your God  who takes hold of your right handand says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you.14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,  little Israel, do not fear,for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,  new and sharp, with many teeth.You will thresh the mountains and crush them,  and reduce the hills to chaff.16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,  and a gale will blow them away.But you will rejoice in the Lord  and glory in the Holy One of Israel.17 “The poor and needy search for water,  but there is none;  their tongues are parched with thirst.But I the Lord will answer them;  I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,  and springs within the valleys.I will turn the desert into pools of water,  and the parched ground into springs.19 I will put in the desert  the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.I will set junipers in the wasteland,  the fir and the cypress together,20 so that people may see and know,  may consider and understand,that the hand of the Lord has done this,  that the Holy One of Israel has created it.21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.  “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob's King.22 “Tell us, you idols,  what is going to happen.Tell us what the former things were,  so that we may consider them  and know their final outcome.Or declare to us the things to come,23   tell us what the future holds,  so we may know that you are gods.Do something, whether good or bad,  so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.24 But you are less than nothing  and your works are utterly worthless;  whoever chooses you is detestable.25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—  one from the rising sun who calls on my name.He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,  as if he were a potter treading the clay.26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,  or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right'?No one told of this,  no one foretold it,  no one heard any words from you.27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!'  I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.28 I look but there is no one—  no one among the gods to give counsel,  no one to give answer when I ask them.29 See, they are all false!  Their deeds amount to nothing;  their images are but wind and confusion.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every stepIsaiah 42 NIVThe Servant of the Lord1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,  my chosen one in whom I delight;I will put my Spirit on him,  and he will bring justice to the nations.2 He will not shout or cry out,  or raise his voice in the streets.3 A bruised reed he will not break,  and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;4   he will not falter or be discouragedtill he establishes justice on earth.  In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,  who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,  who gives breath to its people,  and life to those who walk on it:6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;  I will take hold of your hand.I will keep you and will make you  to be a covenant for the people  and a light for the Gentiles,7 to open eyes that are blind,  to free captives from prison  and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!  I will not yield my glory to another  or my praise to idols.9 See, the former things have taken place,  and new things I declare;before they spring into being  I announce them to you.”Song of Praise to the Lord10 Sing to the Lord a new song,  his praise from the ends of the earth,you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,  you islands, and all who live in them.11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;  let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.Let the people of Sela sing for joy;  let them shout from the mountaintops.12 Let them give glory to the Lord  and proclaim his praise in the islands.13 The Lord will march out like a champion,  like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;with a shout he will raise the battle cry  and will triumph over his enemies.14 “For a long time I have kept silent,  I have been quiet and held myself back.But now, like a woman in childbirth,  I cry out, I gasp and pant.15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills  and dry up all their vegetation;I will turn rivers into islands  and dry up the pools.16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,  along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;I will turn the darkness into light before them  and make the rough places smooth.These are the things I will do;  I will not forsake them.17 But those who trust in idols,  who say to images, ‘You are our gods,'  will be turned back in utter shame.Israel Blind and Deaf18 “Hear, you deaf;  look, you blind, and see!19 Who is blind but my servant,  and deaf like the messenger I send?Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,  blind like the servant of the Lord?20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;  your ears are open, but you do not listen.”21 It pleased the Lord  for the sake of his righteousness  to make his law great and glorious.22 But this is a people plundered and looted,  all of them trapped in pits  or hidden away in prisons.They have become plunder,  with no one to rescue them;they have been made loot,  with no one to say, “Send them back.”23 Which of you will listen to this  or pay close attention in time to come?24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,  and Israel to the plunderers?Was it not the Lord,  against whom we have sinned?For they would not follow his ways;  they did not obey his law.25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,  the violence of war.It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;  it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.Isaiah 43 NIVIsrael's Only Savior1 But now, this is what the Lord says—  he who created you, Jacob,  he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers,  they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned;  the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God,  the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I give Egypt for your ransom,  Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,  and because I love you,I will give people in exchange for you,  nations in exchange for your life.5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  I will bring your children from the east  and gather you from the west.6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!'  and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.'Bring my sons from afar  and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name,  whom I created for my glory,  whom I formed and made.”8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,  who have ears but are deaf.9 All the nations gather together  and the peoples assemble.Which of their gods foretold this  and proclaimed to us the former things?Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,  so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,  “and my servant whom I have chosen,so that you may know and believe me  and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed,  nor will there be one after me.11 I, even I, am the Lord,  and apart from me there is no savior.12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—  I, and not some foreign god among you.You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.13   Yes, and from ancient days I am he.No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness14 This is what the Lord says—  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I will send to Babylon  and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]  in the ships in which they took pride.15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,  Israel's Creator, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says—  he who made a way through the sea,  a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses,  the army and reinforcements together,and they lay there, never to rise again,  extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:18 “Forget the former things;  do not dwell on the past.19 See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland.20 The wild animals honor me,  the jackals and the owls,because I provide water in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland,to give drink to my people, my chosen,21   the people I formed for myself  that they may proclaim my praise.22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,  you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,  nor honored me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with grain offerings  nor wearied you with demands for incense.24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,  or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.But you have burdened me with your sins  and wearied me with your offenses.25 “I, even I, am he who blots out  your transgressions, for my own sake,  and remembers your sins no more.26 Review the past for me,  let us argue the matter together;  state the case for your innocence.27 Your first father sinned;  those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;  I consigned Jacob to destruction[d]  and Israel to scorn.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region[b] Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans[c] Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of[d] Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

Isaiah 40 NIVComfort for God's People1 Comfort, comfort my people,  says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,  and proclaim to herthat her hard service has been completed,  that her sin has been paid for,that she has received from the Lord's hand  double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:“In the wilderness prepare  the way for the Lord[a];make straight in the desert  a highway for our God.[b]4 Every valley shall be raised up,  every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level,  the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,  and all people will see it together.For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”6 A voice says, “Cry out.”  And I said, “What shall I cry?”“All people are like grass,  and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  but the word of our God endures forever.”9 You who bring good news to Zion,  go up on a high mountain.You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]  lift up your voice with a shout,lift it up, do not be afraid;  say to the towns of Judah,  “Here is your God!”10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,  and he rules with a mighty arm.See, his reward is with him,  and his recompense accompanies him.11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his armsand carries them close to his heart;  he gently leads those that have young.12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,  or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,  or weighed the mountains on the scales  and the hills in a balance?13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d] of the Lord,  or instruct the Lord as his counselor?14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,  and who taught him the right way?Who was it that taught him knowledge,  or showed him the path of understanding?15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;  they are regarded as dust on the scales;  he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,  nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;  they are regarded by him as worthless  and less than nothing.18 With whom, then, will you compare God?  To what image will you liken him?19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,  and a goldsmith overlays it with gold  and fashions silver chains for it.20 A person too poor to present such an offering  selects wood that will not rot;they look for a skilled worker  to set up an idol that will not topple.21 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood since the earth was founded?22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,  and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,  and spreads them out like a tent to live in.23 He brings princes to naught  and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.24 No sooner are they planted,  no sooner are they sown,  no sooner do they take root in the ground,than he blows on them and they wither,  and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.25 “To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?He who brings out the starry host one by one  and calls forth each of them by name.Because of his great power and mighty strength,  not one of them is missing.27 Why do you complain, Jacob?  Why do you say, Israel,“My way is hidden from the Lord;  my cause is disregarded by my God”?28 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,  and his understanding no one can fathom.29 He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall;31 but those who hope in the Lord  will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord[b] Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God[c] Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news[d] Isaiah 40:13 Or mindIsaiah 41 NIVThe Helper of Israel1 “Be silent before me, you islands!  Let the nations renew their strength!Let them come forward and speak;  let us meet together at the place of judgment.2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,  calling him in righteousness to his service[a]?He hands nations over to him  and subdues kings before him.He turns them to dust with his sword,  to windblown chaff with his bow.3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,  by a path his feet have not traveled before.4 Who has done this and carried it through,  calling forth the generations from the beginning?I, the Lord—with the first of them  and with the last—I am he.”5 The islands have seen it and fear;  the ends of the earth tremble.They approach and come forward;6   they help each other  and say to their companions, “Be strong!”7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,  and the one who smooths with the hammer  spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.One says of the welding, “It is good.”  The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.8 “But you, Israel, my servant,  Jacob, whom I have chosen,  you descendants of Abraham my friend,9 I took you from the ends of the earth,  from its farthest corners I called you.I said, ‘You are my servant';  I have chosen you and have not rejected you.10 So do not fear, for I am with you;  do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.11 “All who rage against you  will surely be ashamed and disgraced;those who oppose you  will be as nothing and perish.12 Though you search for your enemies,  you will not find them.Those who wage war against you  will be as nothing at all.13 For I am the Lord your God  who takes hold of your right handand says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you.14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,  little Israel, do not fear,for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,  new and sharp, with many teeth.You will thresh the mountains and crush them,  and reduce the hills to chaff.16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,  and a gale will blow them away.But you will rejoice in the Lord  and glory in the Holy One of Israel.17 “The poor and needy search for water,  but there is none;  their tongues are parched with thirst.But I the Lord will answer them;  I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,  and springs within the valleys.I will turn the desert into pools of water,  and the parched ground into springs.19 I will put in the desert  the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.I will set junipers in the wasteland,  the fir and the cypress together,20 so that people may see and know,  may consider and understand,that the hand of the Lord has done this,  that the Holy One of Israel has created it.21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.  “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob's King.22 “Tell us, you idols,  what is going to happen.Tell us what the former things were,  so that we may consider them  and know their final outcome.Or declare to us the things to come,23   tell us what the future holds,  so we may know that you are gods.Do something, whether good or bad,  so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.24 But you are less than nothing  and your works are utterly worthless;  whoever chooses you is detestable.25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—  one from the rising sun who calls on my name.He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,  as if he were a potter treading the clay.26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,  or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right'?No one told of this,  no one foretold it,  no one heard any words from you.27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!'  I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.28 I look but there is no one—  no one among the gods to give counsel,  no one to give answer when I ask them.29 See, they are all false!  Their deeds amount to nothing;  their images are but wind and confusion.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every stepIsaiah 42 NIVThe Servant of the Lord1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,  my chosen one in whom I delight;I will put my Spirit on him,  and he will bring justice to the nations.2 He will not shout or cry out,  or raise his voice in the streets.3 A bruised reed he will not break,  and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;4   he will not falter or be discouragedtill he establishes justice on earth.  In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,  who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,  who gives breath to its people,  and life to those who walk on it:6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;  I will take hold of your hand.I will keep you and will make you  to be a covenant for the people  and a light for the Gentiles,7 to open eyes that are blind,  to free captives from prison  and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!  I will not yield my glory to another  or my praise to idols.9 See, the former things have taken place,  and new things I declare;before they spring into being  I announce them to you.”Song of Praise to the Lord10 Sing to the Lord a new song,  his praise from the ends of the earth,you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,  you islands, and all who live in them.11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;  let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.Let the people of Sela sing for joy;  let them shout from the mountaintops.12 Let them give glory to the Lord  and proclaim his praise in the islands.13 The Lord will march out like a champion,  like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;with a shout he will raise the battle cry  and will triumph over his enemies.14 “For a long time I have kept silent,  I have been quiet and held myself back.But now, like a woman in childbirth,  I cry out, I gasp and pant.15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills  and dry up all their vegetation;I will turn rivers into islands  and dry up the pools.16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,  along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;I will turn the darkness into light before them  and make the rough places smooth.These are the things I will do;  I will not forsake them.17 But those who trust in idols,  who say to images, ‘You are our gods,'  will be turned back in utter shame.Israel Blind and Deaf18 “Hear, you deaf;  look, you blind, and see!19 Who is blind but my servant,  and deaf like the messenger I send?Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,  blind like the servant of the Lord?20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;  your ears are open, but you do not listen.”21 It pleased the Lord  for the sake of his righteousness  to make his law great and glorious.22 But this is a people plundered and looted,  all of them trapped in pits  or hidden away in prisons.They have become plunder,  with no one to rescue them;they have been made loot,  with no one to say, “Send them back.”23 Which of you will listen to this  or pay close attention in time to come?24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,  and Israel to the plunderers?Was it not the Lord,  against whom we have sinned?For they would not follow his ways;  they did not obey his law.25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,  the violence of war.It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;  it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.Isaiah 43 NIVIsrael's Only Savior1 But now, this is what the Lord says—  he who created you, Jacob,  he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers,  they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned;  the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God,  the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I give Egypt for your ransom,  Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,  and because I love you,I will give people in exchange for you,  nations in exchange for your life.5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  I will bring your children from the east  and gather you from the west.6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!'  and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.'Bring my sons from afar  and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name,  whom I created for my glory,  whom I formed and made.”8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,  who have ears but are deaf.9 All the nations gather together  and the peoples assemble.Which of their gods foretold this  and proclaimed to us the former things?Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,  so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,  “and my servant whom I have chosen,so that you may know and believe me  and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed,  nor will there be one after me.11 I, even I, am the Lord,  and apart from me there is no savior.12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—  I, and not some foreign god among you.You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.13   Yes, and from ancient days I am he.No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness14 This is what the Lord says—  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I will send to Babylon  and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]  in the ships in which they took pride.15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,  Israel's Creator, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says—  he who made a way through the sea,  a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses,  the army and reinforcements together,and they lay there, never to rise again,  extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:18 “Forget the former things;  do not dwell on the past.19 See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland.20 The wild animals honor me,  the jackals and the owls,because I provide water in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland,to give drink to my people, my chosen,21   the people I formed for myself  that they may proclaim my praise.22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,  you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,  nor honored me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with grain offerings  nor wearied you with demands for incense.24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,  or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.But you have burdened me with your sins  and wearied me with your offenses.25 “I, even I, am he who blots out  your transgressions, for my own sake,  and remembers your sins no more.26 Review the past for me,  let us argue the matter together;  state the case for your innocence.27 Your first father sinned;  those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;  I consigned Jacob to destruction[d]  and Israel to scorn.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region[b] Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans[c] Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of[d] Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

Isaiah 40 NIVComfort for God's People1 Comfort, comfort my people,  says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,  and proclaim to herthat her hard service has been completed,  that her sin has been paid for,that she has received from the Lord's hand  double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:“In the wilderness prepare  the way for the Lord[a];make straight in the desert  a highway for our God.[b]4 Every valley shall be raised up,  every mountain and hill made low;the rough ground shall become level,  the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,  and all people will see it together.For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”6 A voice says, “Cry out.”  And I said, “What shall I cry?”“All people are like grass,  and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,  but the word of our God endures forever.”9 You who bring good news to Zion,  go up on a high mountain.You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]  lift up your voice with a shout,lift it up, do not be afraid;  say to the towns of Judah,  “Here is your God!”10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,  and he rules with a mighty arm.See, his reward is with him,  and his recompense accompanies him.11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his armsand carries them close to his heart;  he gently leads those that have young.12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,  or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,  or weighed the mountains on the scales  and the hills in a balance?13 Who can fathom the Spirit[d] of the Lord,  or instruct the Lord as his counselor?14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,  and who taught him the right way?Who was it that taught him knowledge,  or showed him the path of understanding?15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;  they are regarded as dust on the scales;  he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,  nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;  they are regarded by him as worthless  and less than nothing.18 With whom, then, will you compare God?  To what image will you liken him?19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,  and a goldsmith overlays it with gold  and fashions silver chains for it.20 A person too poor to present such an offering  selects wood that will not rot;they look for a skilled worker  to set up an idol that will not topple.21 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?Has it not been told you from the beginning?  Have you not understood since the earth was founded?22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,  and its people are like grasshoppers.He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,  and spreads them out like a tent to live in.23 He brings princes to naught  and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.24 No sooner are they planted,  no sooner are they sown,  no sooner do they take root in the ground,than he blows on them and they wither,  and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.25 “To whom will you compare me?  Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these?He who brings out the starry host one by one  and calls forth each of them by name.Because of his great power and mighty strength,  not one of them is missing.27 Why do you complain, Jacob?  Why do you say, Israel,“My way is hidden from the Lord;  my cause is disregarded by my God”?28 Do you not know?  Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,  and his understanding no one can fathom.29 He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall;31 but those who hope in the Lord  will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / “Prepare the way for the Lord[b] Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God[c] Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news[d] Isaiah 40:13 Or mindIsaiah 41 NIVThe Helper of Israel1 “Be silent before me, you islands!  Let the nations renew their strength!Let them come forward and speak;  let us meet together at the place of judgment.2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,  calling him in righteousness to his service[a]?He hands nations over to him  and subdues kings before him.He turns them to dust with his sword,  to windblown chaff with his bow.3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,  by a path his feet have not traveled before.4 Who has done this and carried it through,  calling forth the generations from the beginning?I, the Lord—with the first of them  and with the last—I am he.”5 The islands have seen it and fear;  the ends of the earth tremble.They approach and come forward;6   they help each other  and say to their companions, “Be strong!”7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,  and the one who smooths with the hammer  spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.One says of the welding, “It is good.”  The other nails down the idol so it will not topple.8 “But you, Israel, my servant,  Jacob, whom I have chosen,  you descendants of Abraham my friend,9 I took you from the ends of the earth,  from its farthest corners I called you.I said, ‘You are my servant';  I have chosen you and have not rejected you.10 So do not fear, for I am with you;  do not be dismayed, for I am your God.I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.11 “All who rage against you  will surely be ashamed and disgraced;those who oppose you  will be as nothing and perish.12 Though you search for your enemies,  you will not find them.Those who wage war against you  will be as nothing at all.13 For I am the Lord your God  who takes hold of your right handand says to you, Do not fear;  I will help you.14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,  little Israel, do not fear,for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,  new and sharp, with many teeth.You will thresh the mountains and crush them,  and reduce the hills to chaff.16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,  and a gale will blow them away.But you will rejoice in the Lord  and glory in the Holy One of Israel.17 “The poor and needy search for water,  but there is none;  their tongues are parched with thirst.But I the Lord will answer them;  I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,  and springs within the valleys.I will turn the desert into pools of water,  and the parched ground into springs.19 I will put in the desert  the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.I will set junipers in the wasteland,  the fir and the cypress together,20 so that people may see and know,  may consider and understand,that the hand of the Lord has done this,  that the Holy One of Israel has created it.21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.  “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob's King.22 “Tell us, you idols,  what is going to happen.Tell us what the former things were,  so that we may consider them  and know their final outcome.Or declare to us the things to come,23   tell us what the future holds,  so we may know that you are gods.Do something, whether good or bad,  so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.24 But you are less than nothing  and your works are utterly worthless;  whoever chooses you is detestable.25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—  one from the rising sun who calls on my name.He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,  as if he were a potter treading the clay.26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,  or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right'?No one told of this,  no one foretold it,  no one heard any words from you.27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!'  I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.28 I look but there is no one—  no one among the gods to give counsel,  no one to give answer when I ask them.29 See, they are all false!  Their deeds amount to nothing;  their images are but wind and confusion.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 41:2 Or east, / whom victory meets at every stepIsaiah 42 NIVThe Servant of the Lord1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,  my chosen one in whom I delight;I will put my Spirit on him,  and he will bring justice to the nations.2 He will not shout or cry out,  or raise his voice in the streets.3 A bruised reed he will not break,  and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;4   he will not falter or be discouragedtill he establishes justice on earth.  In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,  who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,  who gives breath to its people,  and life to those who walk on it:6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;  I will take hold of your hand.I will keep you and will make you  to be a covenant for the people  and a light for the Gentiles,7 to open eyes that are blind,  to free captives from prison  and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!  I will not yield my glory to another  or my praise to idols.9 See, the former things have taken place,  and new things I declare;before they spring into being  I announce them to you.”Song of Praise to the Lord10 Sing to the Lord a new song,  his praise from the ends of the earth,you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,  you islands, and all who live in them.11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;  let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.Let the people of Sela sing for joy;  let them shout from the mountaintops.12 Let them give glory to the Lord  and proclaim his praise in the islands.13 The Lord will march out like a champion,  like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;with a shout he will raise the battle cry  and will triumph over his enemies.14 “For a long time I have kept silent,  I have been quiet and held myself back.But now, like a woman in childbirth,  I cry out, I gasp and pant.15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills  and dry up all their vegetation;I will turn rivers into islands  and dry up the pools.16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,  along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;I will turn the darkness into light before them  and make the rough places smooth.These are the things I will do;  I will not forsake them.17 But those who trust in idols,  who say to images, ‘You are our gods,'  will be turned back in utter shame.Israel Blind and Deaf18 “Hear, you deaf;  look, you blind, and see!19 Who is blind but my servant,  and deaf like the messenger I send?Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,  blind like the servant of the Lord?20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;  your ears are open, but you do not listen.”21 It pleased the Lord  for the sake of his righteousness  to make his law great and glorious.22 But this is a people plundered and looted,  all of them trapped in pits  or hidden away in prisons.They have become plunder,  with no one to rescue them;they have been made loot,  with no one to say, “Send them back.”23 Which of you will listen to this  or pay close attention in time to come?24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,  and Israel to the plunderers?Was it not the Lord,  against whom we have sinned?For they would not follow his ways;  they did not obey his law.25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,  the violence of war.It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;  it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.Isaiah 43 NIVIsrael's Only Savior1 But now, this is what the Lord says—  he who created you, Jacob,  he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers,  they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned;  the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God,  the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I give Egypt for your ransom,  Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,  and because I love you,I will give people in exchange for you,  nations in exchange for your life.5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;  I will bring your children from the east  and gather you from the west.6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!'  and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.'Bring my sons from afar  and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name,  whom I created for my glory,  whom I formed and made.”8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,  who have ears but are deaf.9 All the nations gather together  and the peoples assemble.Which of their gods foretold this  and proclaimed to us the former things?Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,  so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,  “and my servant whom I have chosen,so that you may know and believe me  and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed,  nor will there be one after me.11 I, even I, am the Lord,  and apart from me there is no savior.12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—  I, and not some foreign god among you.You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.13   Yes, and from ancient days I am he.No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness14 This is what the Lord says—  your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I will send to Babylon  and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]  in the ships in which they took pride.15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,  Israel's Creator, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says—  he who made a way through the sea,  a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses,  the army and reinforcements together,and they lay there, never to rise again,  extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:18 “Forget the former things;  do not dwell on the past.19 See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland.20 The wild animals honor me,  the jackals and the owls,because I provide water in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland,to give drink to my people, my chosen,21   the people I formed for myself  that they may proclaim my praise.22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,  you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,  nor honored me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with grain offerings  nor wearied you with demands for incense.24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,  or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.But you have burdened me with your sins  and wearied me with your offenses.25 “I, even I, am he who blots out  your transgressions, for my own sake,  and remembers your sins no more.26 Review the past for me,  let us argue the matter together;  state the case for your innocence.27 Your first father sinned;  those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;  I consigned Jacob to destruction[d]  and Israel to scorn.Footnotes[a] Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region[b] Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans[c] Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of[d] Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.

Following his sermon within the Free At Last series, Trevor is interviewed by Tyler to talk about the golden calf. Sermon Passage: Exodus 32:15-35 If you have any questions about the sermon, make sure to fill out the form on the Church Center App.  

Series: Free At Last Speaker: Trevor Route Scripture: Exodus 32:15-35 Main Idea: The seriousness of sin and how it affects our relationship with God.

When your disobedience causes problems for you later on down the road but God sends you a deliverer --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sharise-johnson-moore/message

Proper 12 First Psalm: Psalms 61–62 Psalms 61–62 (Listen) Lead Me to the Rock To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David. 61   Hear my cry, O God,    listen to my prayer;2   from the end of the earth I call to you    when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock    that is higher than I,3   for you have been my refuge,    a strong tower against the enemy. 4   Let me dwell in your tent forever!    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah5   For you, O God, have heard my vows;    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 6   Prolong the life of the king;    may his years endure to all generations!7   May he be enthroned forever before God;    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 8   So will I ever sing praises to your name,    as I perform my vows day after day. My Soul Waits for God Alone To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 62   For God alone my soul waits in silence;    from him comes my salvation.2   He alone is my rock and my salvation,    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. 3   How long will all of you attack a man    to batter him,    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?4   They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.    They take pleasure in falsehood.  They bless with their mouths,    but inwardly they curse. Selah 5   For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,    for my hope is from him.6   He only is my rock and my salvation,    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.7   On God rests my salvation and my glory;    my mighty rock, my refuge is God. 8   Trust in him at all times, O people;    pour out your heart before him;    God is a refuge for us. Selah 9   Those of low estate are but a breath;    those of high estate are a delusion;  in the balances they go up;    they are together lighter than a breath.10   Put no trust in extortion;    set no vain hopes on robbery;    if riches increase, set not your heart on them. 11   Once God has spoken;    twice have I heard this:  that power belongs to God,12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.  For you will render to a man    according to his work. (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 68 Psalm 68 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68   God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;    and those who hate him shall flee before him!2   As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;    as wax melts before fire,    so the wicked shall perish before God!3   But the righteous shall be glad;    they shall exult before God;    they shall be jubilant with joy! 4   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;  his name is the LORD;    exult before him!5   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation.6   God settles the solitary in a home;    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7   O God, when you went out before your people,    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,    before God, the One of Sinai,    before God,1 the God of Israel.9   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;    you restored your inheritance as it languished;10   your flock2 found a dwelling in it;    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11   The Lord gives the word;    the women who announce the news are a great host:12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”  The women at home divide the spoil—13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—  the wings of a dove covered with silver,    its pinions with shimmering gold.14   When the Almighty scatters kings there,    let snow fall on Zalmon. 15   O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;    O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16   Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,    at the mount that God desired for his abode,    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17   The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,    thousands upon thousands;    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18   You ascended on high,    leading a host of captives in your train    and receiving gifts among men,  even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19   Blessed be the Lord,    who daily bears us up;    God is our salvation. Selah20   Our God is a God of salvation,    and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.21   But God will strike the heads of his enemies,    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.22   The Lord said,    “I will bring them back from Bashan,  I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,23   that you may strike your feet in their blood,    that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.” 24   Your procession is4 seen, O God,    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—25   the singers in front, the musicians last,    between them virgins playing tambourines:26   “Bless God in the great congregation,    the LORD, O you5 who are of Israel's fountain!”27   There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,    the princes of Judah in their throng,    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 28   Summon your power, O God,6    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.29   Because of your temple at Jerusalem    kings shall bear gifts to you.30   Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.  Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;    scatter the peoples who delight in war.731   Nobles shall come from Egypt;    Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 32   O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;    sing praises to the Lord, Selah33   to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;    behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.34   Ascribe power to God,    whose majesty is over Israel,    and whose power is in the skies.35   Awesome is God from his8 sanctuary;    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.  Blessed be God! Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 [4] 68:24 Or has been [5] 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here [6] 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power [7] 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [8] 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your (ESV) Old Testament: Judges 2:1–5; Judges 2:11–23 Judges 2:1–5 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Judges 2:11–23 (Listen) Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. (ESV) New Testament: Romans 16:17–27 Romans 16:17–27 (Listen) Final Instructions and Greetings 17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites,1 and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. 22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.2 Doxology 25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. Footnotes [1] 16:18 Greek their own belly [2] 16:23 Some manuscripts insert verse 24: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 27:32–44 Matthew 27:32–44 (Listen) The Crucifixion 32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 2:8–17 Song of Solomon 2:8–17 (Listen) The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing1 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes2 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes3 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.4 Footnotes [1] 2:12 Or pruning [2] 2:15 Or jackals [3] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [4] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 2–3:6 Judges 2–3:6 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 (Listen) The Potter and the Clay 18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear1 my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' 12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' 13   “Therefore thus says the LORD:  Ask among the nations,    Who has heard the like of this?  The virgin Israel    has done a very horrible thing.14   Does the snow of Lebanon leave    the crags of Sirion?2  Do the mountain waters run dry,3    the cold flowing streams?15   But my people have forgotten me;    they make offerings to false gods;  they made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient roads,  and to walk into side roads,    not the highway,16   making their land a horror,    a thing to be hissed at forever.  Everyone who passes by it is horrified    and shakes his head.17   Like the east wind I will scatter them    before the enemy.  I will show them my back, not my face,    in the day of their calamity.” 18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” 19   Hear me, O LORD,    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.20   Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.  Remember how I stood before you    to speak good for them,    to turn away your wrath from them.21   Therefore deliver up their children to famine;    give them over to the power of the sword;  let their wives become childless and widowed.    May their men meet death by pestilence,    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.22   May a cry be heard from their houses,    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!  For they have dug a pit to take me    and laid snares for my feet.23   Yet you, O LORD, know    all their plotting to kill me.  Forgive not their iniquity,    nor blot out their sin from your sight.  Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. Footnotes [1] 18:2 Or will cause you to hear [2] 18:14 Hebrew of the field [3] 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

With family: Judges 2; Acts 6 Judges 2 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Acts 6 (Listen) Seven Chosen to Serve 6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists1 arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers,2 pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Stephen Is Seized 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Footnotes [1] 6:1 That is, Greek-speaking Jews [2] 6:3 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 15; Mark 1 Jeremiah 15 (Listen) The Lord Will Not Relent 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:   “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,    and those who are for the sword, to the sword;  those who are for famine, to famine,    and those who are for captivity, to captivity.' 3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem. 5   “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,    or who will grieve for you?  Who will turn aside    to ask about your welfare?6   You have rejected me, declares the LORD;    you keep going backward,  so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—    I am weary of relenting.7   I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork    in the gates of the land;  I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;    they did not turn from their ways.8   I have made their widows more in number    than the sand of the seas;  I have brought against the mothers of young men    a destroyer at noonday;  I have made anguish and terror    fall upon them suddenly.9   She who bore seven has grown feeble;    she has fainted away;  her sun went down while it was yet day;    she has been shamed and disgraced.  And the rest of them I will give to the sword    before their enemies,      declares the LORD.” Jeremiah's Complaint 10 Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11 The LORD said, “Have I not1 set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze? 13 “Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” 15   O LORD, you know;    remember me and visit me,    and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.  In your forbearance take me not away;    know that for your sake I bear reproach.16   Your words were found, and I ate them,    and your words became to me a joy    and the delight of my heart,  for I am called by your name,    O LORD, God of hosts.17   I did not sit in the company of revelers,    nor did I rejoice;  I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,    for you had filled me with indignation.18   Why is my pain unceasing,    my wound incurable,    refusing to be healed?  Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,    like waters that fail? 19   Therefore thus says the LORD:  “If you return, I will restore you,    and you shall stand before me.  If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,    you shall be as my mouth.  They shall turn to you,    but you shall not turn to them.20   And I will make you to this people    a fortified wall of bronze;  they will fight against you,    but they shall not prevail over you,  for I am with you    to save you and deliver you,      declares the LORD.21   I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,    and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” Footnotes [1] 15:11 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Mark 1 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.1 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,2   “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way,3   the voice of one crying in the wilderness:    ‘Prepare3 the way of the Lord,    make his paths straight,'” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Baptism of Jesus 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;4 with you I am well pleased.” The Temptation of Jesus 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Jesus Begins His Ministry 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;5 repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus Calls the First Disciples 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”6 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. Jesus Heals Many 29 And immediately he7 left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. Jesus Preaches in Galilee 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus Cleanses a Leper 40 And a leper8 came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus9 sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Some manuscripts omit the Son of God [2] 1:2 Some manuscripts in the prophets [3] 1:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness [4] 1:11 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved [5] 1:15 Or the kingdom of God has come near [6] 1:17 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women [7] 1:29 Some manuscripts they [8] 1:40 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [9] 1:43 Greek he; also verse 45 (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 2–3 Judges 2–3 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit2 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch3 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers [2] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) New Testament: John 13:1–30 John 13:1–30 (Listen) Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet 13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,1 but is completely clean. And you2 are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant3 is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled,4 ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” One of You Will Betray Me 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side,5 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus6 of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. Footnotes [1] 13:10 Some manuscripts omit except for his feet [2] 13:10 The Greek words for you in this verse are plural [3] 13:16 Or bondservant, or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) [4] 13:18 Greek But in order that the Scripture may be fulfilled [5] 13:23 Greek in the bosom of Jesus [6] 13:24 Greek lacks Jesus (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:1–22 Psalm 107:1–22 (Listen) Book Five Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So 107   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever!2   Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,    whom he has redeemed from trouble13   and gathered in from the lands,    from the east and from the west,    from the north and from the south. 4   Some wandered in desert wastes,    finding no way to a city to dwell in;5   hungry and thirsty,    their soul fainted within them.6   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.7   He led them by a straight way    till they reached a city to dwell in.8   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!9   For he satisfies the longing soul,    and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10   Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,    prisoners in affliction and in irons,11   for they had rebelled against the words of God,    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.12   So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;    they fell down, with none to help.13   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.14   He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,    and burst their bonds apart.15   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!16   For he shatters the doors of bronze    and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17   Some were fools through their sinful ways,    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;18   they loathed any kind of food,    and they drew near to the gates of death.19   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.20   He sent out his word and healed them,    and delivered them from their destruction.21   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!22   And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! Footnotes [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 14:30–31 Proverbs 14:30–31 (Listen) 30   A tranquil1 heart gives life to the flesh,    but envy2 makes the bones rot.31   Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,    but he who is generous to the needy honors him. Footnotes [1] 14:30 Or healing [2] 14:30 Or jealousy (ESV)

Old Testament: Judges 2–3 Judges 2–3 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Othniel 7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit2 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch3 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers [2] 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [3] 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 107:1–22 Psalm 107:1–22 (Listen) Book Five Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So 107   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever!2   Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,    whom he has redeemed from trouble13   and gathered in from the lands,    from the east and from the west,    from the north and from the south. 4   Some wandered in desert wastes,    finding no way to a city to dwell in;5   hungry and thirsty,    their soul fainted within them.6   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.7   He led them by a straight way    till they reached a city to dwell in.8   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!9   For he satisfies the longing soul,    and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10   Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,    prisoners in affliction and in irons,11   for they had rebelled against the words of God,    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.12   So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;    they fell down, with none to help.13   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.14   He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,    and burst their bonds apart.15   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!16   For he shatters the doors of bronze    and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17   Some were fools through their sinful ways,    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;18   they loathed any kind of food,    and they drew near to the gates of death.19   Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,    and he delivered them from their distress.20   He sent out his word and healed them,    and delivered them from their destruction.21   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,    for his wondrous works to the children of man!22   And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! Footnotes [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe (ESV) New Testament: Romans 8 Romans 8 (Listen) Life in the Spirit 8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.1 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you2 free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,3 he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the 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 him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus4 from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Heirs with Christ 12 So then, brothers,5 we are debtors, not 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 put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons6 of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Future Glory 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the 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 the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope 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 wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because7 the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,8 for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. God's Everlasting Love 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be9 against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave 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? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.10 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,   “For your sake we 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 conquerors through him 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. Footnotes [1] 8:1 Some manuscripts add who walk not according to the flesh (but according to the Spirit) [2] 8:2 Some manuscripts me [3] 8:3 Or and as a sin offering [4] 8:11 Some manuscripts lack Jesus [5] 8:12 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 29 [6] 8:14 See discussion on “sons” in the Preface [7] 8:27 Or that [8] 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good [9] 8:31 Or who is [10] 8:34 Or Is it Christ Jesus who died . . . for us? (ESV)

Morning: Judges 1–2 Judges 1–2 (Listen) The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.1 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction [2] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Evening: Luke 7:1–30 Luke 7:1–30 (Listen) Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,' and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,' and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. Jesus Raises a Widow's Son 11 Soon afterward3 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Messengers from John the Baptist 18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers5 are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus6 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,   “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way before you.' 28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just,7 having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) Footnotes [1] 7:2 Or bondservant; also verses 3, 8, 10 [2] 7:3 Greek he [3] 7:11 Some manuscripts The next day [4] 7:15 Greek he [5] 7:22 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [6] 7:24 Greek he [7] 7:29 Greek they justified God (ESV)

Judges 1–2 Judges 1–2 (Listen) The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.1 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction [2] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV)

Judges 1–2 Judges 1–2 (Listen) The Continuing Conquest of Canaan 1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.1 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day. Failure to Complete the Conquest 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.2 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction [2] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Song of Solomon 2:8–17 Song of Solomon 2:8–17 (Listen) The Bride Adores Her Beloved 8   The voice of my beloved!    Behold, he comes,  leaping over the mountains,    bounding over the hills.9   My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag.  Behold, there he stands    behind our wall,  gazing through the windows,    looking through the lattice.10   My beloved speaks and says to me:  “Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away,11   for behold, the winter is past;    the rain is over and gone.12   The flowers appear on the earth,    the time of singing1 has come,  and the voice of the turtledove    is heard in our land.13   The fig tree ripens its figs,    and the vines are in blossom;    they give forth fragrance.  Arise, my love, my beautiful one,    and come away.14   O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the crannies of the cliff,  let me see your face,    let me hear your voice,  for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.15   Catch the foxes2 for us,    the little foxes  that spoil the vineyards,    for our vineyards are in blossom.” 16   My beloved is mine, and I am his;    he grazes3 among the lilies.17   Until the day breathes    and the shadows flee,  turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle    or a young stag on cleft mountains.4 Footnotes [1] 2:12 Or pruning [2] 2:15 Or jackals [3] 2:16 Or he pastures his flock [4] 2:17 Or mountains of Bether (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Judges 2–3:6 Judges 2–3:6 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. 3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah 18 (Listen) The Potter and the Clay 18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear1 my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.' 12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.' 13   “Therefore thus says the LORD:  Ask among the nations,    Who has heard the like of this?  The virgin Israel    has done a very horrible thing.14   Does the snow of Lebanon leave    the crags of Sirion?2  Do the mountain waters run dry,3    the cold flowing streams?15   But my people have forgotten me;    they make offerings to false gods;  they made them stumble in their ways,    in the ancient roads,  and to walk into side roads,    not the highway,16   making their land a horror,    a thing to be hissed at forever.  Everyone who passes by it is horrified    and shakes his head.17   Like the east wind I will scatter them    before the enemy.  I will show them my back, not my face,    in the day of their calamity.” 18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” 19   Hear me, O LORD,    and listen to the voice of my adversaries.20   Should good be repaid with evil?    Yet they have dug a pit for my life.  Remember how I stood before you    to speak good for them,    to turn away your wrath from them.21   Therefore deliver up their children to famine;    give them over to the power of the sword;  let their wives become childless and widowed.    May their men meet death by pestilence,    their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.22   May a cry be heard from their houses,    when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!  For they have dug a pit to take me    and laid snares for my feet.23   Yet you, O LORD, know    all their plotting to kill me.  Forgive not their iniquity,    nor blot out their sin from your sight.  Let them be overthrown before you;    deal with them in the time of your anger. Footnotes [1] 18:2 Or will cause you to hear [2] 18:14 Hebrew of the field [3] 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

With family: Judges 2; Acts 6 Judges 2 (Listen) Israel's Disobedience 2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the LORD. The Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel's Unfaithfulness 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. The Lord Raises Up Judges 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua. Footnotes [1] 2:5 Bochim means weepers (ESV) Acts 6 (Listen) Seven Chosen to Serve 6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists1 arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers,2 pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Stephen Is Seized 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Footnotes [1] 6:1 That is, Greek-speaking Jews [2] 6:3 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 15; Mark 1 Jeremiah 15 (Listen) The Lord Will Not Relent 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:   “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,    and those who are for the sword, to the sword;  those who are for famine, to famine,    and those who are for captivity, to captivity.' 3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem. 5   “Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,    or who will grieve for you?  Who will turn aside    to ask about your welfare?6   You have rejected me, declares the LORD;    you keep going backward,  so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—    I am weary of relenting.7   I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork    in the gates of the land;  I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;    they did not turn from their ways.8   I have made their widows more in number    than the sand of the seas;  I have brought against the mothers of young men    a destroyer at noonday;  I have made anguish and terror    fall upon them suddenly.9   She who bore seven has grown feeble;    she has fainted away;  her sun went down while it was yet day;    she has been shamed and disgraced.  And the rest of them I will give to the sword    before their enemies,      declares the LORD.” Jeremiah's Complaint 10 Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11 The LORD said, “Have I not1 set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze? 13 “Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” 15   O LORD, you know;    remember me and visit me,    and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.  In your forbearance take me not away;    know that for your sake I bear reproach.16   Your words were found, and I ate them,    and your words became to me a joy    and the delight of my heart,  for I am called by your name,    O LORD, God of hosts.17   I did not sit in the company of revelers,    nor did I rejoice;  I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,    for you had filled me with indignation.18   Why is my pain unceasing,    my wound incurable,    refusing to be healed?  Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,    like waters that fail? 19   Therefore thus says the LORD:  “If you return, I will restore you,    and you shall stand before me.  If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,    you shall be as my mouth.  They shall turn to you,    but you shall not turn to them.20   And I will make you to this people    a fortified wall of bronze;  they will fight against you,    but they shall not prevail over you,  for I am with you    to save you and deliver you,      declares the LORD.21   I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,    and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” Footnotes [1] 15:11 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Mark 1 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.1 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,2   “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way,3   the voice of one crying in the wilderness:    ‘Prepare3 the way of the Lord,    make his paths straight,'” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Baptism of Jesus 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;4 with you I am well pleased.” The Temptation of Jesus 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Jesus Begins His Ministry 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;5 repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus Calls the First Disciples 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”6 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. Jesus Heals Many 29 And immediately he7 left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. Jesus Preaches in Galilee 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus Cleanses a Leper 40 And a leper8 came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus9 sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Some manuscripts omit the Son of God [2] 1:2 Some manuscripts in the prophets [3] 1:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness [4] 1:11 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved [5] 1:15 Or the kingdom of God has come near [6] 1:17 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women [7] 1:29 Some manuscripts they [8] 1:40 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [9] 1:43 Greek he; also verse 45 (ESV)

Victory over Ben-hadad / Ahab Rebuked by The LORD, Anxiety in Athens / Encouraged by Timothy / Prayer for the Church, Nebuchadnezzar's Dream / The Dreams Interpretation / Nebuchadnezzar's Response, Israel's Unfaithfulness to GOD.

Cities of Refuge / Boundary Markers / Witnesses in Court, Israel's Unfaithfulness to GOD, There is No-one Like GOD, The Seven Bowls.

Isaiah 43 (NIV)Israel's Only Savior43 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!' and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.'Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble.Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things?Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen,so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you.You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness14 This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b] in the ships in which they took pride.15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together,and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls,because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland,to give drink to my people, my chosen,21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense.24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.26 Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.27 Your first father sinned; those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple; I consigned Jacob to destruction[d] and Israel to scorn.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region[b] Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans[c] Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of[d] Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.Isaiah 44 (NIV)Israel the Chosen1 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.2 This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you:Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen.3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord'; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord's,' and will take the name Israel.The Lord, Not Idols6 “This is what the Lord says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before mewhat has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come.8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?11 People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings.Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.12 The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals;he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm.He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.13 The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker;he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses.He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak.He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.15 It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!”18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,“Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate.Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”21 “Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant.I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you.22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath.Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees,for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.Jerusalem to Be Inhabited24 “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners,who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,' and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,'27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,'28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please;he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”'Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.

Isaiah 43 (NIV)Israel's Only Savior43 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!' and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.'Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble.Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things?Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen,so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you.You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”God's Mercy and Israel's Unfaithfulness14 This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b] in the ships in which they took pride.15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together,and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls,because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland,to give drink to my people, my chosen,21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices.I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense.24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.26 Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.27 Your first father sinned; those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple; I consigned Jacob to destruction[d] and Israel to scorn.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region[b] Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans[c] Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of[d] Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.Isaiah 44 (NIV)Israel the Chosen1 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.2 This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you:Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen.3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground;I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.5 Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord'; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord's,' and will take the name Israel.The Lord, Not Idols6 “This is what the Lord says— Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before mewhat has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come.8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless.Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit nothing?11 People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings.Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.12 The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals;he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm.He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.13 The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker;he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses.He shapes it in human form, human form in all its glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak.He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.15 It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill.He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!”18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,“Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate.Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”21 “Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant.I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you.22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”23 Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath.Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees,for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.Jerusalem to Be Inhabited24 “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners,who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,' and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,'27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,'28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please;he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”'Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.

Israel's Disobedience; The Death of Joshua; Israel's Unfaithfulness