Podcasts about shimeites

01/07/2024 Paul Bang Zechariah 12:1-14 12 The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family[a] by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) New Testament: John 20 John 20 (Listen) The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Footnotes [1] 20:7 Greek his [2] 20:16 Or Hebrew [3] 20:19 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4] 20:24 Greek Didymus (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 31:8–9 Proverbs 31:8–9 (Listen) 8   Open your mouth for the mute,    for the rights of all who are destitute.19   Open your mouth, judge righteously,    defend the rights of the poor and needy. Footnotes [1] 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away (ESV)

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 20–21 Revelation 20–21 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place3 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,4 and God himself will be with them as their God.5 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.6 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits7 by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is th

Morning: Zechariah 10–12 Zechariah 10–12 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) Evening: Revelation 20 Revelation 20 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Footnotes [1] 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3 [2] 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God (ESV)

With family: 2 Chronicles 30; Revelation 16 2 Chronicles 30 (Listen) Passover Celebrated 30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month—3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem—4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD. 13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the LORD. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”1 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might2 to the LORD. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven. Footnotes [1] 30:19 Hebrew not according to the cleanness of holiness [2] 30:21 Compare 1 Chronicles 13:8; Hebrew with instruments of might (ESV) Revelation 16 (Listen) The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters1 say,   “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,    for you brought these judgments.6   For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,    and you have given them blood to drink.  It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying,   “Yes, Lord God the Almighty,    true and just are your judgments!” 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed2 the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds. 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The Seventh Bowl 17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds4 each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. Footnotes [1] 16:5 Greek angel of the waters [2] 16:9 Greek blasphemed; also verses 11, 21 [3] 16:18 Or voices, or sounds [4] 16:21 Greek a talent in weight (ESV) In private: Zechariah 12–13:1; John 15 Zechariah 12–13:1 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) John 15 (Listen) I Am the True Vine 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,1 for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,2 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Footnotes [1] 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20 [2] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 99 Psalm 99 (Listen) The Lord Our God Is Holy 99   The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!2   The LORD is great in Zion;    he is exalted over all the peoples.3   Let them praise your great and awesome name!    Holy is he!4   The King in his might loves justice.1    You have established equity;  you have executed justice    and righteousness in Jacob.5   Exalt the LORD our God;    worship at his footstool!    Holy is he! 6   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.    They called to the LORD, and he answered them.7   In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;    they kept his testimonies    and the statute that he gave them. 8   O LORD our God, you answered them;    you were a forgiving God to them,    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.9   Exalt the LORD our God,    and worship at his holy mountain;    for the LORD our God is holy! Footnotes [1] 99:4 Or The might of the King loves justice (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 8 2 Kings 8 (Listen) The Shunammite's Land Restored 8 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” Hazael Murders Ben-hadad 7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,' but1 the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth2 and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Jehoram Reigns in Judah 16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah,3 Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. 21 Then Joram4 passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army fled home. 22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah 25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab. 28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Footnotes [1] 8:10 Some manuscripts say, ‘You shall certainly not recover,' for [2] 8:15 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 8:16 Septuagint, Syriac lack when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah [4] 8:21 Joram is an alternate spelling of Jehoram (son of Jehoshaphat) as in verse 16; also verses 23, 24 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Zechariah 12–13 Zechariah 12–13 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'2 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'3 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [2] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [3] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 4:1–42 John 4:1–42 (Listen) Jesus and the Woman of Samaria 4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.1 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.2 The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” 27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” Footnotes [1] 4:6 That is, about noon [2] 4:14 Greek forever (ESV)

Zechariah 8–14 Zechariah 8–14 (Listen) The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion 8 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.” 18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. 20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.' 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” Judgment on Israel's Enemies 9   The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach    and Damascus is its resting place.  For the LORD has an eye on mankind    and on all the tribes of Israel,12   and on Hamath also, which borders on it,    Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.3   Tyre has built herself a rampart    and heaped up silver like dust,    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.4   But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions    and strike down her power on the sea,    and she shall be devoured by fire. 5   Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.  The king shall perish from Gaza;    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;6   a mixed people2 shall dwell in Ashdod,    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.7   I will take away its blood from its mouth,    and its abominations from between its teeth;  it too shall be a remnant for our God;    it shall be like a clan in Judah,    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.8   Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,    so that none shall march to and fro;  no oppressor shall again march over them,    for now I see with my own eyes. The Coming King of Zion 9   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you;    righteous and having salvation is he,  humble and mounted on a donkey,    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.10   I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim    and the war horse from Jerusalem;  and the battle bow shall be cut off,    and he shall speak peace to the nations;  his rule shall be from sea to sea,    and from the River3 to the ends of the earth.11   As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.12   Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;    today I declare that I will restore to you double.13   For I have bent Judah as my bow;    I have made Ephraim its arrow.  I will stir up your sons, O Zion,    against your sons, O Greece,    and wield you like a warrior's sword. The Lord Will Save His People 14   Then the LORD will appear over them,    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;  the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.15   The LORD of hosts will protect them,    and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,  and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,    and be full like a bowl,    drenched like the corners of the altar. 16   On that day the LORD their God will save them,    as the flock of his people;  for like the jewels of a crown    they shall shine on his land.17   For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!    Grain shall make the young men flourish,    and new wine the young women. The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;4  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family5 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'6 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'7 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.8 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.9 7 And there shall be a unique10 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea11 and half of them to the western sea.12 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.13 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.14 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;15 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader16 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 9:1 Or For the eye of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, is toward the Lord [2] 9:6

Audio Transcript:This media has been made available by Mosaic BostonChurch. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston,or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your holy word, and we thank you for sending us your holy Son. We thank you that your son came as a savior to save us from our sins, but you also came as Lord. And Jesus, we thank you that you went to the cross and you paid the penalty for our law-breaking, our transgressions of the law. And Jesus, you bled. The holy Son of God, you bled on that cross in order to cleanse us, in order to save us, and then also to give us grace. And you came back from the dead as the conquering king and you gave us marching orders to go and make disciples of all nations and to take dominion of this world, to take it back from the usurper, back from Satan, back from the enemy. And I pray, Lord, that you empower us by the Holy Spirit. Baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Send each one of us a special anointing to proclaim your word everywhere we go. To know your word, study your word, meditate upon your word, and to testify to the greatness of our God. Lord Jesus, show us what it means that you are our king. And that when you tell us to follow you, that is a command. Those are marching orders. And wherever in our lives we are not following you, I pray, give us grace. Transform our wills, transform our minds, transform our hearts. Lord Jesus, we pray that you bless the sermon series. We pray that you anoint it and I pray that your holy church will be built up. And I pray those who are far from you will be redeemed and regenerated and transformed from being rebels to being your children. And I pray, Lord, in this season that you send us the gift of evangelism, a passion for evangelists to proclaim the gospel of the king. The king is here. We deserve His wrath, but He came to extend mercy and grace and call us to follow him. I pray that you bless our time in the holy scriptures. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So we're beginning a sermon series through the Gospel of Mark that we are calling Kingdom Come, the Gospel of Mark and the secret of God's kingdom. And Jesus Christ, when He came, His very first words were the kingdom of God is at hand. So He's established the kingdom, the king is here, and then the Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to pray. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And that prayer is not just a prayer, that's our purpose. Yes, we cry out, Lord, may your kingdom come. But what we're saying is, Lord, give me the power to establish your kingdom. The title of the sermon today is Tremendous News: The King Loves You. And it's tremendous news because we don't deserve that love. It's a shock that He comes as a loving savior. Why? Because we deserve the wrath of God for our law-breaking. And just to give you perspective on this, I take an example from history from Fyodor Dostoevsky. Before he wrote Crime and Punishment, before he wrote The Idiot, before he wrote The Brothers Karamazov, he was actually sentenced to death by a firing squad by Tsar Nicholas I. For what? Listening to stories, criticizing the armed forces, owning an illegal printing press in order to create anti-government propaganda, and contributing to plot against the Tsar. So he was part of a group of rebels. There were 21 members in the circle and Dostoevski is 27 at that time. And they were brought into a public square and they were forced to kneel, kiss a cross, and then undergo a symbolic beheading where swords were broken above their heads. They were tied to pillars in the town square, blindfolded and then they started awaiting their execution. But immediately before they were shot, an envoy from the Tsar arrived with the stay of execution saying, don't shoot. And the men were pardoned by the king from execution and forced to serve in hard labor and a labor camp for four years. And you say, how would that change a man knowing he's about to be executed and all of a sudden there is a stay of execution? Dostoevsky, after the averted execution said, "Today I faced death for three quarters of an hour. I was a hair's breadth away from death, and now I am living again." He wrote his brother after the event, "I'm being reborn in another form." In the same way that the brightest dawn follows the darkest night, the best and the greatest, the most tremendous news always comes right after the deepest realization of the most terrible news. Well, what is the terrible news? That you and I, we have broken the law of God, the holy law of the holy God. This is the ultimate act of insurrection. And God created you with eternal soul. He breathed his spirit into you. We have eternal souls created by an eternal God. So what's the punishment for insurrection against the holy God of the universe? It's banishment from God's kingdom. That's what we deserve. Exile. And how long is that exile? Eternal because God is eternal and so are our souls. We deserve execution. We deserve eternal damnation for rebelling against the holy God. So when the king of kings comes, it's surprising that He doesn't come with execution and eviction notices. When the king comes, the king comes with pardon and amnesty and forgiveness and mercy, but also grace. This is what the gospel is all about, that God is offering to us today, mercy. Mercy is you don't get what you deserve, but He also gives us grace. And grace is we get what we don't deserve. God has mercy on rebels and He gives us grace in adopting us as sons and daughters because of the sacrifice of king Jesus on the cross. Jesus came as a Jewish man, but He's not just the king of the Jews or just the king of Israel. He's the king of everyone and the king of everything. And there's only two kinds of people, children of God or rebels. Soldiers of King Jesus or soldiers of king Satan. And if you turn from your sin and you submit to the king, if you believe in His gospel, something incredible happens. The miracle of the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you are regenerated from within. God gives you a brand new heart with brand new desires and your mind is renewed by the power of God. And God now can look at you as He looks at His son Jesus Christ and say, this is my child in whom I'm well pleased. And grace also is a power source. God gives us grace as energy to become kingdom builders. Jesus Christ said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else shall be added onto you." St. Paul said, "I am what I am by the grace of God, but the grace of God was not in vain in me. It wasn't given to me in vain. Instead," he says, "I worked harder than the rest of them. "And he's talking about the other apostles. So God gives us grace to do what? To follow Him, build His kingdom. And it all starts with the tremendous news that He's willing to forgive us if we repent. And this news does change us, it rivets us and it changes your whole perspective on reality. Would you please look at the text with me today? We're in Mark 1:1-15, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God as it is written in Isaiah the prophet. Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight." John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now, John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached saying, 'After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie. I've baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.' In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 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. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved son with you, I'm well pleased.' The spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness and he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to him. Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, 'The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.'" This is the reading of God's holy and inert, infallible, authoritative word, may it write these truths upon our hearts. Four points to frame up our time. First, the king has come. Second, the king is anointed. Third, the king declares war. And fourth, the kingdom has come. First, the king has come. Mark 1:1, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God written by Mark, who was probably an associate of Peter and Peter at that time was serving in Rome when this gospel was written. So this gospel is written to city dwellers and it's written in such a way where busy people can understand the gospel, understand who is Jesus, understand His person and His work. We see that Mark emphasizes action over teaching, it's very vivid. One of his favorite words is the word immediately. And what he's doing, he's writing to busy people. He's trying to get to the point as quickly as possible. And if you're new to the city, what you recognize is after a while here you realize you know who's from Boston because they walk fast and they talk fast. Fast walkers, fast talkers. And that's kind how I preach. I talk really fast, people tell me they can't 2X me on our podcasts or et cetera, but I want to get to the point as quickly as possible. And the point is, Jesus Christ, He's the point of everything. And here we see the freshness of discovery of who Jesus is. That's what Mark is trying to do. Over 150 times, he uses the historic present tense, putting past events in the present tense. Why? To increase the vividness. That what Jesus did, He's continuing to do today in and through the church as empowered by the Holy Spirit. It begins with the word the beginning. That's the very first word, and it's alluding to Genesis 1:1, that in the beginning God created everything and God created man and it was all beautiful. It was all wonderful, but we rebelled against God and Satan usurped dominion from Adam and Jesus Christ has come as a new Adam, as a new creation, as a new beginning for human beings. His name is Jesus in the English. In the Greek, it's Yesus, and Yesus is a transliteration of the Jewish word, Joshua. So Jesus is named after Joshua. In the Hebrew, His name, what it means is savior or literally Yahweh is salvation. So even in the name, what we see is that God is saying what Moses couldn't do, Joshua did. Moses could not take the promised land, could not bring the people of God into the promised land. Joshua did that. What Moses couldn't do, Jesus is going to do. Moses gave the law, but he couldn't transform hearts to obey God willingly. God can force His kingdom upon us and one day He will come with a flaming sword and He will judge. But the first time Jesus Christ comes, He doesn't come with a sword of power or physical sword. He comes with the sword of the spirit, wielding the word of God so people are transformed from the inside out. Moses gave the law, Jesus gives grace, which leads to heartfelt obedience, which empowers us to fulfill the law out of love for God and neighbor. Jesus Christ, a lot of people think that's His last name. That's not His last name. It wasn't Mary and Joseph Christ. This is a title, a kristos. It's from the Hebrew marcia or an anointed one. He's anointed to do what? He's anointed to be a royal figure. He's anointed to be king. So Jesus Christ actually just means is king. Sometimes they drive by churches and they're named Christ is king. I'm like, that means king is king. It's Jesus is king. That's the point, that He's come in order to establish the kingdom of God. He's the son of God. Son begotten of the Father. The Son of God is God as much as the Father is God, but the Son submits to the father's will. So we see right in the center of the faith, the faith is patriarchal with the Father up top and hierarchal, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. When Jesus took on flesh, He was male. Jesus was a man, a Jewish man who lived under the law. And Jesus is the Son of God and the son of man, that's His messianic title. And the Holy Spirit is not an it. It's not just a force. The Holy Spirit is a person, the Holy Spirit is a he. And just for clarity's purposes, God's pronouns are He/Him. And I say that because confusion has come from theological schools. I remember taking classes at BU School of Theology and I realized that's not going to go well because the very first prayer I heard was a prayer to mother God. Well, that is not true. God is father. The gospel, the word gospel means good news or literally an announcement of something good associated with a military victory. It's good news of victory from the battlefield. And the nuance of military victory is extremely important for Mark who presents Jesus' ministry as triumph over Satan, over the demonic forces and over their human agents. In Isaiah, the announcer of good news or the one that brings the good news proclaims the victory of Yahweh Israel's true king over hostile forces. And this is just the beginning. It's the beginning of what Jesus taught and what He began to do and He continues to do today. In Mark 1:2, "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." As it is written, it says. This is typical Jewish formula for citation of scripture. And the Greek, it's a perfect tense, has been written, implies past action with permanent results and suggesting that the ancient scriptures, it's not just a dead letter, but it's a living force in the present. As it has been written through the instrumentality of Isaiah, and then God speaks in the first person, meaning God inspired Isaiah by the spirit and he speaks to us through the word of God. And Mark affirms that what happened in Jesus followed the plan of salvation laid out by God and the prophecies of scriptures in the first 39 books of the Bible. Jesus came and His Bible were the Hebrew scriptures, the first three fourths of the Bible and this is why Mark quotes it in the very beginning. It was all promised. And He says, "I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way." So John the Baptist comes and John the Baptist is this voice and he's in the wilderness. And the word for wilderness or desert is érimos, is used three times in our texts today. And at the outset, all the action is in the wilderness. You say, why is that important? Because Adam was placed on the garden. The garden of Eden and everything was in bliss and everything was perfect. They walked in the presence of God, but he traded that garden for a wilderness by disobeying God. So the second Adam enters the wilderness to turn it back into a garden. Jesus is also the faithful son of God who unlike Israel, obeyed God completely. Israel disobeyed God. They were faithless and they walked in the wilderness for 40 years. But even there in the wilderness, God met them and He gave them the law and he cared for them and He provided for them. So in a sense, Jesus here is presented as the new Joshua, as the one who's going to lead the new exodus out of the wilderness to bring us into the presence of God. And what's the voice of one crying in the wilderness? What's he proclaiming? He's saying, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Prepare. God is here, the Lord is here. Prepare the way of the Lord." So Jesus is called Lord right from the outset. Who is John? John comes as an Old Testament prophet in the spirit of Elijah. He was a cousin of Jesus so he knew Jesus, he knew his life. In many ways he was a wild man, but the Lord used that. And what was his message? His message is the king is here, the king is coming. Prepare. Prepare. And what's the assumption? Is that we're not ready, that we need to do something to become ready. The king is coming and we need to present ourselves as best we can for the king. And John's not calling for just a coat of paint. No, we've got structural issues. We need an overhaul, a full gut down to the studs. I remember I took a trip to Sochi, Russia in 2013. It was before the Olympics and I wanted to see what they're doing in preparation for the Olympics and I was doing some missions work. And then we're driving up into the mountains of Sochi and I just noticed that everything's beautiful, everything's tremendous. And then I realized I don't see any houses. There are no houses. All I see is a beautiful fence on both sides. And they realized that if we're going to bring people to the Olympics, we have to make everything presentable, but we don't have time to make the houses presentable or the villages presentable so we're just going to cover it all up with a beautiful veneer. Well, John's not calling us to do that. John is saying, "No, no, no. It's not a veneer, not a facade change, not just your behavior must change. No, no, no. We need a regeneration of the heart." And how does that happen? What does he say? He says, "Repent and be baptized." Mark 1:4. "John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." So John here, he comes baptizing, and this is the Greek word vaftízo, which means to dip, plunge, immerse, and can be used of dipping a cup in water, et cetera. So John is called the baptizing one. A lot of people think he's baptist, because John the Baptist, there were no Baptist denominations at that time. And by the way, if we're going to call him any denominations, he's definitely not Baptist. He'd get ex-communicated from most Baptist churches. No, he's probably more Pentecostal than anything, but he comes baptizing and you're like, why is he baptizing? What is baptism? Well, baptism at that time was something that the priest did. They washed themselves in ablutions before taking part in sacrifices. And then the latter practice was when Gentiles wanted to become part of the people of God, what was the practice? How did they purge themselves of uncleanness of their pagan life, so to speak? Well, they were immersed in a ritual bath and that became a requirement for their conversion. So what John here is doing is he's going to Jewish people and he's saying, "You have not lived as the children of God. You have not lived as the people of God. You have not lived a life of love and obedience to God and people in submission of God's holy law. You are not saved through genealogy." And so he's calling them to faith in their own God, faith in their own scriptures and says, if he's saying you have lived as Gentiles, you have lived as pagans now through baptism, you are becoming the children of God and it's all started with the heart first. There's a passage in Zechariah that's used extensively in the New Testament that shares several motifs from our text, water imagery and repentance and confession, forgiveness of sins and even reference to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And what this passage emphasizes is even repentance, even asking God for forgiveness, even asking God for mercy and grace, that's a gift in and of itself that it starts with the spirit of God working in our lives. So Zechariah 12:10, "And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn each family by itself, the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Levi by himself and their wives by themselves, and the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves and all the families that are left each by itself and their wives by themselves. On that day, there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." So John's baptism departed slightly from the baptism practice in the day. In the practice of the day, the Gentile convert would baptize themselves. They would go down to the water themselves. But here there's a second party, John is doing the baptizing, which is a symbol that we cannot save ourselves. We need someone from the outside and that's only Jesus Christ. And also John's baptism was only anticipatory of cleansing from sinfulness. It wasn't until the blood of Jesus Christ that we can truly be ransom from our sins. He comes proclaiming and the message is a message of repentance. What is the word repentance? It's literally a change of mind, a turning a direction of life, a returning. Like in the Old Testament, the prophets would come and they would say, repent. Repent. What they're saying is people of God, people of God turn back to God. Turn back to the word of God, implies a total change in spiritual orientation. And when repentance comes, we are forgiven of sins. It literally means ascending away or release, the release from guilt before God. Verse five, "And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem, were going out to him and we're being baptized by him in the river Jordan confessing their sins." And the phrase here for we're going out to him, it's a word that's applied in the Old Testament to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses. And what Mark is doing is deliberately invoking Exodus Moses typology. Why? To show us that the new Moses has come, the new Joshua has come, the new exodus is here. In verse six, "Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey." I've always thought that he just did that because he's kind of a nut and this is the way that you attract a lot of attention to start a movement, but actually it's a picture of the primal back to earth reminiscent of the garden of Eden. Remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve they sinned and God promised that the day that you sin you will die. That day began their spiritual death, but God pardons them and there's a blood sacrifice. He takes two animals and there's bloodshed and he creates clothing out of skins of the animals. This picture here is as if John is standing outside of the Garden of Eden. It's as if he's standing in that presence of the angel with a flaming sword that blocked the entrance and he's saying this is the way that we get back into the Garden of Eden. This is the way we get back into the promised land, into the presence of God himself. Here the description presents John as an Elijah figure, Elijah in 1 Kings 18, if you remember this is the great battle between Yahweh and Baal. And in the same way Elijah was preaching the same message, 1 Kings 18:21, "Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'how long will you go limping between two different opinions?' If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word." John's clothing is similar to that of Elijah. Elijah preached a message of repentance and so does John. Elijah was associated with the wilderness, so is John and with the Jordan. And then also Elijah, when he was taken up to heaven before going he gave a double portion of his spirit to his disciple Elisha, doubling his power. So Jesus here similarly is presented as one greater than John, greater than even this great prophet of God and one that supersedes John. In verse seven, "And he preached saying after me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie". He's mightier than I am, mightier in every sense. He's stronger than I am, and also he's more honorable. He's saying, "I'm not even worthy of taking the leather strap that holds his sandal on his foot and unstrapping it." And in rabbinic sources, the untying of the master shoe is the task of the slave, not of the disciple. One rabbi even wrote a pupil does for his teacher all the tasks that a slave does for his master except untying his shoes. So for the rabbis, this is the lowest of the low. The disciples would not do this And John the Baptist, he's saying Jesus is so much more worthy than I am, so much greater in every sense than I am I'm not even worthy of doing the slave like service. And we got to stop here for a minute and we got to meditate on the implications of the meeting behind Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. If John isn't even worthy of doing this, for that's how great Jesus is. Jesus, why would you wash the disciples' feet? You're the king of the universe, why are you stooping down? Why did you take a basin of water? Why are you doing that? And John 13:12-17, "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? You call me teacher and Lord and you are right for so I am. If I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet for I have given you an example and you also should do just as I've done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.' If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." What kind of king is this? This is the king that came to build a kingdom of hearts. This is a king that came to save us from our sins, to wash us from our uncleanness and stark in contrast to any other king. In Mark 1:8, "I've baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." So Jesus is the anointed one, anointed with the Holy Spirit. That's what makes Him of the Messiah and the spirit endowed Messiah is the spirit endowing Messiah. And in the New Testament there's a linkage of spirit and water. 1 Corinthians 12:12, "For just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews and Greeks, slaves and free and all were made to drink of one spirit." Titus 3:4-7, "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. By the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Ezekiel 36, "This was promised, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart. And a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." This is the promise of God that when we come to Him, when we repent of our sins and we beg Him for grace and mercy that He sends us the Holy Spirit. And I wonder, do you have the Holy Spirit? Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? Is the power of God, the indwelling power of God within you? And if you're not sure, look to the cross of Jesus Christ, ask for forgiveness of sins and say, Lord God, send me the spirit. Make me a person that is filled with the spirit of God to do the work that the Lord has for us. Second is the king is anointed and we see the baptism of Jesus in verse nine. "In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan 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 and a voice came from heaven. 'You are my beloved son. With you, I am well pleased.'" Here we see again the word immediately, it's Mark's favorite word. The word is used 51 times in the New Testament, and Mark uses it 41 times and what he's showing is that the spirit is at work and he can't be stopped. It says that the sky, the heavens were being torn open, being ripped apart. It's harsh words and not the one for opening of heavens in a visionary context, but it's literally the heavens tore open and all of a sudden we see the presence of God descending on Christ. Isaiah 64 cries out for this day, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil. To make your name known to your adversaries and that the nations might tremble in your presence." Mark uses this verb to tear apart twice in his gospel. Here he uses it and then he uses it that one time where Jesus is on the cross and He says it's finished, He's completed the work of redemption and then says that the veil in the temple was torn, ripped apart from top to bottom. What Mark is giving us is a glimpse into the very heart of reality, the meaning of life, the essence of the universe. According to scripture, it's the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit they are at the center of everything. And it's more as though invisible curtain right in front of us is pulled back and God reveals His person and His will. Christian life is like this, learning to differentiate between physical reality, which is not all there is and spiritual reality. And by God's grace we can walk by faith and not by sight. And we see the spirit descending upon Christ like a dove. It says why the dove? Well, the dove is an appropriate symbol for the spirit as it can cross the barrier between heaven and earth. And also, it's an echo of Genesis 1 where the spirit soars bird like fluttering over the waters. The trinity created the world. It was God and God's spirit and God's word, and here the Trinity is restoring the world. We see the Father speak, He is the voice, the son who is the word, and the spirit fluttering like a dove. And what does God say? God speaks and He says, "You are my beloved son." It's a near exact quotation of Psalm 2, which is a messianic psalm. Psalm 2:7 says, "I will tell of the decree the Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you." Psalm 2 was interpreted messianically in Judaism and in the Psalm the kingship of the anointed one is congruent with that of God. He says, you are my son. And then he includes the word beloved. And where have we heard this before? This is Genesis 22 where God says to Abraham, "The son, your beloved son whom you've been waiting for, I want you to bring him as a sacrifice to me." That's when God tested Abraham and obviously God stopped the sacrifice of Abraham, but that was typology. That was an example of what God the Father would not stop from doing. God the Father would bring down the sword of God's wrath upon his own son in order to redeem us. You're the beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. This is the good pleasure of God revealed, and the first time that was revealed was His delight in creation where He said is very good. So His life giving conviction that is very good that my son is baptized in the Holy Spirit and He's prepared to do battle against the evil one. At the center of the Godhead is a father delighting in His beloved son. And fathers, we are called to be godly and we are called to delight in our children. And children we're called to be godly and to be a delight to our fathers and mothers. And the whole Christian gospel can be summed up like this, when the living God looks at us at every believing and baptized Christian, He says to us what He says to Jesus here. The gospel promises us an imputation of the righteousness of God. The very second that you repent of your sins, your sin was transferred to Christ on the cross and His righteousness is transferred to you. So in a sense, the moment you're justified, God looks at you and says, no matter how you lived, no matter how many commandments you've broken, it says, you are my dear, dear child, I'm delighted with you. And then it begins the process of sanctification where we grow to become a greater delight to our father so that one day we can hear from God the Father. "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your father." The king is here, the king is anointed, the king is God's son. And what does the king do? Immediately after His anointing, He challenges the opposing king, which is Satan, and this point three, the king declares war. Verse 12, "The spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness and He was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and He was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to Him. The spirits that drove Him out, ekballei it's the same word that Mark uses to speak of exorcism. It's like a forceful ejection. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit is like a dove gently descending on Christ, but then the Holy Spirit sends Jesus immediately into battle against the enemy. It's the same spirit. And the king here goes on the offensive. Satan means adversary and he's the prince of the fallen angels, the supreme enemy both of God and man. When God created Adam and Eve, He told Adam, "Work and guard the garden, take dominion." And he didn't take dominion of Satan. They obeyed the lies of the evil one and Satan, usurped power, he took dominion of this world. And Jesus here immediately goes to fight the king of this world. And Matthew 4 gives us an explanation of what happened. Jesus in the fasted state for 40 days and Satan comes to Him and tempts Him, Jesus fought Satan with the word of God over and over and over. But what was the temptation? The temptation was Jesus, do not obey the will of the Father perfectly. Jesus join my team. Jesus, you can rule with me. The only thing you have to do is fall down and worship me. And Jesus Christ at that point He understood what Satan is saying. Satan is saying, do not go to the cross. Jesus, you're going to die for these people. Don't die for these. You can rule over them the way I do without dying for them. And he promised Jesus the crown without the cross. And Jesus Christ, the first time he came, He knows that his greatest battle which began here, but his greatest battle will be fought on the cross where Satan through everything he had at the Son of God, but the Son of God conquered Satan's sin and death. 40 days like Elijah, who was also sustained by an angel's provision of food. And it says here He was with the wild animals. And that's generally a sense of close friendly association that the animals were kind to Him, they were nice to Him. And this shows us that Jesus when he came, he came to restore the distortion of the original harmony in the world. And the eschaton, the enmity will be reversed between humanity and the wild animals as promised in Hosea. But Jesus here is presented as the new Adam, that He is the son of man which is a messianic title, but also in a sense Jesus was the son of Adam. Adam was not a son of man, Adam was the son of God and that's made clear in Luke chapter 3 in the genealogy. But Jesus uses this phrase as a messianic title, son of man over and over in Mark 8:31. "He began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days, rise again." Adam was tested by God's adversary, the snake, which is Satan personified and he lost. Adam lived at peace with the wild animals before the fall and he lost that shalom. Adam was raised by God to a preeminent position to be a son of God, but he lost that as well. That's why Jesus when He uses this title that He is the son of man and why that is so significant because in Daniel chapter 7, this was prophesied. "I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the ancient of days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people as nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." He's the son of man, but He has an everlasting kingdom to show us that he's not just the son of man, He's also the son of God. And this is the only way that this could happen, the only way that we could have redemption is we need to be represented by someone, someone who is like us, someone who is human, but someone who can also bridge the chasm between us and a holy God. So he would have to be a son of God and he would have to be a son of man, and all that came to culmination on the cross where the son of man takes our penalty for sin upon Himself. And the reason why He came back from the dead was because He's truly the son of God. And here at the end says the angels were ministering to Him. It's from the Greek word to serve, to serve on a concrete level as a waiter serves food and drinks. So most likely after his fast of 40 days, angels came and brought him a feast. Fourth is the kingdom has come. Verse 14, "Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." John was arrested by Herod's agents for calling out the sin of Herod to calling him to repentance. So Jesus continues the ministry and He says the time is fulfilled. What He's saying and this is the Greek word kairos, "The old evil age of Satan's dominion is over." It's now fulfilled. The new age of God's rule is about to begin and God's rule enters our lives when? The first moment that we repent of our sin and believe in the good news of Jesus Christ, that the law was fulfilled by Christ and he bore the burden for our law-breaking to extend to us the blessing of His law-abiding. This king came to rule, but first initially He came to rule in our hearts. And this is why He doesn't come here with a crown, but He does go to a cross. And on that cross He allows himself to be wounded, allows himself to be fatally wounded. Why? Because that's what it took to heal us. It took the blood of the Son of God and the son of man. He was tempted by Satan to know our temptations, to give us power to overcome our temptations. He experienced suffering to know our suffering and to give us strength to overcome our suffering. He was rejected, mocked, beaten and crucified. He fully understands our pain, and He is able to help. 1 Peter 2:21-25, "For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, He did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds, you have been healed for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd, an overseer of your souls." Back to Dostoevski, and the idea that if you truly understand the mercy and the grace that God has given you, we are not to use that grace in vain, but we are to follow King Jesus. Dostoevski later in life he wrote this, "When I turn back to look at the past, I think of how much time has been wasted. How much of it lost in misdirected efforts, mistakes and idleness and living the wrong way. And however I treasured life, how much I sinned against my heart and spirit. My heart bleeds now as I think of it. Life is a gift. Life is happiness. Each minute could be an eternity of bliss." And then in his work of fiction, The Idiot, the main character's named Myshkin, and Myshkin talks about an acquaintance who was sentenced to be executed and then pardoned. And one of his friends asked him and he said, how's he doing now? Whatever happened to that friend who told you all his horrors? His punishment was changed, which means he was granted that infinite life. Well, what did he do with so much wealth afterwards? Did he live reckoning up every moment? And Myshkin's response was, "He didn't live that way at all and lost many, many minutes." I pray that the grace of God in your life is not in vain. Let us stop trusting in our own agendas. Let us stop building our own kingdoms. Let us turn from living as if we are our own king. Let's believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and live for God. Jesus is king, accept His pardon, enter His kingdom, do His will and worship the king. This is how we enter the kingdom, repent and believe in the gospel. It's good news because it's for everybody. Anyone who turns from sin is welcome in and it's good news because you're welcome to live under the kingship of the greatest king ever. And why did Jesus do this? Why did He do all of this? Why did He become God incarnate? Why did He live amongst us? Why did He obey the will of God perfectly in fulfilling the law? Why did He go to the cross? Why? Because He loves us. And when you understand what his love cost us, that gives us power to follow the king. Let us pray. Holy God, we thank you for your holy word, for your holy scriptures, and we thank you Holy Spirit that you're with us. I pray Holy God give us your power to follow you on a daily basis. Give us your power to be agents of kingdom change. Give us your power to seek first above everything else, the kingdom of God. Jesus, we thank you that you came and you went to a cross. And we thank you that now you're seated at the right hand of God and you are wearing a crown. And I pray, let us never forget that vision that Christ is king and let us be a people who would joyfully follow. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Audio Transcript:This media has been made available by Mosaic BostonChurch. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston,or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your holy word, and we thank you for sending us your holy Son. We thank you that your son came as a savior to save us from our sins, but you also came as Lord. And Jesus, we thank you that you went to the cross and you paid the penalty for our law-breaking, our transgressions of the law. And Jesus, you bled. The holy Son of God, you bled on that cross in order to cleanse us, in order to save us, and then also to give us grace. And you came back from the dead as the conquering king and you gave us marching orders to go and make disciples of all nations and to take dominion of this world, to take it back from the usurper, back from Satan, back from the enemy. And I pray, Lord, that you empower us by the Holy Spirit. Baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Send each one of us a special anointing to proclaim your word everywhere we go. To know your word, study your word, meditate upon your word, and to testify to the greatness of our God. Lord Jesus, show us what it means that you are our king. And that when you tell us to follow you, that is a command. Those are marching orders. And wherever in our lives we are not following you, I pray, give us grace. Transform our wills, transform our minds, transform our hearts. Lord Jesus, we pray that you bless the sermon series. We pray that you anoint it and I pray that your holy church will be built up. And I pray those who are far from you will be redeemed and regenerated and transformed from being rebels to being your children. And I pray, Lord, in this season that you send us the gift of evangelism, a passion for evangelists to proclaim the gospel of the king. The king is here. We deserve His wrath, but He came to extend mercy and grace and call us to follow him. I pray that you bless our time in the holy scriptures. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So we're beginning a sermon series through the Gospel of Mark that we are calling Kingdom Come, the Gospel of Mark and the secret of God's kingdom. And Jesus Christ, when He came, His very first words were the kingdom of God is at hand. So He's established the kingdom, the king is here, and then the Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to pray. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And that prayer is not just a prayer, that's our purpose. Yes, we cry out, Lord, may your kingdom come. But what we're saying is, Lord, give me the power to establish your kingdom. The title of the sermon today is Tremendous News: The King Loves You. And it's tremendous news because we don't deserve that love. It's a shock that He comes as a loving savior. Why? Because we deserve the wrath of God for our law-breaking. And just to give you perspective on this, I take an example from history from Fyodor Dostoevsky. Before he wrote Crime and Punishment, before he wrote The Idiot, before he wrote The Brothers Karamazov, he was actually sentenced to death by a firing squad by Tsar Nicholas I. For what? Listening to stories, criticizing the armed forces, owning an illegal printing press in order to create anti-government propaganda, and contributing to plot against the Tsar. So he was part of a group of rebels. There were 21 members in the circle and Dostoevski is 27 at that time. And they were brought into a public square and they were forced to kneel, kiss a cross, and then undergo a symbolic beheading where swords were broken above their heads. They were tied to pillars in the town square, blindfolded and then they started awaiting their execution. But immediately before they were shot, an envoy from the Tsar arrived with the stay of execution saying, don't shoot. And the men were pardoned by the king from execution and forced to serve in hard labor and a labor camp for four years. And you say, how would that change a man knowing he's about to be executed and all of a sudden there is a stay of execution? Dostoevsky, after the averted execution said, "Today I faced death for three quarters of an hour. I was a hair's breadth away from death, and now I am living again." He wrote his brother after the event, "I'm being reborn in another form." In the same way that the brightest dawn follows the darkest night, the best and the greatest, the most tremendous news always comes right after the deepest realization of the most terrible news. Well, what is the terrible news? That you and I, we have broken the law of God, the holy law of the holy God. This is the ultimate act of insurrection. And God created you with eternal soul. He breathed his spirit into you. We have eternal souls created by an eternal God. So what's the punishment for insurrection against the holy God of the universe? It's banishment from God's kingdom. That's what we deserve. Exile. And how long is that exile? Eternal because God is eternal and so are our souls. We deserve execution. We deserve eternal damnation for rebelling against the holy God. So when the king of kings comes, it's surprising that He doesn't come with execution and eviction notices. When the king comes, the king comes with pardon and amnesty and forgiveness and mercy, but also grace. This is what the gospel is all about, that God is offering to us today, mercy. Mercy is you don't get what you deserve, but He also gives us grace. And grace is we get what we don't deserve. God has mercy on rebels and He gives us grace in adopting us as sons and daughters because of the sacrifice of king Jesus on the cross. Jesus came as a Jewish man, but He's not just the king of the Jews or just the king of Israel. He's the king of everyone and the king of everything. And there's only two kinds of people, children of God or rebels. Soldiers of King Jesus or soldiers of king Satan. And if you turn from your sin and you submit to the king, if you believe in His gospel, something incredible happens. The miracle of the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you are regenerated from within. God gives you a brand new heart with brand new desires and your mind is renewed by the power of God. And God now can look at you as He looks at His son Jesus Christ and say, this is my child in whom I'm well pleased. And grace also is a power source. God gives us grace as energy to become kingdom builders. Jesus Christ said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else shall be added onto you." St. Paul said, "I am what I am by the grace of God, but the grace of God was not in vain in me. It wasn't given to me in vain. Instead," he says, "I worked harder than the rest of them. "And he's talking about the other apostles. So God gives us grace to do what? To follow Him, build His kingdom. And it all starts with the tremendous news that He's willing to forgive us if we repent. And this news does change us, it rivets us and it changes your whole perspective on reality. Would you please look at the text with me today? We're in Mark 1:1-15, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God as it is written in Isaiah the prophet. Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight." John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 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. Now, John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached saying, 'After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie. I've baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.' In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 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. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved son with you, I'm well pleased.' The spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness and he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to him. Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, 'The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.'" This is the reading of God's holy and inert, infallible, authoritative word, may it write these truths upon our hearts. Four points to frame up our time. First, the king has come. Second, the king is anointed. Third, the king declares war. And fourth, the kingdom has come. First, the king has come. Mark 1:1, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God written by Mark, who was probably an associate of Peter and Peter at that time was serving in Rome when this gospel was written. So this gospel is written to city dwellers and it's written in such a way where busy people can understand the gospel, understand who is Jesus, understand His person and His work. We see that Mark emphasizes action over teaching, it's very vivid. One of his favorite words is the word immediately. And what he's doing, he's writing to busy people. He's trying to get to the point as quickly as possible. And if you're new to the city, what you recognize is after a while here you realize you know who's from Boston because they walk fast and they talk fast. Fast walkers, fast talkers. And that's kind how I preach. I talk really fast, people tell me they can't 2X me on our podcasts or et cetera, but I want to get to the point as quickly as possible. And the point is, Jesus Christ, He's the point of everything. And here we see the freshness of discovery of who Jesus is. That's what Mark is trying to do. Over 150 times, he uses the historic present tense, putting past events in the present tense. Why? To increase the vividness. That what Jesus did, He's continuing to do today in and through the church as empowered by the Holy Spirit. It begins with the word the beginning. That's the very first word, and it's alluding to Genesis 1:1, that in the beginning God created everything and God created man and it was all beautiful. It was all wonderful, but we rebelled against God and Satan usurped dominion from Adam and Jesus Christ has come as a new Adam, as a new creation, as a new beginning for human beings. His name is Jesus in the English. In the Greek, it's Yesus, and Yesus is a transliteration of the Jewish word, Joshua. So Jesus is named after Joshua. In the Hebrew, His name, what it means is savior or literally Yahweh is salvation. So even in the name, what we see is that God is saying what Moses couldn't do, Joshua did. Moses could not take the promised land, could not bring the people of God into the promised land. Joshua did that. What Moses couldn't do, Jesus is going to do. Moses gave the law, but he couldn't transform hearts to obey God willingly. God can force His kingdom upon us and one day He will come with a flaming sword and He will judge. But the first time Jesus Christ comes, He doesn't come with a sword of power or physical sword. He comes with the sword of the spirit, wielding the word of God so people are transformed from the inside out. Moses gave the law, Jesus gives grace, which leads to heartfelt obedience, which empowers us to fulfill the law out of love for God and neighbor. Jesus Christ, a lot of people think that's His last name. That's not His last name. It wasn't Mary and Joseph Christ. This is a title, a kristos. It's from the Hebrew marcia or an anointed one. He's anointed to do what? He's anointed to be a royal figure. He's anointed to be king. So Jesus Christ actually just means is king. Sometimes they drive by churches and they're named Christ is king. I'm like, that means king is king. It's Jesus is king. That's the point, that He's come in order to establish the kingdom of God. He's the son of God. Son begotten of the Father. The Son of God is God as much as the Father is God, but the Son submits to the father's will. So we see right in the center of the faith, the faith is patriarchal with the Father up top and hierarchal, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. When Jesus took on flesh, He was male. Jesus was a man, a Jewish man who lived under the law. And Jesus is the Son of God and the son of man, that's His messianic title. And the Holy Spirit is not an it. It's not just a force. The Holy Spirit is a person, the Holy Spirit is a he. And just for clarity's purposes, God's pronouns are He/Him. And I say that because confusion has come from theological schools. I remember taking classes at BU School of Theology and I realized that's not going to go well because the very first prayer I heard was a prayer to mother God. Well, that is not true. God is father. The gospel, the word gospel means good news or literally an announcement of something good associated with a military victory. It's good news of victory from the battlefield. And the nuance of military victory is extremely important for Mark who presents Jesus' ministry as triumph over Satan, over the demonic forces and over their human agents. In Isaiah, the announcer of good news or the one that brings the good news proclaims the victory of Yahweh Israel's true king over hostile forces. And this is just the beginning. It's the beginning of what Jesus taught and what He began to do and He continues to do today. In Mark 1:2, "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." As it is written, it says. This is typical Jewish formula for citation of scripture. And the Greek, it's a perfect tense, has been written, implies past action with permanent results and suggesting that the ancient scriptures, it's not just a dead letter, but it's a living force in the present. As it has been written through the instrumentality of Isaiah, and then God speaks in the first person, meaning God inspired Isaiah by the spirit and he speaks to us through the word of God. And Mark affirms that what happened in Jesus followed the plan of salvation laid out by God and the prophecies of scriptures in the first 39 books of the Bible. Jesus came and His Bible were the Hebrew scriptures, the first three fourths of the Bible and this is why Mark quotes it in the very beginning. It was all promised. And He says, "I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way." So John the Baptist comes and John the Baptist is this voice and he's in the wilderness. And the word for wilderness or desert is érimos, is used three times in our texts today. And at the outset, all the action is in the wilderness. You say, why is that important? Because Adam was placed on the garden. The garden of Eden and everything was in bliss and everything was perfect. They walked in the presence of God, but he traded that garden for a wilderness by disobeying God. So the second Adam enters the wilderness to turn it back into a garden. Jesus is also the faithful son of God who unlike Israel, obeyed God completely. Israel disobeyed God. They were faithless and they walked in the wilderness for 40 years. But even there in the wilderness, God met them and He gave them the law and he cared for them and He provided for them. So in a sense, Jesus here is presented as the new Joshua, as the one who's going to lead the new exodus out of the wilderness to bring us into the presence of God. And what's the voice of one crying in the wilderness? What's he proclaiming? He's saying, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Prepare. God is here, the Lord is here. Prepare the way of the Lord." So Jesus is called Lord right from the outset. Who is John? John comes as an Old Testament prophet in the spirit of Elijah. He was a cousin of Jesus so he knew Jesus, he knew his life. In many ways he was a wild man, but the Lord used that. And what was his message? His message is the king is here, the king is coming. Prepare. Prepare. And what's the assumption? Is that we're not ready, that we need to do something to become ready. The king is coming and we need to present ourselves as best we can for the king. And John's not calling for just a coat of paint. No, we've got structural issues. We need an overhaul, a full gut down to the studs. I remember I took a trip to Sochi, Russia in 2013. It was before the Olympics and I wanted to see what they're doing in preparation for the Olympics and I was doing some missions work. And then we're driving up into the mountains of Sochi and I just noticed that everything's beautiful, everything's tremendous. And then I realized I don't see any houses. There are no houses. All I see is a beautiful fence on both sides. And they realized that if we're going to bring people to the Olympics, we have to make everything presentable, but we don't have time to make the houses presentable or the villages presentable so we're just going to cover it all up with a beautiful veneer. Well, John's not calling us to do that. John is saying, "No, no, no. It's not a veneer, not a facade change, not just your behavior must change. No, no, no. We need a regeneration of the heart." And how does that happen? What does he say? He says, "Repent and be baptized." Mark 1:4. "John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." So John here, he comes baptizing, and this is the Greek word vaftízo, which means to dip, plunge, immerse, and can be used of dipping a cup in water, et cetera. So John is called the baptizing one. A lot of people think he's baptist, because John the Baptist, there were no Baptist denominations at that time. And by the way, if we're going to call him any denominations, he's definitely not Baptist. He'd get ex-communicated from most Baptist churches. No, he's probably more Pentecostal than anything, but he comes baptizing and you're like, why is he baptizing? What is baptism? Well, baptism at that time was something that the priest did. They washed themselves in ablutions before taking part in sacrifices. And then the latter practice was when Gentiles wanted to become part of the people of God, what was the practice? How did they purge themselves of uncleanness of their pagan life, so to speak? Well, they were immersed in a ritual bath and that became a requirement for their conversion. So what John here is doing is he's going to Jewish people and he's saying, "You have not lived as the children of God. You have not lived as the people of God. You have not lived a life of love and obedience to God and people in submission of God's holy law. You are not saved through genealogy." And so he's calling them to faith in their own God, faith in their own scriptures and says, if he's saying you have lived as Gentiles, you have lived as pagans now through baptism, you are becoming the children of God and it's all started with the heart first. There's a passage in Zechariah that's used extensively in the New Testament that shares several motifs from our text, water imagery and repentance and confession, forgiveness of sins and even reference to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And what this passage emphasizes is even repentance, even asking God for forgiveness, even asking God for mercy and grace, that's a gift in and of itself that it starts with the spirit of God working in our lives. So Zechariah 12:10, "And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn each family by itself, the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves, the family of the house of Levi by himself and their wives by themselves, and the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves and all the families that are left each by itself and their wives by themselves. On that day, there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." So John's baptism departed slightly from the baptism practice in the day. In the practice of the day, the Gentile convert would baptize themselves. They would go down to the water themselves. But here there's a second party, John is doing the baptizing, which is a symbol that we cannot save ourselves. We need someone from the outside and that's only Jesus Christ. And also John's baptism was only anticipatory of cleansing from sinfulness. It wasn't until the blood of Jesus Christ that we can truly be ransom from our sins. He comes proclaiming and the message is a message of repentance. What is the word repentance? It's literally a change of mind, a turning a direction of life, a returning. Like in the Old Testament, the prophets would come and they would say, repent. Repent. What they're saying is people of God, people of God turn back to God. Turn back to the word of God, implies a total change in spiritual orientation. And when repentance comes, we are forgiven of sins. It literally means ascending away or release, the release from guilt before God. Verse five, "And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem, were going out to him and we're being baptized by him in the river Jordan confessing their sins." And the phrase here for we're going out to him, it's a word that's applied in the Old Testament to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses. And what Mark is doing is deliberately invoking Exodus Moses typology. Why? To show us that the new Moses has come, the new Joshua has come, the new exodus is here. In verse six, "Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey." I've always thought that he just did that because he's kind of a nut and this is the way that you attract a lot of attention to start a movement, but actually it's a picture of the primal back to earth reminiscent of the garden of Eden. Remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve they sinned and God promised that the day that you sin you will die. That day began their spiritual death, but God pardons them and there's a blood sacrifice. He takes two animals and there's bloodshed and he creates clothing out of skins of the animals. This picture here is as if John is standing outside of the Garden of Eden. It's as if he's standing in that presence of the angel with a flaming sword that blocked the entrance and he's saying this is the way that we get back into the Garden of Eden. This is the way we get back into the promised land, into the presence of God himself. Here the description presents John as an Elijah figure, Elijah in 1 Kings 18, if you remember this is the great battle between Yahweh and Baal. And in the same way Elijah was preaching the same message, 1 Kings 18:21, "Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'how long will you go limping between two different opinions?' If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word." John's clothing is similar to that of Elijah. Elijah preached a message of repentance and so does John. Elijah was associated with the wilderness, so is John and with the Jordan. And then also Elijah, when he was taken up to heaven before going he gave a double portion of his spirit to his disciple Elisha, doubling his power. So Jesus here similarly is presented as one greater than John, greater than even this great prophet of God and one that supersedes John. In verse seven, "And he preached saying after me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie". He's mightier than I am, mightier in every sense. He's stronger than I am, and also he's more honorable. He's saying, "I'm not even worthy of taking the leather strap that holds his sandal on his foot and unstrapping it." And in rabbinic sources, the untying of the master shoe is the task of the slave, not of the disciple. One rabbi even wrote a pupil does for his teacher all the tasks that a slave does for his master except untying his shoes. So for the rabbis, this is the lowest of the low. The disciples would not do this And John the Baptist, he's saying Jesus is so much more worthy than I am, so much greater in every sense than I am I'm not even worthy of doing the slave like service. And we got to stop here for a minute and we got to meditate on the implications of the meeting behind Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. If John isn't even worthy of doing this, for that's how great Jesus is. Jesus, why would you wash the disciples' feet? You're the king of the universe, why are you stooping down? Why did you take a basin of water? Why are you doing that? And John 13:12-17, "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? You call me teacher and Lord and you are right for so I am. If I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet for I have given you an example and you also should do just as I've done to you. Truly, truly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.' If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." What kind of king is this? This is the king that came to build a kingdom of hearts. This is a king that came to save us from our sins, to wash us from our uncleanness and stark in contrast to any other king. In Mark 1:8, "I've baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." So Jesus is the anointed one, anointed with the Holy Spirit. That's what makes Him of the Messiah and the spirit endowed Messiah is the spirit endowing Messiah. And in the New Testament there's a linkage of spirit and water. 1 Corinthians 12:12, "For just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews and Greeks, slaves and free and all were made to drink of one spirit." Titus 3:4-7, "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our savior appeared, he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. By the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Ezekiel 36, "This was promised, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart. And a new spirit I will put within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." This is the promise of God that when we come to Him, when we repent of our sins and we beg Him for grace and mercy that He sends us the Holy Spirit. And I wonder, do you have the Holy Spirit? Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit? Is the power of God, the indwelling power of God within you? And if you're not sure, look to the cross of Jesus Christ, ask for forgiveness of sins and say, Lord God, send me the spirit. Make me a person that is filled with the spirit of God to do the work that the Lord has for us. Second is the king is anointed and we see the baptism of Jesus in verse nine. "In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan 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 and a voice came from heaven. 'You are my beloved son. With you, I am well pleased.'" Here we see again the word immediately, it's Mark's favorite word. The word is used 51 times in the New Testament, and Mark uses it 41 times and what he's showing is that the spirit is at work and he can't be stopped. It says that the sky, the heavens were being torn open, being ripped apart. It's harsh words and not the one for opening of heavens in a visionary context, but it's literally the heavens tore open and all of a sudden we see the presence of God descending on Christ. Isaiah 64 cries out for this day, "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil. To make your name known to your adversaries and that the nations might tremble in your presence." Mark uses this verb to tear apart twice in his gospel. Here he uses it and then he uses it that one time where Jesus is on the cross and He says it's finished, He's completed the work of redemption and then says that the veil in the temple was torn, ripped apart from top to bottom. What Mark is giving us is a glimpse into the very heart of reality, the meaning of life, the essence of the universe. According to scripture, it's the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit they are at the center of everything. And it's more as though invisible curtain right in front of us is pulled back and God reveals His person and His will. Christian life is like this, learning to differentiate between physical reality, which is not all there is and spiritual reality. And by God's grace we can walk by faith and not by sight. And we see the spirit descending upon Christ like a dove. It says why the dove? Well, the dove is an appropriate symbol for the spirit as it can cross the barrier between heaven and earth. And also, it's an echo of Genesis 1 where the spirit soars bird like fluttering over the waters. The trinity created the world. It was God and God's spirit and God's word, and here the Trinity is restoring the world. We see the Father speak, He is the voice, the son who is the word, and the spirit fluttering like a dove. And what does God say? God speaks and He says, "You are my beloved son." It's a near exact quotation of Psalm 2, which is a messianic psalm. Psalm 2:7 says, "I will tell of the decree the Lord said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you." Psalm 2 was interpreted messianically in Judaism and in the Psalm the kingship of the anointed one is congruent with that of God. He says, you are my son. And then he includes the word beloved. And where have we heard this before? This is Genesis 22 where God says to Abraham, "The son, your beloved son whom you've been waiting for, I want you to bring him as a sacrifice to me." That's when God tested Abraham and obviously God stopped the sacrifice of Abraham, but that was typology. That was an example of what God the Father would not stop from doing. God the Father would bring down the sword of God's wrath upon his own son in order to redeem us. You're the beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. This is the good pleasure of God revealed, and the first time that was revealed was His delight in creation where He said is very good. So His life giving conviction that is very good that my son is baptized in the Holy Spirit and He's prepared to do battle against the evil one. At the center of the Godhead is a father delighting in His beloved son. And fathers, we are called to be godly and we are called to delight in our children. And children we're called to be godly and to be a delight to our fathers and mothers. And the whole Christian gospel can be summed up like this, when the living God looks at us at every believing and baptized Christian, He says to us what He says to Jesus here. The gospel promises us an imputation of the righteousness of God. The very second that you repent of your sins, your sin was transferred to Christ on the cross and His righteousness is transferred to you. So in a sense, the moment you're justified, God looks at you and says, no matter how you lived, no matter how many commandments you've broken, it says, you are my dear, dear child, I'm delighted with you. And then it begins the process of sanctification where we grow to become a greater delight to our father so that one day we can hear from God the Father. "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your father." The king is here, the king is anointed, the king is God's son. And what does the king do? Immediately after His anointing, He challenges the opposing king, which is Satan, and this point three, the king declares war. Verse 12, "The spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness and He was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and He was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to Him. The spirits that drove Him out, ekballei it's the same word that Mark uses to speak of exorcism. It's like a forceful ejection. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit is like a dove gently descending on Christ, but then the Holy Spirit sends Jesus immediately into battle against the enemy. It's the same spirit. And the king here goes on the offensive. Satan means adversary and he's the prince of the fallen angels, the supreme enemy both of God and man. When God created Adam and Eve, He told Adam, "Work and guard the garden, take dominion." And he didn't take dominion of Satan. They obeyed the lies of the evil one and Satan, usurped power, he took dominion of this world. And Jesus here immediately goes to fight the king of this world. And Matthew 4 gives us an explanation of what happened. Jesus in the fasted state for 40 days and Satan comes to Him and tempts Him, Jesus fought Satan with the word of God over and over and over. But what was the temptation? The temptation was Jesus, do not obey the will of the Father perfectly. Jesus join my team. Jesus, you can rule with me. The only thing you have to do is fall down and worship me. And Jesus Christ at that point He understood what Satan is saying. Satan is saying, do not go to the cross. Jesus, you're going to die for these people. Don't die for these. You can rule over them the way I do without dying for them. And he promised Jesus the crown without the cross. And Jesus Christ, the first time he came, He knows that his greatest battle which began here, but his greatest battle will be fought on the cross where Satan through everything he had at the Son of God, but the Son of God conquered Satan's sin and death. 40 days like Elijah, who was also sustained by an angel's provision of food. And it says here He was with the wild animals. And that's generally a sense of close friendly association that the animals were kind to Him, they were nice to Him. And this shows us that Jesus when he came, he came to restore the distortion of the original harmony in the world. And the eschaton, the enmity will be reversed between humanity and the wild animals as promised in Hosea. But Jesus here is presented as the new Adam, that He is the son of man which is a messianic title, but also in a sense Jesus was the son of Adam. Adam was not a son of man, Adam was the son of God and that's made clear in Luke chapter 3 in the genealogy. But Jesus uses this phrase as a messianic title, son of man over and over in Mark 8:31. "He began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days, rise again." Adam was tested by God's adversary, the snake, which is Satan personified and he lost. Adam lived at peace with the wild animals before the fall and he lost that shalom. Adam was raised by God to a preeminent position to be a son of God, but he lost that as well. That's why Jesus when He uses this title that He is the son of man and why that is so significant because in Daniel chapter 7, this was prophesied. "I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the ancient of days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people as nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." He's the son of man, but He has an everlasting kingdom to show us that he's not just the son of man, He's also the son of God. And this is the only way that this could happen, the only way that we could have redemption is we need to be represented by someone, someone who is like us, someone who is human, but someone who can also bridge the chasm between us and a holy God. So he would have to be a son of God and he would have to be a son of man, and all that came to culmination on the cross where the son of man takes our penalty for sin upon Himself. And the reason why He came back from the dead was because He's truly the son of God. And here at the end says the angels were ministering to Him. It's from the Greek word to serve, to serve on a concrete level as a waiter serves food and drinks. So most likely after his fast of 40 days, angels came and brought him a feast. Fourth is the kingdom has come. Verse 14, "Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." John was arrested by Herod's agents for calling out the sin of Herod to calling him to repentance. So Jesus continues the ministry and He says the time is fulfilled. What He's saying and this is the Greek word kairos, "The old evil age of Satan's dominion is over." It's now fulfilled. The new age of God's rule is about to begin and God's rule enters our lives when? The first moment that we repent of our sin and believe in the good news of Jesus Christ, that the law was fulfilled by Christ and he bore the burden for our law-breaking to extend to us the blessing of His law-abiding. This king came to rule, but first initially He came to rule in our hearts. And this is why He doesn't come here with a crown, but He does go to a cross. And on that cross He allows himself to be wounded, allows himself to be fatally wounded. Why? Because that's what it took to heal us. It took the blood of the Son of God and the son of man. He was tempted by Satan to know our temptations, to give us power to overcome our temptations. He experienced suffering to know our suffering and to give us strength to overcome our suffering. He was rejected, mocked, beaten and crucified. He fully understands our pain, and He is able to help. 1 Peter 2:21-25, "For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, He did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds, you have been healed for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd, an overseer of your souls." Back to Dostoevski, and the idea that if you truly understand the mercy and the grace that God has given you, we are not to use that grace in vain, but we are to follow King Jesus. Dostoevski later in life he wrote this, "When I turn back to look at the past, I think of how much time has been wasted. How much of it lost in misdirected efforts, mistakes and idleness and living the wrong way. And however I treasured life, how much I sinned against my heart and spirit. My heart bleeds now as I think of it. Life is a gift. Life is happiness. Each minute could be an eternity of bliss." And then in his work of fiction, The Idiot, the main character's named Myshkin, and Myshkin talks about an acquaintance who was sentenced to be executed and then pardoned. And one of his friends asked him and he said, how's he doing now? Whatever happened to that friend who told you all his horrors? His punishment was changed, which means he was granted that infinite life. Well, what did he do with so much wealth afterwards? Did he live reckoning up every moment? And Myshkin's response was, "He didn't live that way at all and lost many, many minutes." I pray that the grace of God in your life is not in vain. Let us stop trusting in our own agendas. Let us stop building our own kingdoms. Let us turn from living as if we are our own king. Let's believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and live for God. Jesus is king, accept His pardon, enter His kingdom, do His will and worship the king. This is how we enter the kingdom, repent and believe in the gospel. It's good news because it's for everybody. Anyone who turns from sin is welcome in and it's good news because you're welcome to live under the kingship of the greatest king ever. And why did Jesus do this? Why did He do all of this? Why did He become God incarnate? Why did He live amongst us? Why did He obey the will of God perfectly in fulfilling the law? Why did He go to the cross? Why? Because He loves us. And when you understand what his love cost us, that gives us power to follow the king. Let us pray. Holy God, we thank you for your holy word, for your holy scriptures, and we thank you Holy Spirit that you're with us. I pray Holy God give us your power to follow you on a daily basis. Give us your power to be agents of kingdom change. Give us your power to seek first above everything else, the kingdom of God. Jesus, we thank you that you came and you went to a cross. And we thank you that now you're seated at the right hand of God and you are wearing a crown. And I pray, let us never forget that vision that Christ is king and let us be a people who would joyfully follow. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Zechariah 7–14 Zechariah 7–14 (Listen) A Call for Justice and Mercy 7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD, 3 saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?'” 8 And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.1 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. 13 “As I2 called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion 8 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.” 18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. 20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.' 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” Judgment on Israel's Enemies 9   The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach    and Damascus is its resting place.  For the LORD has an eye on mankind    and on all the tribes of Israel,32   and on Hamath also, which borders on it,    Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.3   Tyre has built herself a rampart    and heaped up silver like dust,    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.4   But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions    and strike down her power on the sea,    and she shall be devoured by fire. 5   Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.  The king shall perish from Gaza;    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;6   a mixed people4 shall dwell in Ashdod,    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.7   I will take away its blood from its mouth,    and its abominations from between its teeth;  it too shall be a remnant for our God;    it shall be like a clan in Judah,    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.8   Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,    so that none shall march to and fro;  no oppressor shall again march over them,    for now I see with my own eyes. The Coming King of Zion 9   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you;    righteous and having salvation is he,  humble and mounted on a donkey,    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.10   I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim    and the war horse from Jerusalem;  and the battle bow shall be cut off,    and he shall speak peace to the nations;  his rule shall be from sea to sea,    and from the River5 to the ends of the earth.11   As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.12   Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;    today I declare that I will restore to you double.13   For I have bent Judah as my bow;    I have made Ephraim its arrow.  I will stir up your sons, O Zion,    against your sons, O Greece,    and wield you like a warrior's sword. The Lord Will Save His People 14   Then the LORD will appear over them,    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;  the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.15   The LORD of hosts will protect them,    and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,  and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,    and be full like a bowl,    drenched like the corners of the altar. 16   On that day the LORD their God will save them,    as the flock of his people;  for like the jewels of a crown    they shall shine on his land.17   For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!    Grain shall make the young men flourish,    and new wine the young women. The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;6  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family7 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'8 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'9 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.10 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.11 7 And there shall be a unique12 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea13 and half of them to the western sea.14 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.15 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strik

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 40 Isaiah 40 (Listen) Comfort for God's People 40   Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.2   Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,    and cry to her  that her warfare1 is ended,    that her iniquity is pardoned,  that she has received from the LORD's hand    double for all her sins. 3   A voice cries:2  “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4   Every valley shall be lifted up,    and every mountain and hill be made low;  the uneven ground shall become level,    and the rough places a plain.5   And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,    and all flesh shall see it together,    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” The Word of God Stands Forever 6   A voice says, “Cry!”    And I said,3 “What shall I cry?”  All flesh is grass,    and all its beauty4 is like the flower of the field.7   The grass withers, the flower fades    when the breath of the LORD blows on it;    surely the people are grass.8   The grass withers, the flower fades,    but the word of our God will stand forever. The Greatness of God 9   Go on up to a high mountain,    O Zion, herald of good news;5  lift up your voice with strength,    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;6    lift it up, fear not;  say to the cities of Judah,    “Behold your God!”10   Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,    and his arm rules for him;  behold, his reward is with him,    and his recompense before him.11   He will tend his flock like a shepherd;    he will gather the lambs in his arms;  he will carry them in his bosom,    and gently lead those that are with young. 12   Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand    and marked off the heavens with a span,  enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure    and weighed the mountains in scales    and the hills in a balance?13   Who has measured7 the Spirit of the LORD,    or what man shows him his counsel?14   Whom did he consult,    and who made him understand?  Who taught him the path of justice,    and taught him knowledge,    and showed him the way of understanding?15   Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,    and are accounted as the dust on the scales;    behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.16   Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,    nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.17   All the nations are as nothing before him,    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 18   To whom then will you liken God,    or what likeness compare with him?19   An idol! A craftsman casts it,    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold    and casts for it silver chains.20   He who is too impoverished for an offering    chooses wood8 that will not rot;  he seeks out a skillful craftsman    to set up an idol that will not move. 21   Do you not know? Do you not hear?    Has it not been told you from the beginning?    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?22   It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,    and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;  who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;23   who brings princes to nothing,    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24   Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,  when he blows on them, and they wither,    and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25   To whom then will you compare me,    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.26   Lift up your eyes on high and see:    who created these?  He who brings out their host by number,    calling them all by name;  by the greatness of his might    and because he is strong in power,    not one is missing. 27   Why do you say, O Jacob,    and speak, O Israel,  “My way is hidden from the LORD,    and my right is disregarded by my God”?28   Have you not known? Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary;    his understanding is unsearchable.29   He gives power to the faint,    and to him who has no might he increases strength.30   Even youths shall faint and be weary,    and young men shall fall exhausted;31   but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;  they shall run and not be weary;    they shall walk and not faint. Footnotes [1] 40:2 Or hardship [2] 40:3 Or A voice of one crying [3] 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says [4] 40:6 Or all its constancy [5] 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion [6] 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem [7] 40:13 Or has directed &l

With family: Numbers 3; Psalm 37 Numbers 3 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram (ESV) Psalm 37 (Listen) He Will Not Forsake His Saints 1 Of David. 37   Fret not yourself because of evildoers;    be not envious of wrongdoers!2   For they will soon fade like the grass    and wither like the green herb. 3   Trust in the LORD, and do good;    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.24   Delight yourself in the LORD,    and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5   Commit your way to the LORD;    trust in him, and he will act.6   He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,    and your justice as the noonday. 7   Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,    over the man who carries out evil devices! 8   Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.9   For the evildoers shall be cut off,    but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 10   In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.11   But the meek shall inherit the land    and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12   The wicked plots against the righteous    and gnashes his teeth at him,13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked,    for he sees that his day is coming. 14   The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows    to bring down the poor and needy,    to slay those whose way is upright;15   their sword shall enter their own heart,    and their bows shall be broken. 16   Better is the little that the righteous has    than the abundance of many wicked.17   For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,    but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18   The LORD knows the days of the blameless,    and their heritage will remain forever;19   they are not put to shame in evil times;    in the days of famine they have abundance. 20   But the wicked will perish;    the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;    they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21   The wicked borrows but does not pay back,    but the righteous is generous and gives;22   for those blessed by the LORD3 shall inherit the land,    but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23   The steps of a man are established by the LORD,    when he delights in his way;24   though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,    for the LORD upholds his hand. 25   I have been young, and now am old,    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken    or his children begging for bread.26   He is ever lending generously,    and his children become a blessing. 27   Turn away from evil and do good;    so shall you dwell forever.28   For the LORD loves justice;    he will not forsake his saints.  They are preserved forever,    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.29   The righteous shall inherit the land    and dwell upon it forever. 30   The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,    and his tongue speaks justice.31   The law of his God is in his heart;    his steps do not slip. 32   The wicked watches for the righteous    and seeks to put him to death.33   The LORD will not abandon him to his power    or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34   Wait for the LORD and keep his way,    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;    you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35   I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,    spreading himself like a green laurel tree.436   But he passed away,5 and behold, he was no more;    though I sought him, he could not be found. 37   Mark the blameless and behold the upright,    for there is a future for the man of peace.38   But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;    the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39   The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.40   The LORD helps them and delivers them;    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,    because they take refuge in him. Footnotes [1] 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture [3] 37:22 Hebrew by him [4] 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain [5] 37:36 Or But one passed by (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 1; Hebrews 1 Song of Solomon 1 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular (ESV) 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,

Old Testament: Numbers 3 Numbers 3 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 63 Psalm 63 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;    my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,    beholding your power and glory.3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,    my lips will praise you.4   So I will bless you as long as I live;    in your name I will lift up my hands. 5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6   when I remember you upon my bed,    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7   for you have been my help,    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8   My soul clings to you;    your right hand upholds me. 9   But those who seek to destroy my life    shall go down into the depths of the earth;10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;    they shall be a portion for jackals.11   But the king shall rejoice in God;    all who swear by him shall exult,    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (ESV) New Testament: John 3 John 3 (Listen) You Must Be Born Again 3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus1 by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again2 he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.3 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You4 must be born again.' 8 The wind5 blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you6 do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.7 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.8 For God So Loved the World 16 “For God so loved the world,9 that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John the Baptist Exalts Christ 22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”10 31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Footnotes [1] 3:2 Greek him [2] 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7 [3] 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit [4] 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here [5] 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit [6] 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12 [7] 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven [8] 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15 [9] 3:16 Or For this is how God loved the world [10] 3:30 Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36 (ESV)

Old Testament: Numbers 3 Numbers 3 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram (ESV) New Testament: Luke 3:23–4:13 Luke 3:23–4:13 (Listen) The Genealogy of Jesus Christ 23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,1 the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. The Temptation of Jesus 4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.'” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,   “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,    and him only shall you serve.'” 9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,   “‘He will command his angels concerning you,    to guard you,' 11 and   “‘On their hands they will bear you up,    lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Footnotes [1] 3:27 Greek Salathiel (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 63 Psalm 63 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;    my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,    beholding your power and glory.3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,    my lips will praise you.4   So I will bless you as long as I live;    in your name I will lift up my hands. 5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6   when I remember you upon my bed,    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7   for you have been my help,    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8   My soul clings to you;    your right hand upholds me. 9   But those who seek to destroy my life    shall go down into the depths of the earth;10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;    they shall be a portion for jackals.11   But the king shall rejoice in God;    all who swear by him shall exult,    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 11:23 Proverbs 11:23 (Listen) 23   The desire of the righteous ends only in good,    the expectation of the wicked in wrath. (ESV)

Morning: Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Evening: Mark 3:22–35 Mark 3:22–35 (Listen) Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers1 are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Footnotes [1] 3:32 Other manuscripts add and your sisters (ESV)

Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV)

Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV)

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) New Testament: John 20 John 20 (Listen) The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Footnotes [1] 20:7 Greek his [2] 20:16 Or Hebrew [3] 20:19 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4] 20:24 Greek Didymus (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 31:8–9 Proverbs 31:8–9 (Listen) 8   Open your mouth for the mute,    for the rights of all who are destitute.19   Open your mouth, judge righteously,    defend the rights of the poor and needy. Footnotes [1] 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away (ESV)

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 20–21 Revelation 20–21 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place3 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,4 and God himself will be with them as their God.5 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.6 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits7 by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 

Morning: Zechariah 10–12 Zechariah 10–12 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) Evening: Revelation 20 Revelation 20 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Footnotes [1] 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3 [2] 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God (ESV)

With family: 2 Chronicles 30; Revelation 16 2 Chronicles 30 (Listen) Passover Celebrated 30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month—3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem—4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD. 13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the LORD. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”1 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might2 to the LORD. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven. Footnotes [1] 30:19 Hebrew not according to the cleanness of holiness [2] 30:21 Compare 1 Chronicles 13:8; Hebrew with instruments of might (ESV) Revelation 16 (Listen) The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters1 say,   “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,    for you brought these judgments.6   For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,    and you have given them blood to drink.  It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying,   “Yes, Lord God the Almighty,    true and just are your judgments!” 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed2 the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds. 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The Seventh Bowl 17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds4 each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. Footnotes [1] 16:5 Greek angel of the waters [2] 16:9 Greek blasphemed; also verses 11, 21 [3] 16:18 Or voices, or sounds [4] 16:21 Greek a talent in weight (ESV) In private: Zechariah 12–13:1; John 15 Zechariah 12–13:1 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) John 15 (Listen) I Am the True Vine 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,1 for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,2 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Footnotes [1] 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20 [2] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 99 Psalm 99 (Listen) The Lord Our God Is Holy 99   The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!2   The LORD is great in Zion;    he is exalted over all the peoples.3   Let them praise your great and awesome name!    Holy is he!4   The King in his might loves justice.1    You have established equity;  you have executed justice    and righteousness in Jacob.5   Exalt the LORD our God;    worship at his footstool!    Holy is he! 6   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.    They called to the LORD, and he answered them.7   In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;    they kept his testimonies    and the statute that he gave them. 8   O LORD our God, you answered them;    you were a forgiving God to them,    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.9   Exalt the LORD our God,    and worship at his holy mountain;    for the LORD our God is holy! Footnotes [1] 99:4 Or The might of the King loves justice (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 8 2 Kings 8 (Listen) The Shunammite's Land Restored 8 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” Hazael Murders Ben-hadad 7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,' but1 the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth2 and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Jehoram Reigns in Judah 16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah,3 Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. 21 Then Joram4 passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army fled home. 22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah 25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab. 28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Footnotes [1] 8:10 Some manuscripts say, ‘You shall certainly not recover,' for [2] 8:15 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 8:16 Septuagint, Syriac lack when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah [4] 8:21 Joram is an alternate spelling of Jehoram (son of Jehoshaphat) as in verse 16; also verses 23, 24 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Zechariah 12–13 Zechariah 12–13 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'2 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'3 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [2] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [3] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 4:1–42 John 4:1–42 (Listen) Jesus and the Woman of Samaria 4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.1 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.2 The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” 27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” Footnotes [1] 4:6 That is, about noon [2] 4:14 Greek forever (ESV)

Zechariah 8–14 Zechariah 8–14 (Listen) The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion 8 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.” 18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. 20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.' 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” Judgment on Israel's Enemies 9   The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach    and Damascus is its resting place.  For the LORD has an eye on mankind    and on all the tribes of Israel,12   and on Hamath also, which borders on it,    Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.3   Tyre has built herself a rampart    and heaped up silver like dust,    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.4   But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions    and strike down her power on the sea,    and she shall be devoured by fire. 5   Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.  The king shall perish from Gaza;    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;6   a mixed people2 shall dwell in Ashdod,    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.7   I will take away its blood from its mouth,    and its abominations from between its teeth;  it too shall be a remnant for our God;    it shall be like a clan in Judah,    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.8   Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,    so that none shall march to and fro;  no oppressor shall again march over them,    for now I see with my own eyes. The Coming King of Zion 9   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you;    righteous and having salvation is he,  humble and mounted on a donkey,    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.10   I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim    and the war horse from Jerusalem;  and the battle bow shall be cut off,    and he shall speak peace to the nations;  his rule shall be from sea to sea,    and from the River3 to the ends of the earth.11   As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.12   Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;    today I declare that I will restore to you double.13   For I have bent Judah as my bow;    I have made Ephraim its arrow.  I will stir up your sons, O Zion,    against your sons, O Greece,    and wield you like a warrior's sword. The Lord Will Save His People 14   Then the LORD will appear over them,    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;  the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.15   The LORD of hosts will protect them,    and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,  and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,    and be full like a bowl,    drenched like the corners of the altar. 16   On that day the LORD their God will save them,    as the flock of his people;  for like the jewels of a crown    they shall shine on his land.17   For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!    Grain shall make the young men flourish,    and new wine the young women. The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;4  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family5 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'6 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'7 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.8 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.9 7 And there shall be a unique10 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea11 and half of them to the western sea.12 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.13 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.14 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;15 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader16 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 9:1 Or For the eye of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, is toward the Lord [2] 9:6

Zechariah 7–14 Zechariah 7–14 (Listen) A Call for Justice and Mercy 7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD, 3 saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?'” 8 And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.1 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. 13 “As I2 called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion 8 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.” 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.” 18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace. 20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.' 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” Judgment on Israel's Enemies 9   The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach    and Damascus is its resting place.  For the LORD has an eye on mankind    and on all the tribes of Israel,32   and on Hamath also, which borders on it,    Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.3   Tyre has built herself a rampart    and heaped up silver like dust,    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.4   But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions    and strike down her power on the sea,    and she shall be devoured by fire. 5   Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.  The king shall perish from Gaza;    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;6   a mixed people4 shall dwell in Ashdod,    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.7   I will take away its blood from its mouth,    and its abominations from between its teeth;  it too shall be a remnant for our God;    it shall be like a clan in Judah,    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.8   Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,    so that none shall march to and fro;  no oppressor shall again march over them,    for now I see with my own eyes. The Coming King of Zion 9   Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you;    righteous and having salvation is he,  humble and mounted on a donkey,    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.10   I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim    and the war horse from Jerusalem;  and the battle bow shall be cut off,    and he shall speak peace to the nations;  his rule shall be from sea to sea,    and from the River5 to the ends of the earth.11   As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.12   Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;    today I declare that I will restore to you double.13   For I have bent Judah as my bow;    I have made Ephraim its arrow.  I will stir up your sons, O Zion,    against your sons, O Greece,    and wield you like a warrior's sword. The Lord Will Save His People 14   Then the LORD will appear over them,    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;  the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.15   The LORD of hosts will protect them,    and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,  and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,    and be full like a bowl,    drenched like the corners of the altar. 16   On that day the LORD their God will save them,    as the flock of his people;  for like the jewels of a crown    they shall shine on his land.17   For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!    Grain shall make the young men flourish,    and new wine the young women. The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;6  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family7 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'8 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'9 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.10 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.11 7 And there shall be a unique12 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea13 and half of them to the western sea.14 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.15 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strik

On the Day: The Gospel of ZechariahWe are in the home stretch in Zechariah. Chapter 12 begins the final section. And as I read, listen for the phrase “On that day.” You'll hear it multiple times. Really, it's what ties these final three chapters together.For Zechariah's audience, it was a promise of a future day of salvation. For them, it was all in the future. For us, though, we're living 2500 years later. Part of the future promise has already been fulfilled. Salvation has come. But part of the promise is still in the future. And it's really important for us to distinguish the difference. What has been fulfilled already versus what is yet to be fulfilled. As we work through these final chapter, that will be part of our goal.So, listen for the phrase “on that day.” As you hear it, listen for what it's connected to.Turn in your Bibles to Zechariah 12. In the pew Bible, you'll find that on page 950. This is God's inspired Word. It's sufficient and authoritative and he's given to us. Please stand as I read.Reading of Zechariah 12-13:1.PrayerIntroductionA few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem. I was in the area for work and had some free time. A friend was with me and we weren't on a holy lands tour, so we could just wander around.And so, we walked from the old city to the Mount of Olives. It's only a quarter of a mile walk east from the city walls. You walk down to the Kidron valley and then up to the Mount of Olives. In Jesus' day, the mountain had many trees. A lot of olive trees. There are still some here and there. There's an area they call the Garden of Gethsemane with some very old olive trees.But most of the trees are gone. Can you guess what they are replaced with? Graves. Tombs. All the way up the side of the Mount of Olives. One grave after another. Some are large, but most are the size of a coffin. Many of the tombs are stacked one on top of another. And it goes on and on. There are approximately 70 to 150 thousands graves on the Mount of Olives. We walked in and out of them. From most of the cemetery, you can see the temple mount area, where the temple used to be, and actually you can see much of the city of Jerusalem.Why all those tombs? Why would someone want to be buried there? Why spend a lot of money for such a burial?Well, if your theology of the future is connected to the physical city of Jerusalem, then yes, you would want to be there. If you are Jewish, it's where the messiah will finally come. It's where the earthly kingdom will be restored. It will be the center of the world again. If you are a Christian with a similar perspective on Jerusalem, you would want to be there when Jesus returned. You'd be first in line for the resurrection. One person said there's a “special holiness” there… you would be “one-up” on everyone else when the resurrection happens – “first in line” as this person said.An important question is this: when the Old Testament talks about Jerusalem in the future, to what is it referring? Is it referring to the city found in the central part of Israel, that's still there today? It is referring to a future city in heaven, one with literal streets of gold? Or is it referring not to a physical place on earth or in heaven, but instead referring to a people? God's people on earth or in heaven?Well, part of the answer is found in our text today. There are 12 direct references to Jerusalem.Just take the first part of chapter 12.In verse 2 it says, God is “going to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.” That means Jerusalem will cause all the people opposed to her to stagger… falter.Or take verse 3. “On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves.”Over and over in multiple verses, Jerusalem will be victorious. The city will be reinhabited – verse 6. Salvation will come – verse 7. God will protect Jerusalem – verse 8. The enemy peoples will be destroyed – verse 9.And it's all tied up with that phrase “on that day.” Now, when we hear that phrase, it's natural for us to think it refers to a single day. But in actuality, that phrase is used all throughout the prophets in the Old Testament. Rather than a single day, it's broader. It refers to something in the future that will begin on a single day, but includes the time period that the day ushers in. It's like we sometimes say, “a new day has dawned or has come.” And we mean that something has radically changed for us. In fact, the phrase “on that day” often refers to some kind of salvation. Or deliverance. We see that here. Salvation from enemies. Peace and protection. “On that day… declared the Lord.” In other words, “I am going to do something for you like I've never done before”Now, just like we've seen in other prophecies, part of this prophecy gets fulfilled in the near term. 30 or so years after Zechariah writes this second half of his book, Nehemiah comes on the scene. And he leads the effort to reconstruct Jerusalem's wall. It's a great day, just like when the temple rebuild was complete. But it's still a shadow of the great salvation promise of these verses.Most Jewish people today still see Zechariah 12 as a future promise about a future city. They would say, Jerusalem will be fully restored and more glorious than it ever was. They believe there will come a day when a Mosque will no longer be on the temple mount. Instead, a new temple will be built. They believe a Messiah will finally come who will be king over this new Jerusalem and will establish Judah's reign.In fact, many Christians today also believe that Zechariah 12 refers to the physical city of Jerusalem. They similarly believe that the day will come when Jerusalem will be the center of Christianity. Some would even connect it to Jesus' return. They consider that when Jesus comes back, he will reign in Jerusalem. Some believe the temple sacrifices will even be restarted.For either group, they want to be there. Right in the middle action. Buried next to the city where it will all take place.But is that what these verses teach us? When we read that word “Jerusalem” in connection with the future promise, does that refer to a physical city of Jerusalem on earth? Will she be a staggering to the surrounding people? Will the people in the city be like king David again? Verse 8. Like God with the angel of the Lord going before them?They're legitimate questions. How we interpret the passage impacts how we see Jerusalem, the city, and how we apply this chapter to ourselves and the church.And I want to argue that these references to Jerusalem do not, in fact, ultimately refer to a physical city of Jerusalem. Rather I want to argue that they broadly refer to the church. To God's people. One main reason is that these references to Jerusalem are connected to the phrase “on that day.” Jerusalem is connected to a future salvation, verse 7, which will be inaugurated by a future event that will usher in a period of God's grace, verse 10.To be sure, I am not saying that any or every reference to Jerusalem in the Old Testament or in the book of Zechariah refers to the future church. No, I am specifically referring to references that connect Jerusalem with salvation and God's people in the future.So, why do I say that? What is my case that Jerusalem here refers to the universal church?Well, it revolves around this: Zechariah 12:1 - 13:1 portrays the saving work of Christ on the cross, the result of Jesus' sacrifice, and what faith in Jesus means. In other words, these verses give us a picture of salvation accomplished and salvation applied… It's a picture of the Gospel. This chapter is like one of the Gospel accounts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John… and Zechariah!Let's look at these verses from two perspectives.• First, redemption accomplished - how these verses point to Christ and his atoning work on the cross. How he accomplished salvation.• Second, redemption applied - how that salvation is applied to people. To us. How we come to believe in and receive that salvation.And once you see those two aspects of the Gospel in these verses, I think you'll decide not to spend $30,000 for a grave plot on the Mount of Olives. Redemption AccomplishedOk, redemption accomplished - the act of God in securing salvation.The first thing to note is how Zechariah 12 begins. It's just like the Gospel of John. In John, he writes, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” That's referring to Christ as God. And then it says, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” So, all of the heavens and the earth were made by God, through Christ in his role in the Trinity. Then John says, “in him was life, and the life was the light of men.” That's a testament to the work of God in the life of all mankind, of each of us and all people. John is teaching that all creation and especially the creation of human life has happened through Christ.Again, that's the beginning of John's Gospel. But look at verse 1 of Zechariah 12. It's very similar. “The Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him.” It's not directly referencing the Messiah, but it parallels John's Gospel account which points to Christ's involvement in creation.Now, you may be thinking, “Wait a second! That's a stretch. After all, there are a lot of Old Testament verses that talk about God in general as the creator, without reference to Christ.”Let me try to answer that objection. Jump down to verse 10. Remember, this is the Lord speaking through Zechariah. He get's personal here. He says, “And I,” again, this is the Lord, “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy…” We're going to come back to that part later. The Lord continues, “so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced.” The Lord is connecting this whole oracle to himself, and he identifies himself as the one who was pierced.We read John chapter 19 earlier in the service. You already know, then, that verse 10 is fulfilled by Jesus who is the Messiah, the Christ. John 19 quotes this Zechariah verse. So, Christ the Lord is the one, truly God, involved in creation and in accomplishing redemption.That word “pierced” used here and in John 19 means an implement piercing the skin of a person. The nails pierced Jesus' hand and feet on the cross. The solder's spear pierced Jesus' side.But what did that accomplish? Meaning the piercing - the death of the Lord himself. What purpose did the Lord's death on the cross serve? That's a critical question.And it's answered in the first verse of Zechariah 13. Look there. It begins, “On that day” which is connected back to verse 10, the day of piercing… “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” A cleansing from sin. It does not use the word blood here, but the reference to fountain implies blood. A fountain of blood. The Old Testament sacrifices connect blood with cleansing. The fountain of Jesus' blood, flowing from his pierced hands and feet and side, cleanses us from sin. It's referring to Christ's death, which accomplished forgiveness from our sin - making us pure and holy.You see, God has done it. He accomplished salvation. Zechariah's audience looked forward to that day. But it's a day, which we look back on. The day when the fountain of blood once and for all cleansed us from our sin.Redemption accomplished.Redemption AppliedBut that's only half of what these verses promise. The other half is how God applies that salvation in hearts and minds. In other words, how do you receive salvation?Well, first, that salvation needs to go forth… needs to be proclaimed. Look how it's worded in verse 7. “The Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first.” It's a salvation that's given by God and it's a salvation that would first go to the “tents of Judah.” That refers to the people living in Judah or Judea, as it's know in the New Testament. And when the Gospel came, where did it first go to? It first went to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Verse 10 alludes to the Holy Spirit being poured out on the people in Jerusalem. It says, I will “pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy.” The people who lived in Judah would be the first ones to hear of Jesus and receive his Spirit, this promise. But then, that salvation with God's Spirit would go to the ends of the earth.How is that salvation applied to people? God will give us his Spirit and cause us to cry out to him for mercy. This is an Ezekiel 36 kind of work. We also read that earlier. God will put his Spirit in us, his Holy Spirit, and give us a new heart. And with that new heart he will cause us by faith to call out to him for forgiveness.And look at what happens at the end of chapter 12. The people are weeping. They are mourning. Which people? The people and families listed take us back to the united kingdom, to united Israel. David, Nathan, Levi, the Shimeites, which goes back even further. It indicates fulness of God's restored people. And notice their mourning and weeping is repeated over and over. Why? Why are they so overwhelmed? It's because they pierced him. Middle of 10. “when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him…” They were complicit in the death of Jesus, the Lord, and they would realized it.These verses are full of references to other parts of the Bible… Old Testament and New Testament, some of which we've already considered. We don't have time to work through all of them, but I do want to consider verse 11. It says, “On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”Kids, what if you were anointed king or queen at the age of 8? Like, in charge of a whole country. That would be both interesting and a little scary. I guess that would mean you'd be in charge of your parents. “Hey mom, please go clean my room” or “Dad, it's your night to do the dishes.” You'd have a lot of things in your control.Well, Josiah was anointed king of Judah at age 8. And he was an amazing young king - spiritually mature, well beyond his years. In the first few years of his reign, he had all the places of false worship destroyed. He directed people to worship God and not false things. He was humble but firm about the people's need to return to God. Kids, you are never too young to pursue spiritual maturity and take a stand for God's truth and grace.Ok, well, sad story. When King Josiah was 39 years old, he travelled with Judah's army to the plain of Meggido. A plain is a flat area. It's northwest of Jerusalem with a mountain range on one side. It was a common place for battles. And Judah came up against Egypt's army and they fought. Well, King Josiah was disguised so he wouldn't be a target. But a stray arrow from far away pierced him. He was in a chariot at the time in the Hadad-rimmon part of the plain. Verse 11 is referencing what happened.Josiah didn't die immediately, but they took him back to Jerusalem where he did die. The king's death overwhelmed the people. They had loved Josiah and all his spiritual reforms. They greatly mourned and wept at his death.Verse 11 is saying that the lamenting for the death of the pierced one would be as great as the lamenting for the death of King Josiah.The prophecy is that there will be mourning for the death of Jesus. But it's more than just that Jesus died. They realized that they killed the Lord… they were mourning because they had rejected the Savior.Beloved, we are complicit. We are Israel here, the people. The New Testament reveals how the true descendants of Abraham are descendants not by flesh, but by faith (Galatians 3:7). Or take Romans 9, the promises to Israel are fulfilled in spiritual Israel, those who believe in Christ by faith.It's speaking about the church. We pierced him. No, we weren't there at Jesus' death, but because of our sin, Christ died. Our sin is a rejection of God and Jesus - it's against his Word and commands. And the mourning here in these verses is a mourning for our sin. It's godly sorrow. You see, these verses are about repentance. Being grieved about our sin and turning from it. Repentance is a necessary part of receiving the Gospel.As you can see, these verses also reveal how redemption is applied. The Gospel goes forth (verse 7), people are given God's Spirit (verse 10), they believe in the pierced one, Jesus (also verse 10), which involves sorrow for their sin and a heart desire to turn from it (the last 5 verses).ConclusionRedemption accomplished and redemption applied. The work of Christ to achieve salvation and the way that salvation is received.This is ultimately not a prophecy about a future Jerusalem! No, this prophecy has been fulfilled in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and it is being fulfilled in how that redemption continues to be applied to each believer in Christ.And when you see that, this whole chapter gets unlocked. The references here to Jerusalem and the house of David, and Israel, are references to the church. It refers to us today. Certainly, Jerusalem was used by God in many ways… I'm not taking away form that… but if we look to the physical city of Jerusalem as part of God future plans, then we miss out on the promises here for the church today.All the promises found in verses 2-9 are promises for the church.• The promise in verses 2-5 of protection from enemies is a promise for the church. The gates of hell will not prevail against her. The church will stand forever.• Verse 6 promises that Jerusalem will be inhabited. That is fulfilled in the church. She will be full of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.• The verse 8 promise that the Davidic kingdom will be restored is fulfilled in Jesus. He is reigning, as the resurrected king, in David's line and will reign forever. • Verse 9 - in the end, all the enemies of faith will be destroyed. That is a promise for the true church.In closing, 1 - you don't need to be buried in Jerusalem. 2 – God has accomplished salvation in Christ, which he promised he would do; 3 – God is at work calling a people to himself, through his Spirit, by faith, into the new Jerusalem, the church. 4 – God will protect his church, his people, forever.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 40 Isaiah 40 (Listen) Comfort for God's People 40   Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.2   Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,    and cry to her  that her warfare1 is ended,    that her iniquity is pardoned,  that she has received from the LORD's hand    double for all her sins. 3   A voice cries:2  “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4   Every valley shall be lifted up,    and every mountain and hill be made low;  the uneven ground shall become level,    and the rough places a plain.5   And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,    and all flesh shall see it together,    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” The Word of God Stands Forever 6   A voice says, “Cry!”    And I said,3 “What shall I cry?”  All flesh is grass,    and all its beauty4 is like the flower of the field.7   The grass withers, the flower fades    when the breath of the LORD blows on it;    surely the people are grass.8   The grass withers, the flower fades,    but the word of our God will stand forever. The Greatness of God 9   Go on up to a high mountain,    O Zion, herald of good news;5  lift up your voice with strength,    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;6    lift it up, fear not;  say to the cities of Judah,    “Behold your God!”10   Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,    and his arm rules for him;  behold, his reward is with him,    and his recompense before him.11   He will tend his flock like a shepherd;    he will gather the lambs in his arms;  he will carry them in his bosom,    and gently lead those that are with young. 12   Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand    and marked off the heavens with a span,  enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure    and weighed the mountains in scales    and the hills in a balance?13   Who has measured7 the Spirit of the LORD,    or what man shows him his counsel?14   Whom did he consult,    and who made him understand?  Who taught him the path of justice,    and taught him knowledge,    and showed him the way of understanding?15   Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,    and are accounted as the dust on the scales;    behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.16   Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,    nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.17   All the nations are as nothing before him,    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 18   To whom then will you liken God,    or what likeness compare with him?19   An idol! A craftsman casts it,    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold    and casts for it silver chains.20   He who is too impoverished for an offering    chooses wood8 that will not rot;  he seeks out a skillful craftsman    to set up an idol that will not move. 21   Do you not know? Do you not hear?    Has it not been told you from the beginning?    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?22   It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,    and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;  who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;23   who brings princes to nothing,    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24   Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,  when he blows on them, and they wither,    and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25   To whom then will you compare me,    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.26   Lift up your eyes on high and see:    who created these?  He who brings out their host by number,    calling them all by name;  by the greatness of his might    and because he is strong in power,    not one is missing. 27   Why do you say, O Jacob,    and speak, O Israel,  “My way is hidden from the LORD,    and my right is disregarded by my God”?28   Have you not known? Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary;    his understanding is unsearchable.29   He gives power to the faint,    and to him who has no might he increases strength.30   Even youths shall faint and be weary,    and young men shall fall exhausted;31   but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;  they shall run and not be weary;    they shall walk and not faint. Footnotes [1] 40:2 Or hardship [2] 40:3 Or A voice of one crying [3] 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says [4] 40:6 Or all its constancy [5] 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion [6] 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem [7] 40:13 Or has directed &l

With family: Numbers 3; Psalm 37 Numbers 3 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram (ESV) Psalm 37 (Listen) He Will Not Forsake His Saints 1 Of David. 37   Fret not yourself because of evildoers;    be not envious of wrongdoers!2   For they will soon fade like the grass    and wither like the green herb. 3   Trust in the LORD, and do good;    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.24   Delight yourself in the LORD,    and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5   Commit your way to the LORD;    trust in him, and he will act.6   He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,    and your justice as the noonday. 7   Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,    over the man who carries out evil devices! 8   Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.9   For the evildoers shall be cut off,    but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. 10   In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.11   But the meek shall inherit the land    and delight themselves in abundant peace. 12   The wicked plots against the righteous    and gnashes his teeth at him,13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked,    for he sees that his day is coming. 14   The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows    to bring down the poor and needy,    to slay those whose way is upright;15   their sword shall enter their own heart,    and their bows shall be broken. 16   Better is the little that the righteous has    than the abundance of many wicked.17   For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,    but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18   The LORD knows the days of the blameless,    and their heritage will remain forever;19   they are not put to shame in evil times;    in the days of famine they have abundance. 20   But the wicked will perish;    the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;    they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21   The wicked borrows but does not pay back,    but the righteous is generous and gives;22   for those blessed by the LORD3 shall inherit the land,    but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23   The steps of a man are established by the LORD,    when he delights in his way;24   though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,    for the LORD upholds his hand. 25   I have been young, and now am old,    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken    or his children begging for bread.26   He is ever lending generously,    and his children become a blessing. 27   Turn away from evil and do good;    so shall you dwell forever.28   For the LORD loves justice;    he will not forsake his saints.  They are preserved forever,    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.29   The righteous shall inherit the land    and dwell upon it forever. 30   The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,    and his tongue speaks justice.31   The law of his God is in his heart;    his steps do not slip. 32   The wicked watches for the righteous    and seeks to put him to death.33   The LORD will not abandon him to his power    or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34   Wait for the LORD and keep his way,    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;    you will look on when the wicked are cut off. 35   I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,    spreading himself like a green laurel tree.436   But he passed away,5 and behold, he was no more;    though I sought him, he could not be found. 37   Mark the blameless and behold the upright,    for there is a future for the man of peace.38   But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;    the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39   The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.40   The LORD helps them and delivers them;    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,    because they take refuge in him. Footnotes [1] 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture [3] 37:22 Hebrew by him [4] 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain [5] 37:36 Or But one passed by (ESV) In private: Song of Solomon 1; Hebrews 1 Song of Solomon 1 (Listen) 1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. The Bride Confesses Her Love She1 2   Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine;3     your anointing oils are fragrant;  your name is oil poured out;    therefore virgins love you.4   Draw me after you; let us run.    The king has brought me into his chambers. Others   We will exult and rejoice in you;    we will extol your love more than wine;    rightly do they love you. She 5   I am very dark, but lovely,    O daughters of Jerusalem,  like the tents of Kedar,    like the curtains of Solomon.6   Do not gaze at me because I am dark,    because the sun has looked upon me.  My mother's sons were angry with me;    they made me keeper of the vineyards,    but my own vineyard I have not kept!7   Tell me, you whom my soul loves,    where you pasture your flock,    where you make it lie down at noon;  for why should I be like one who veils herself    beside the flocks of your companions? Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other He 8   If you do not know,    O most beautiful among women,  follow in the tracks of the flock,    and pasture your young goats    beside the shepherds' tents. 9   I compare you, my love,    to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.10   Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,    your neck with strings of jewels. Others 11   We will make for you2 ornaments of gold,    studded with silver. She 12   While the king was on his couch,    my nard gave forth its fragrance.13   My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh    that lies between my breasts.14   My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms    in the vineyards of Engedi. He 15   Behold, you are beautiful, my love;    behold, you are beautiful;    your eyes are doves. She 16   Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.  Our couch is green;17     the beams of our house are cedar;    our rafters are pine. Footnotes [1] 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words [2] 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular (ESV) 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,

Bulletin for Wednesday, March 23, 2022Afternoon Service Time: 2:00 p.m. - No Bible Study during LentLenten Dinner - 6:00 p.m.Evening Service Time: 7:00 p.m. - - No Bible Study during LentAll are welcome.Current COVID-19 ProtocolsVisit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”First Reading – Zechariah 12:10–14 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on Me, on Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.” Second Reading –2 Corinthians 12:7–10 So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Third Reading – John 18:12–27 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. First they led Him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them; they know what I said.” When He had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike Me?” Annas then sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

Old Testament: Numbers 3 Numbers 3 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram (ESV) New Testament: Luke 3:23–4:13 Luke 3:23–4:13 (Listen) The Genealogy of Jesus Christ 23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,1 the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. The Temptation of Jesus 4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.'” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,   “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,    and him only shall you serve.'” 9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,   “‘He will command his angels concerning you,    to guard you,' 11 and   “‘On their hands they will bear you up,    lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Footnotes [1] 3:27 Greek Salathiel (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 63 Psalm 63 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;    my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,    beholding your power and glory.3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,    my lips will praise you.4   So I will bless you as long as I live;    in your name I will lift up my hands. 5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6   when I remember you upon my bed,    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7   for you have been my help,    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8   My soul clings to you;    your right hand upholds me. 9   But those who seek to destroy my life    shall go down into the depths of the earth;10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;    they shall be a portion for jackals.11   But the king shall rejoice in God;    all who swear by him shall exult,    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 11:23 Proverbs 11:23 (Listen) 23   The desire of the righteous ends only in good,    the expectation of the wicked in wrath. (ESV)

Old Testament: Numbers 3 Numbers 3 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 63 Psalm 63 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;    my soul thirsts for you;  my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,    beholding your power and glory.3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,    my lips will praise you.4   So I will bless you as long as I live;    in your name I will lift up my hands. 5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,6   when I remember you upon my bed,    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;7   for you have been my help,    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.8   My soul clings to you;    your right hand upholds me. 9   But those who seek to destroy my life    shall go down into the depths of the earth;10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;    they shall be a portion for jackals.11   But the king shall rejoice in God;    all who swear by him shall exult,    for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (ESV) New Testament: John 3 John 3 (Listen) You Must Be Born Again 3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus1 by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again2 he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.3 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You4 must be born again.' 8 The wind5 blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you6 do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.7 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.8 For God So Loved the World 16 “For God so loved the world,9 that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John the Baptist Exalts Christ 22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”10 31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Footnotes [1] 3:2 Greek him [2] 3:3 Or from above; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both again and from above; also verse 7 [3] 3:6 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit [4] 3:7 The Greek for you is plural here [5] 3:8 The same Greek word means both wind and spirit [6] 3:11 The Greek for you is plural here; also four times in verse 12 [7] 3:13 Some manuscripts add who is in heaven [8] 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15 [9] 3:16 Or For this is how God loved the world [10] 3:30 Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36 (ESV)

Morning: Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV) Evening: Mark 3:22–35 Mark 3:22–35 (Listen) Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers1 are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Footnotes [1] 3:32 Other manuscripts add and your sisters (ESV)

Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV)

Numbers 3–4 Numbers 3–4 (Listen) The Sons of Aaron 3 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father. Duties of the Levites 5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” 14 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers' houses and by clans; every male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 17 And these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers' houses. 21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was1 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers' house of the Gershonites. 25 And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers' house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary. 33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers' house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect2 the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the LORD, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were 22,000. Redemption of the Firstborn 40 And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 And you shall take the Levites for me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273. 44 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. 46 And as the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels3 per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs4), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, 1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. Duties of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites 4 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 3 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin5 and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7 And over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; the regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry. 16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.” 17 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” 21 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses and by their clans. 23 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can come to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers' houses. 30 From thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And this is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall list by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 35 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 39 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting—40 those listed by their clans and their fathers' houses were 2,630. 41 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD. 42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 43 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting—44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses. 46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers' houses, 47 from thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the LORD through Moses they were listed, each one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, as the LORD commanded Moses. Footnotes [1] 3:22 Hebrew their listing was [2] 3:38 Hebrew guard [3] 3:47 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 3:47 A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram [5] 4:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5 (ESV)

Bulletin for Wednesday February 2, 2022Service Time: 2:00 p.m. - Bible Study: 2:30 p.m.Service Time: 7:00 p.m. - Bible Study: 7:30 p.m.All are welcome.UPDATED COVID-19 PROTOCOLS - Starting July 1, 2021Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.Zechariah 12:1—13:9 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.' And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?' he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people'; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” Titus 1:1--2:6 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled The Lord's Prayer The Second Petition What is the Second Petition? Thy kingdom come. What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also. How does God's kingdom come?God's kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) New Testament: John 20 John 20 (Listen) The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Footnotes [1] 20:7 Greek his [2] 20:16 Or Hebrew [3] 20:19 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4] 20:24 Greek Didymus (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 31:8–9 Proverbs 31:8–9 (Listen) 8   Open your mouth for the mute,    for the rights of all who are destitute.19   Open your mouth, judge righteously,    defend the rights of the poor and needy. Footnotes [1] 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away (ESV)

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 20–21 Revelation 20–21 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place3 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,4 and God himself will be with them as their God.5 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.6 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits7 by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 

Morning: Zechariah 10–12 Zechariah 10–12 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) Evening: Revelation 20 Revelation 20 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Footnotes [1] 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3 [2] 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God (ESV)

With family: 2 Chronicles 30; Revelation 16 2 Chronicles 30 (Listen) Passover Celebrated 30 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover in the second month—3 for they could not keep it at that time because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem—4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 So couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the LORD God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” 10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD. 13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. 15 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. 16 They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the LORD. 18 For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”1 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with all their might2 to the LORD. 22 And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the LORD. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven. Footnotes [1] 30:19 Hebrew not according to the cleanness of holiness [2] 30:21 Compare 1 Chronicles 13:8; Hebrew with instruments of might (ESV) Revelation 16 (Listen) The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters1 say,   “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,    for you brought these judgments.6   For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,    and you have given them blood to drink.  It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying,   “Yes, Lord God the Almighty,    true and just are your judgments!” 8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed2 the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds. 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The Seventh Bowl 17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds4 each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe. Footnotes [1] 16:5 Greek angel of the waters [2] 16:9 Greek blasphemed; also verses 11, 21 [3] 16:18 Or voices, or sounds [4] 16:21 Greek a talent in weight (ESV) In private: Zechariah 12–13:1; John 15 Zechariah 12–13:1 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 (ESV) John 15 (Listen) I Am the True Vine 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,1 for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,2 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. Footnotes [1] 15:15 Or bondservants, or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface); likewise for servant later in this verse and in verse 20 [2] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 99 Psalm 99 (Listen) The Lord Our God Is Holy 99   The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!2   The LORD is great in Zion;    he is exalted over all the peoples.3   Let them praise your great and awesome name!    Holy is he!4   The King in his might loves justice.1    You have established equity;  you have executed justice    and righteousness in Jacob.5   Exalt the LORD our God;    worship at his footstool!    Holy is he! 6   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.    They called to the LORD, and he answered them.7   In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;    they kept his testimonies    and the statute that he gave them. 8   O LORD our God, you answered them;    you were a forgiving God to them,    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.9   Exalt the LORD our God,    and worship at his holy mountain;    for the LORD our God is holy! Footnotes [1] 99:4 Or The might of the King loves justice (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 8 2 Kings 8 (Listen) The Shunammite's Land Restored 8 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” Hazael Murders Ben-hadad 7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?'” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,' but1 the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth2 and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Jehoram Reigns in Judah 16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah,3 Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. 21 Then Joram4 passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army fled home. 22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. Ahaziah Reigns in Judah 25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab. 28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Footnotes [1] 8:10 Some manuscripts say, ‘You shall certainly not recover,' for [2] 8:15 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 8:16 Septuagint, Syriac lack when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah [4] 8:21 Joram is an alternate spelling of Jehoram (son of Jehoshaphat) as in verse 16; also verses 23, 24 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Zechariah 12–13 Zechariah 12–13 (Listen) The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family1 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'2 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'3 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” Footnotes [1] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [2] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [3] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 4:1–42 John 4:1–42 (Listen) Jesus and the Woman of Samaria 4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.1 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.2 The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” 27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” 39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” Footnotes [1] 4:6 That is, about noon [2] 4:14 Greek forever (ESV)