# verses

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But when all these terrible things happen to them--as they will--then they will know a prophet has been among them."


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"Son of dust, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Say to them, 'The Lord God says to you: Woe to the shepherds who feed themselves instead of their flocks. Shouldn't shepherds feed the sheep?


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You haven't taken care of the weak, nor tended the sick, nor bound up the broken bones, nor gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty.


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So they were scattered, without a shepherd. They have become a prey to every animal that comes along.


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My sheep wandered through the mountains and hills and over the face of the earth, and there was no one to search for them or care about them.


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As I live, says the Lord God, you abandoned my flock, leaving them to be attacked and destroyed, and you were no real shepherds at all, for you didn't search for them. You fed yourselves and let them starve;


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therefore, I am against the shepherds, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock--and take away their right to eat. I will save my flock from being taken for their food.' "


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I will be like a shepherd looking for his flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places they were scattered in that dark and cloudy day.


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And I will bring them back from among the people and nations where they were, back home to their own land of Israel, and I will feed them upon the mountains of Israel and by the rivers where the land is fertile and good.


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Yes, I will give them good pasture on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in peace and feed in luscious mountain pastures.


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"I will seek my lost ones, those who strayed away, and bring them safely home again. I will put splints and bandages upon their broken limbs and heal the sick. And I will destroy the powerful, fat shepherds; I will feed them, yes--feed them punishment!


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"And as for you, O my flock--my people," the Lord God says, "I will judge you and separate good from bad, sheep from goats.


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"Is it a small thing to you, O evil shepherds, that you not only keep the best of the pastures for yourselves, but trample down the rest? That you take the best water for yourselves and muddy the rest with your feet?


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All that's left for my flock is what you've trampled down; all they have to drink is water that you've fouled."


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Therefore the Lord God says: "I will surely judge between these fat shepherds and their scrawny sheep.


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For these shepherds push and butt and crowd my sick and hungry flock until they're scattered far away.


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So I myself will save my flock; no more will they be picked on and destroyed. And I will notice which is plump and which is thin, and why!


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"And I will set one Shepherd over all my people, even my Servant David. He shall feed them and be a Shepherd to them.


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"And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my Servant David shall be a Prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken it.


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"I will make a peace pact with them and drive away the dangerous animals from the land, so that my people can safely camp in the wildest places and sleep safely in the woods.


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I will make my people and their homes around my hill a blessing. And there shall be showers, showers of blessing, for I will not shut off the rains but send them in their seasons.


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Their fruit trees and fields will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken off their chains of slavery and delivered them from those who profiteered at their expense, they shall know I am the Lord.


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No more will other nations conquer them nor wild animals attack. They shall live in safety and no one shall make them afraid.


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"And I will raise up a notable Vine  the Messiah, in Israel so that my people will never again go hungry nor be shamed by heathen conquest.


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In this way they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the people of Israel, are my people," says the Lord God.


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Because you hate my people Israel, I will demolish your cities and make you desolate, and then you shall know I am the Lord.


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As I live, the Lord God says, since you enjoy blood so much, I will give you a blood bath--your turn has come!


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I will utterly wipe out the people of Mount Seir, killing off all those who try to escape and all those who return.


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I will fill your mountains with the dead--your hills, your valleys, and your rivers will be filled with those the sword has killed.


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Never again will you revive. You will be abandoned forever; your cities will never be rebuilt. Then you shall know I am the Lord.


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'For you said, "Both Israel and Judah shall be mine. We will take possession of them. What do we care that God is there!"


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Therefore as I live, the Lord God says, I will pay back your angry deeds with mine--I will punish you for all your acts of envy and of hate. And I will honor my name in Israel by what I do to you.


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And you shall know that I have heard each evil word you spoke against the Lord, saying, "His people are helpless; they are food for us to eat!"


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You rejoiced at Israel's fearful fate. Now I will rejoice at yours! You will be wiped out, O people of Mount Seir and all who live in Edom! And then you will know I am the Lord!'


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they have destroyed you on every side and sent you away as slaves to many lands. You are mocked and slandered.


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Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. He says to the hills and mountains, dales and valleys, and to the ruined farms and the long-deserted cities, destroyed and mocked by heathen nations all around:


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My anger is afire against these nations, especially Edom, for grabbing my land with relish, in utter contempt for me, to take it for themselves.'


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"Therefore prophesy and say to the hills and mountains, dales and valleys of Israel: 'The Lord God says, I am full of fury because you suffered shame before the surrounding nations.


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Therefore, I have sworn with hand held high that those nations are going to have their turn of being covered with shame,


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but for Israel good times will return. There will be heavy crops of fruit to prepare for my people's return--and they will be coming home again soon!


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I will greatly increase your population throughout all Israel, and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people.


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Not only the people, but your flocks and herds will also greatly multiply. O mountains of Israel, again you will be filled with homes. I will do even more for you than I did before. Then you shall know I am the Lord.


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My people will walk upon you once again, and you will belong to them again; and you will no longer be a place for burning their children on idol altars.' "


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The Lord God says: "Now the other nations taunt you, saying, 'Israel is a land that devours her people!'


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But they will not say this any more. Your birth rate will rise, and your infant mortality rate will drop off sharply," says the Lord.


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"No longer will those heathen nations sneer, for you will no longer be a nation of sinners," the Lord God says.


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"Son of dust, when the people of Israel were living in their own country, they defiled it by their evil deeds; to me their worship was as foul as filthy rags.


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They polluted the land with murder and with the worshiping of idols, so I poured out my fury upon them.


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But when they were scattered out among the nations, then they were a blight upon my holy name because the nations said, 'These are the people of God and he couldn't protect them from harm!'


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"Therefore say to the people of Israel, 'The Lord God says: I am bringing you back again, but not because you deserve it; I am doing it to protect my holy name, which you tarnished among the nations.


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I will honor my great name, that you defiled, and the people of the world shall know I am the Lord. I will be honored before their eyes by delivering you from exile among them.


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'Then it will be as though I had sprinkled clean water on you, for you will be clean--your filthiness will be washed away, your idol worship gone.


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And I will give you a new heart--I will give you new and right desires--and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love.


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'And you shall live in Israel, the land which I gave your fathers long ago. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.


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I will give you huge harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines.


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But always remember this: It is not for your own sakes that I will do this, but for mine. O my people Israel, be utterly ashamed of all that you have done!'


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The Lord God says: "When I cleanse you from your sins, I will bring you home again to Israel, and rebuild the ruins.


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Acreage will be cultivated again that through the years of exile lay empty as a barren wilderness; all who passed by were shocked to see the extent of ruin in your land.


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But when I bring you back, they will say, 'This God-forsaken land has become like Eden's garden! The ruined cities are rebuilt and walled and filled with people!'


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Then the nations all around--all those still left--will know that I, the Lord, rebuilt the ruins and planted lush crops in the wilderness. For I, the Lord, have promised it, and I will do it."


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The Lord God says: "I am ready to hear Israel's prayers for these blessings and to grant them their requests. Let them but ask,


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and I will multiply them like the flocks that fill Jerusalem's streets at time of sacrifice. The ruined cities will be crowded once more, and everyone will know I am the Lord."


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The power of the Lord was upon me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley full of old, dry bones that were scattered everywhere across the ground. He led me around among them,


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and then he said to me: "Son of dust, can these bones become people again?" I replied, "Lord, you alone know the answer to that."


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I will replace the flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you shall live and know I am the Lord.' "


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So I spoke these words from God, just as he told me to; and suddenly there was a rattling noise from all across the valley, and the bones of each body came together and attached to each other as they used to be.


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Then, as I watched, the muscles and flesh formed over the bones, and skin covered them, but the bodies had no breath.


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Then he told me to call to the wind and say: "The Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe upon these slain bodies, that they may live again."


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So I spoke to the winds as he commanded me, and the bodies began breathing; they lived and stood up--a very great army.


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Then he told me what the vision meant: "These bones," he said, "represent all the people of Israel. They say: 'We have become a heap of dried-out bones--all hope is gone.'


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But tell them, 'The Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again and return to the land of Israel.


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I will put my Spirit into you, and you shall live and return home again to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have done just what I promised you.' "


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"Take a stick and carve on it these words: 'This stick represents Judah and her allied tribes.' Then take another stick and carve these words on it: 'This stick represents all the other tribes of Israel.'


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Tell these people (holding the sticks so they can see what you are doing), the Lord God says: 'I will take the tribes of Israel and join them to Judah and make them one stick in my hand.' "


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For the Lord God says: "I am gathering the people of Israel from among the nations and bringing them home from around the world to their own land,


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to unify them into one nation. One king shall be king of them all; no longer shall they be divided into two nations.


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They shall stop polluting themselves with idols and their other sins, for I will save them from all this foulness. Then they shall truly be my people and I their God.


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"And David, my Servant--the Messiah--shall be their King, their only Shepherd; and they shall obey my laws and all my wishes.


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They shall live in the land of Israel where their fathers lived, the land I gave my servant Jacob. They and their children after them shall live there, and their grandchildren, for all generations. And my Servant David, their Messiah, shall be their Prince forever.


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And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting pact. I will bless them and multiply them and put my Temple among them forever.


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And when my Temple remains among them forever, then the nations will know that I, the Lord, have chosen Israel as my very own."


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"Son of dust, face northward toward the land of Magog and prophesy against Gog king of Meshech and Tubal.


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I will put hooks into your jaws and pull you to your doom. I will mobilize your troops and armored cavalry and make you a mighty host, all fully armed.


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and so shall Gomer and all his hordes and the armies of Togarmah from the distant north, as well as many others.


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'A long time from now you will be called to action. In distant years you will swoop down onto the land of Israel that will be lying in peace after the return of its people from many lands.


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You and all your allies--a vast and awesome army--will roll down upon them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.


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You will have said, "Israel is an unprotected land of unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people living in such confidence!


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I will go to those once-desolate cities that are now filled with people again--those who have returned from all the nations--and I will capture vast amounts of loot and many slaves. For the people are rich with cattle now, and the whole earth revolves around them!"


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"But Sheba and Dedan and the merchant princes of Tarshish with whom she trades will ask, 'Who are you to rob them of silver and gold and drive away their cattle and seize their goods and make them poor?' "


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The Lord God says to Gog: "When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself.


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You will come from all over the north with your vast host of cavalry and cover the land like a cloud.


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This will happen in the distant future--in the latter years of history. I will bring you against my land, and my holiness will be vindicated in your terrible destruction before their eyes, so that all the nations will know that I am God."


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The Lord God says: "You are the one I spoke of long ago through the prophets of Israel, saying that after many years had passed, I would bring you against my people.


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All living things shall quake in terror at my presence; mountains shall be thrown down; cliffs shall tumble; walls shall crumble to the earth.


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I will summon every kind of terror against you," says the Lord God, "and you will fight against yourselves in mortal combat!


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Thus will I show my greatness and bring honor upon my name, and all the nations of the world will hear what I have done and know that I am God!


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"Son of dust, prophesy this also against Gog. Tell him: 'I stand against you, Gog, leader of Meshech and Tubal.


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I will turn you and drive you toward the mountains of Israel, bringing you from the distant north. And I will destroy 85 percent of your army in the mountains.


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You and all your vast armies will die upon the mountains. I will give you to the vultures and wild animals to devour you.


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You will never reach the cities--you will fall upon the open fields; for I have spoken, the Lord God says.


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And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts, and they shall know I am the Lord.


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'Thus I will make known my holy name among my people Israel; I will not let it be mocked at anymore. And the nations, too, shall know I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.


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'The people of the cities of Israel will go out and pick up your shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, to use for fuel--enough to last them seven years.


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For seven years they will need nothing else for their fires. They won't cut wood from the fields or forests, for these weapons will give them all they need. They will use the possessions of those who abused them.


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'And I will make a vast graveyard for Gog and his armies in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the path of the travelers. There Gog and all his armies will be buried. And they will change the name of the place to 'The Valley of Gog's Army.'


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Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel on that day when I demonstrate my glory, says the Lord.


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At the end of the seven months, they will appoint men to search the land systematically for any skeletons left and bury them, so that the land will be cleansed.


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Whenever anyone sees some bones, he will put up a marker beside them so that the buriers will see them and take them to the Valley of Gog's Army to bury them.


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"And now, son of dust, call all the birds and animals and say to them: 'Gather together for a mighty sacrificial feast. Come from far and near to the mountains of Israel. Come, eat the flesh and drink the blood!


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Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes--they are the rams, the lambs, the goats, and the fat young bulls of Bashan for my feast!


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Gorge yourselves with flesh until you are glutted, drink blood until you are drunk; this is the sacrificial feast I have prepared for you.


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"Thus I will demonstrate my glory among the nations; all shall see the punishment of Gog and know that I have done it.


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And the nations will know why Israel was sent away to exile--it was punishment for sin, for they acted in treachery against their God. Therefore, I turned my face away from them and let their enemies destroy them.


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"But now," the Lord God says, "I will end the captivity of my people and have mercy upon them and restore their fortunes, for I am concerned about my reputation!


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Their time of treachery and shame will all be in the past; they will be home again, in peace and safety in their own land, with no one bothering them or making them afraid.


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I will bring them home from the lands of their enemies--and my glory shall be evident to all the nations when I do it. Through them I will vindicate my holiness before the nations.


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Then my people will know I am the Lord their God--responsible for sending them away to exile, and responsible for bringing them home. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations.


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And I will never hide my face from them again, for I will pour out my Spirit upon them," says the Lord God.


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Early in April of the twenty-fifth year of our exile--the fourteenth year after Jerusalem was captured--the hand of the Lord was upon me,


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and in a vision he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a high mountain where I saw what appeared to be a city opposite me.


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Going nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze, standing beside the Temple gate, holding in his hand a measuring tape and a measuring stick.


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He said to me: "Son of dust, watch and listen and take to heart everything I show you, for you have been brought here so I can show you many things; and then you are to return to the people of Israel to tell them all you have seen."


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The man began to measure the wall around the outside of the Temple area with his measuring stick, which was 10 1/2 feet long. He told me, "This wall is 10 1/2 feet high and 10 1/2 feet wide."


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Then he took me over to the passageway that goes through the eastern wall. We climbed the seven steps into the entrance, and he measured the entry hall of the passage; it was 10 1/2 feet wide.


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Walking on through the passageway I saw that there were three guardrooms on each side; each of these rooms was 10 1/2 feet square, with a distance of 8 3/4 feet along the wall between them.


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Beyond the guardrooms was a 10 1/2-foot doorway opening into a 14-foot hall with 3 1/2-foot columns.


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Beyond this hall, at the inner end of the passageway, was a vestibule 22 3/4 feet wide and 17 1/2 feet long.


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Then he measured the entire outside width of the passageway, measuring across the roof from the outside doors of the guardrooms; this distance was 43 3/4 feet.


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There were windows that narrowed inward through the walls along both sides of the passageway and along the guardroom walls. The windows were also in the exit and in the entrance halls. The pillars were decorated with palm tree decorations.


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And so we passed through the passageway to the court inside. A stone pavement ran around the inside of the walls, and thirty rooms were built against the walls, opening onto this pavement.


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This was called "the lower pavement." It extended out from the walls into the court the same distance as the passageway did.


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Then he measured across to the wall on the other side of this court (which was called "the outer court" of the Temple) and found that the distance was 175 feet.


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As I followed, he left the eastern passageway and went over to the passage through the northern wall and measured it.


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Here, too, there were three guardrooms on each side, and all the measurements were the same as for the east passageway--87 1/2 feet long and 43 3/4 feet from side to side across the top of the guardrooms.


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There were windows, an entry hall, and the palm tree decorations just the same as on the east side. And there were seven steps leading up to the doorway to the entry hall inside.


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Here at the north entry, just as at the east, if one walked through the passageway into the court and straight across it, he came to an inner wall and a passageway through it to an inner court. The distance between the two passageways was 175 feet.


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Then he took me around to the south gate and measured the various sections of its passageway and found they were just the same as in the others.


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It had windows along the walls as the others did, and an entry hall. And like the others, it was 87 1/2 feet long and 43 3/4 feet wide.


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It, too, had a stairway of seven steps leading up to it, and there were palm tree decorations along the walls.


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And here again, if one walked through the passageway into the court and straight across it, he came to the inner wall and a passageway through it to the inner court. And the distance between the passageways was 175 feet.


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Then he took me over to the inner wall and its south passageway. He measured this passageway and found that it had the same measurements as the passageways of the outer wall.


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Its guardrooms, pillars, and entrance and exit hall were identical to all the others, and so were the windows along its walls and entry. And, like the others, it was 87 1/2 feet long by 43 3/4 feet wide.


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The only difference was that it had eight steps leading up to it instead of seven. It had palm tree decorations on the pillars, just as the others.


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Then he took me along the court to the eastern entrance of the inner wall, and measured it. It, too, had the same measurements as the others.


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Its guardrooms, pillars, and entrance hall were the same size as those of the other passageways, and there were windows along the walls and in the entry hall; and it was 87 1/2 feet long by 43 3/4 feet wide.


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Its entry hall faced the outer court, and there were palm tree decorations on its columns, but there were eight steps instead of seven going up to the entrance.


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Then he took me around to the north gate of the inner wall, and the measurements there were just like the others:


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The guardrooms, pillars, and entry hall of this passageway were the same as the others, with a length of 87 1/2 feet and a width of 43 3/4 feet.


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Its entry hall faced toward the outer court; it had palm tree decorations on the walls of each side of the passageway, and there were eight steps leading up to the entrance.


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But a door led from its entry hall into a side room where the flesh of the sacrifices was washed before being taken to the altar;


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on each side of the entry hall of the passageway there were two tables where the animals for sacrifice were slaughtered for the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings to be presented in the Temple.


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Outside the entry hall, on each side of the stairs going up to the north entrance, there were two more tables.


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So, in all there were eight tables, four inside and four outside, where the sacrifices were cut up and prepared.


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There were also four stone tables where the butchering knives and other implements were laid. These tables were about 2 5/8 feet square and 1 3/4 feet high.


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There were hooks, 3 or 4 inches long, fastened along the walls of the entry hall, and on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.


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In the inner court there were two one-room buildings, one beside the northern entrance, facing south, and one beside the southern entrance, facing north.


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And he said to me: "The building beside the inner northern gate is for the priests who supervise the maintenance.


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The building beside the inner southern entrance is for the priests in charge of the altar--the descendants of Zadok--for they alone of all the Levites may come near to the Lord to minister to him."


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Then he measured the inner court  in front of the Temple and found it to be 175 feet square, and there was an altar in the court, standing in front of the Temple.


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Then he brought me to the entrance hall of the Temple. Ten steps led up to it from the inner court. Its walls extended up on either side to form two pillars, each of them 8 3/4 feet thick.


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The entrance was 24 1/2 feet wide with 5 1/4-foot walls. Thus the entry hall was 35 feet wide and 19 1/4 feet long.


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Afterward he brought me into the nave, the large main room of the Temple, and measured the pillars that formed its doorway. They were 10 1/2 feet square.


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The entrance hall was 17 1/2 feet wide and 8 3/4 feet deep. The nave itself was 70 feet long by 35 feet.


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Then he went into the inner room at the end of the nave and measured the columns at the entrance and found them to be 3 1/2 feet thick; its doorway was 10 1/2 feet wide, with a hallway 12 1/4 feet deep behind it.


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Then he measured the wall of the Temple and found that it was 10 1/2 feet thick, with a row of rooms along the outside. Each room was 7 feet wide.


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These rooms were in three tiers, one above the other, with thirty rooms in each tier. The whole structure was supported by girders and not attached to the Temple wall for support.


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Each tier was wider than the one below it, corresponding to the narrowing of the Temple wall as it rose higher. A stairway at the side of the Temple led up from floor to floor.


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I noticed that the Temple was built on a terrace and that the bottom row of rooms extended out 10 1/2 feet onto the terrace.


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The outer wall of these rooms was 8 3/4 feet thick, leaving a free space of 8 3/4 feet out to the edge of the terrace, the same on both sides.


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Thirty-five feet away from the terrace, on both sides of the Temple, was another row of rooms down in the inner court.


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Two doors opened from the tiers of rooms to the terrace yard, which was 8 3/4 feet wide; one door faced north and the other south.


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A large building stood on the west, facing the Temple yard, measuring 122 1/2 feet wide by 157 1/2 feet long. Its walls were 8 3/4 feet thick.


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The nave of the Temple and the Holy of Holies and the entry hall were paneled, and all three had recessed windows. The inner walls of the Temple were paneled with wood above and below the windows.


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with carvings of Guardian Angels, each with two faces, and of palm trees alternating with the Guardian Angels.


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One face--that of a man--looked toward the palm tree on one side, and the other face--that of a young lion--looked toward the palm tree on the other side.


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There were square doorposts at the doors of the nave, and in front of the Holy of Holies was what appeared to be an altar, but it was made of wood.


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This altar was 3 1/2 feet square and 5 1/4 feet high; its corners, base, and sides were all of wood. "This," he told me, "is the Table of the Lord."


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The doors leading into the nave were decorated with cherubim and palm trees, just as on the walls. And there was a wooden canopy over the entry hall.


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There were recessed windows and carved palm trees on both sides of the entry hall, the hallways beside the Temple, and on the canopy over the entrance.


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Then he led me out of the Temple, back into the inner court to the rooms north of the Temple yard, and to another building.


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The rows of rooms behind this building were the inner wall of the court. The rooms were in three tiers, overlooking the outer court on one side, and having a 35-foot strip of inner court on the other.


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A 17 1/2-foot walk ran between the building and the tiers of rooms, extending the entire length, with the doors of the building facing north.


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The upper two tiers of rooms were not as wide as the lower one, because the upper tiers had wider walkways beside them.


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And since the building was not built with girders as those in the outer court were, the upper stories were set back from the ground floor.


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The north tiers, next to the outer court, were 87 1/2 feet long--only half as long as the inner wing that faced the Temple court, which was 175 feet long. But a wall extended from the end of the shorter wing, parallel to the longer wing.


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On the opposite side of the Temple a similar building composed of two units of tiers was on the south side of the inner court, between the Temple and the outer court, arranged the same as the other.


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There was a walk between the two wings of the building, the same as in the other building across the court--the same length and width and the same exits and doors--they were identical units.


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Then he told me: "These north and south tiers of rooms facing the Temple yard are holy; there the priests who offer up the sacrifices to the Lord shall eat of the most holy offerings and store them--the cereal offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings, for these rooms are holy.


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When the priests leave the Holy Place--the nave of the Temple--they must change their clothes before going out to the outer court. The special robes in which they have been ministering must first be removed, for these robes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building open to the public."


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When he had finished making these measurements, he led me out through the east passageway to measure the entire Temple area.


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He found that it was in the form of a square, 875 feet long on each side, with a wall all around it to separate the restricted area from the public places.


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And suddenly the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape lighted up with his glory.


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It was just as I had seen it in the other visions, first by the Chebar Canal, and then later at Jerusalem when he came to destroy the city. And I fell down before him with my face in the dust.


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Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court; and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple.


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And I heard the Lord speaking to me from within the Temple (the man who had been measuring was still standing beside me).


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And the Lord said to me: "Son of dust, this is the place of my throne and my footstool, where I shall remain, living among the people of Israel forever. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer through the adulterous worship of other gods or by worshiping the totem poles erected by their kings.


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They built their idol temples beside mine, with only a wall between, and worshiped their idols. Because they sullied my holy name by such wickedness, I consumed them in my anger.


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Now let them put away their idols and the totem poles erected by their kings, and I will live among them forever.


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"Son of dust, describe the Temple I have shown you to the people of Israel. Tell them its appearance and its plan so they will be ashamed of all their sins.


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And if they are truly ashamed of what they have done, then explain to them the details of its construction--its doors and entrances--and everything about it. Write out all the directions and the rules for them to keep.


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And this is the basic law of the Temple: Holiness! The entire top of the hill where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the primary law concerning it.


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"And these are the measurements of the altar: The base is 21 inches high, with a 9 inch rim around its edge, and it extends 21 inches beyond the altar on all sides.


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The first stage of the altar is a stone platform 3 1/2 feet high. This platform is 21 inches narrower than the base block on all sides. Rising from this is a narrower platform, 21 inches narrower on all sides, and 7 feet high.


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From it a still narrower platform rises 7 feet, and this is the top of the altar, with four horns projecting 21 inches up from the corners.


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The platform beneath it is 24 1/2 feet square with a 10 1/2-inch curb around the edges. The entire platform extends out from the top 21 inches on all sides. On the east side are steps to climb the altar."


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And he said to me: "Son of dust, the Lord God says: These are the measurements of the altar to be made in the future, when it is erected for the burning of offerings and the sprinkling of blood upon it.


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At that time the Zadok family of the Levite tribe, who are my ministers, are to be given a bullock for a sin offering.


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You shall take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the top platform and in the curb around it. This will cleanse and make atonement for the altar.


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Then take the bullock for the sin offering and burn it at the appointed place outside the Temple area.


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"The second day, sacrifice a young male goat without any defects--without sickness, deformities, cuts or scars--for a sin offering. Thus the altar shall be cleansed, as it was by the bullock.


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When you have finished this cleansing ceremony, offer another perfect bullock and a perfect ram from the flock.


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"Every day for seven days a male goat, a bullock and a ram from the flock shall be sacrificed as a sin offering. None are to have any defects or unhealthiness of any kind.


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On the eighth day, and on each day afterward, the priests will sacrifice on the altar the burnt offerings and thank offerings of the people, and I will accept you, says the Lord God."


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And he said to me: "This gate shall remain closed; it shall never be opened. No man shall pass through it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, entered here, and so it shall remain shut.


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Only the prince--because he is the prince--may sit inside the passageway to feast there before the Lord. But he shall go and come only through the entry hall of the passage."


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Then he brought me through the north passageway to the front of the Temple. I looked and saw that the glory of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord, and I fell to the ground with my face in the dust.


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And the Lord said to me: "Son of dust, notice carefully; use your eyes and ears. Listen to all I tell you about the laws and rules of the Temple of the Lord. Note carefully who may be admitted to the Temple and who is to be excluded from it.


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And say to these rebels, the people of Israel, 'The Lord God says: O Israel, you have sinned greatly


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by letting the uncircumcised into my sanctuary--those who have no heart for God--when you offer me my food, the fat and the blood. Thus you have broken my covenant in addition to all your other sins.


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You have not kept the laws I gave you concerning these holy affairs, for you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary.' "


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The Lord God says: "No foreigner of all the many among you shall enter my sanctuary if he has not been circumcised and does not love the Lord.


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And the men of the tribe of Levi who abandoned me when Israel strayed away from God to idols must be punished for their unfaithfulness.


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They may be Temple guards and gatemen; they may slay the animals brought for burnt offerings and be present to help the people.


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But because they encouraged the people to worship other gods, causing Israel to fall into deep sin, I have raised my hand and taken oath," says the Lord God, "that they must be punished.


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They shall not come near me to minister as priests; they may not touch any of my holy things, for they must bear their shame for all the sins they have committed.


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"However, the sons of Zadok, of the tribe of Levi, continued as my priests in the Temple when Israel abandoned me for idols. These men shall be my ministers; they shall stand before me to offer the fat and blood of the sacrifices," says the Lord God.


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"They shall enter my sanctuary and come to my Table to minister to me; they shall fulfill my requirements.


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"They must wear only linen clothing when they enter the passageway to the inner court, for they must wear no wool while on duty in the inner court or in the Temple.


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They must wear linen turbans and linen trousers; they must not wear anything that would cause them to perspire.


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When they return to the outer court, they must take off the clothes they wear while ministering to me, leaving them in the sacred chambers, and put on other clothes lest they harm the people by touching them with this clothing.


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"They must not let their hair grow too long nor shave it off. Regular, moderate haircuts are all they are allowed.


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"He shall teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is secular, what is right and what is wrong.


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"They will serve as judges to resolve any disagreements among my people. Their decisions must be based upon my laws. And the priests themselves shall obey my rules and regulations at all the sacred festivals, and they shall see to it that the Sabbath is kept a sacred day.


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"A priest must not defile himself by being in the presence of a dead person, unless it is his father, mother, child, brother, or unmarried sister. In such cases it is all right.


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But afterward he must wait seven days before he is cleansed and able to perform his Temple duties again.


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The first day he returns to work and enters the inner court and the sanctuary, he must offer a sin offering for himself," the Lord God says.


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"Their food shall be the gifts and sacrifices brought to the Temple by the people--the cereal offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings. Whatever anyone gives to the Lord shall be the priests'.


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The first of the first-ripe fruits and all the gifts for the Lord shall go to the priests. The first samples of each harvest of grain shall be donated to the priests too, so that the Lord will bless your homes.


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Priests may never eat meat from any bird or animal that dies a natural death or that dies after being attacked by other animals.


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"When you divide the land among the tribes of Israel, you shall first give a section of it to the Lord as his holy portion. This piece shall be 8 1/3 miles long and 6 2/3 miles wide. It shall all be holy ground.


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"A section of this land, 875 feet square, shall be designated for the Temple. An additional 87 1/2-foot strip all around is to be left empty.


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All this section shall be holy land; it will be used by the priests, who minister in the sanctuary, for their homes and for my Temple.


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"The strip next to it, 8 1/3 miles long and 3 1/3 miles wide, shall be the residence area for the Levites who work at the Temple.


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Adjacent to the holy lands will be a section 8 1/3 miles by 1 2/3 miles for a city open to everyone in Israel.


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"Two special sections of land shall be set apart for the prince--one on each side of the holy lands and city; it is contiguous with them in length, and its eastern and western boundaries are the same as those of the tribal sections.


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This shall be his allotment. My princes shall no longer oppress and rob my people but shall assign all the remainder of the land to the people, giving a portion to each tribe."


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For the Sovereign Lord says to the rulers: "Quit robbing and cheating my people out of their land and expelling them from their homes. Always be fair and honest.


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A homer  about five bushels shall be your standard unit of measurement for both liquid and dry measure. Smaller units shall be the ephah  about one half bushel for dry measure, and the bath  about seventeen quarts for liquid.


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The unit of weight shall be the silver shekel  about half an ounce; it must always be exchanged for twenty gerahs, no less; five shekels shall be valued at five shekels, no less; and ten shekels at ten shekels! Fifty shekels shall always equal one mina.


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from each 200 sheep in all your flocks in Israel, give him one sheep. These are the meal offerings, burnt offerings and thank offerings to make atonement for those who bring them," says the Lord God.


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"The prince shall be required to furnish the people with sacrifices for public worship--sin offerings, burnt offerings, meal offerings, drink offerings, and thank offerings--to make reconciliation for the people of Israel. This shall be done at the time of the religious feasts, the new moon ceremonies, the Sabbaths, and all other similar occasions.


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The Lord God says: "On each New Year's Day sacrifice a young bull with no blemishes, to purify the Temple.


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The priest shall take some of the blood of this sin offering and put it on the door posts of the Temple, upon the four corners of the base of the altar, and upon the walls at the entry of the inner court.


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Do this also on the seventh day of that month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance, and so the Temple will be cleansed.


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"On the fourteenth day of the same month, you shall celebrate the Passover. It will be a seven-day feast. Only bread without yeast shall be eaten during those days.


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On the day of Passover the prince shall provide a young bull for a sin offering for himself and all the people of Israel.


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On each of the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord. This daily offering will consist of seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish. A male goat shall also be given each day for a sin offering.


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And the prince shall provide one half bushel of grain with each bullock and ram for a meal offering, and three quarts of olive oil.


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"Early in October during each of the seven days of the annual festival of shelters, he shall provide these same sacrifices for the sin offering, burnt offering, meal offering, and oil offering.


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The Lord God says, "The inner wall's eastern entrance shall be closed during the six work days but open on the Sabbath and on the days of the new moon celebrations.


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The prince shall enter the outside entry hall of the passageway and proceed to the inner wall at the other end while the priest offers his burnt offering and peace offering. He shall worship inside the passageway and then return back to the entrance, which shall not be closed until evening.


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The people shall worship the Lord in front of this passageway on the Sabbaths and on the days of the new moon celebrations.


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"The burnt offering that the prince sacrifices to the Lord on the Sabbath days shall be six lambs and a ram, all unblemished.


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He shall present a meal offering of one half bushel of flour to go with the ram and whatever amount he is willing for to go with each lamb. And he shall bring three quarts of olive oil for each half bushel of flour.


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At the new moon celebration, he shall bring one young bull in perfect condition, six lambs, and one ram, all without any blemish.


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With the young bull, he must bring one half bushel of flour for a meal offering. With the ram he must bring one half bushel of flour. With the lamb he is to bring whatever he is willing to give. With each half bushel of grain he is to bring three quarts of olive oil.


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but when the people come in through the north passageway to sacrifice during the religious feasts, they must go out through the south passageway. Those coming in from the south must go out by the north. They must never go out the same way they come in, but must always use the opposite passageway.


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"To summarize: At the special feasts and sacred festivals the meal offering shall be one half bushel with the young bull; one half bushel with the ram; as much as the prince is willing to give with each lamb; and three quarts of oil with each half bushel of grain.


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Whenever the prince offers an extra burnt offering or peace offering to be sacrificed to the Lord, the inner eastern gate shall be opened up for him to enter, and he shall offer his sacrifices just as on the Sabbaths. Then he shall turn around and go out, and the passage shall be shut behind him.


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And there must be a meal offering each morning--five pounds of flour with one quart of oil with which to mix it.


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This is a permanent ordinance--the lamb, the grain offering, and the olive oil shall be provided every morning for the daily sacrifice.


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The Sovereign Lord says: "If the prince gives a gift of land to one of his sons, it will belong to him forever.


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But if he gives a gift of land to one of his servants, the servant may keep it only until the Year of Release (every seventh year) when he is set free; then the land returns to the prince. Only gifts to his sons are permanent.


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And the prince may never take anyone's property by force. If he gives property to his sons, it must be from his own land, for I don't want my people losing their property and having to move away."


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After that, using the door through the wall at the side of the main passageway, he led me through the entrance to the block of sacred chambers that faced north. There, at the extreme west end of these rooms, I saw a place where,


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my guide told me, the priests boil the meat of the trespass offering and sin offering and bake the flour of the flour offerings into bread. They do it here to avoid the necessity of carrying the sacrifices through the outer court, in case they harm the people.


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Then he brought me out to the outer court again and led me to each of the four corners of the court.


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He said these rooms were where the Temple assistants--the Levites--boil the sacrifices the people offer.


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Then he brought me back to the door of the Temple. I saw a stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple and passing to the right of the altar, that is, on its south side.


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Then he brought me outside the wall through the north passageway and around to the eastern entrance, where I saw the stream flowing along on the south side  of the eastern passageway.


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Measuring as he went, he took me 1,500 feet east along the stream and told me to go across. At that point the water was up to my ankles.


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He measured off another 1,500 feet and told me to cross again. This time the water was up to my knees.


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Fifteen hundred feet after that it was up to my waist. Another 1,500 feet and it had become a river so deep I wouldn't be able to get across unless I were to swim. It was too deep to cross on foot.


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He told me: "This river flows east through the desert and the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea, where it will heal the salty waters and make them fresh and pure.


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Everything touching the water of this river shall live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live.


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Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea, fishing all the way from Engedi to Eneglaim. The shores will be filled with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea just as they do the Mediterranean!


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All kinds of fruit trees will grow along the riverbanks. The leaves will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit. There will be a new crop every month--without fail! For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for medicine."


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The Lord God says: "Here are the instructions for dividing the land to the twelve tribes of Israel: The tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) shall be given two sections.


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Otherwise, each tribe will have an equal share. I promised with hand raised in oath of truth to give the land to your fathers, and you shall inherit it now.


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"The northern boundary will run from the Mediterranean toward Hethlon, then on through Labweh to Zedad;


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then to Berothah and Sibraim, which are on the border between Damascus and Hamath, and finally to Hazer-hatticon, on the border of Hauran.


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So the northern border will be from the Mediterranean to Hazar-enan, on the border with Hamath to the north and Damascus to the south.


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"The eastern border will run south from Hazar-enan to Mount Hauran, where it will bend westward to the Jordan at the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, and down along the Jordan River separating Israel from Gilead, past the Dead Sea to Tamar.


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"The southern border will go west from Tamar to the springs at Meribath-kadesh and then follow the course of the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) to the Mediterranean.


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"On the west side, the Mediterranean itself will be your boundary, from the southern boundary to the point where the northern boundary begins.


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Distribute the land as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who live among you with their families. All children born in the land--whether or not their parents are foreigners--are to be considered citizens and have the same rights your own children have.


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"Here is the list of the tribes and the territory each is to get. For Dan: From the northwest boundary at the Mediterranean, across to Hethlon, then to Labweh, and then on to Hazar-enan on the border between Damascus to the south and Hamath to the north. Those are the eastern and western limits of the land.


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Next, to the south, is Ephraim, and then Reuben and then Judah, all with the same boundaries on the east and the west.


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"South of Judah is the land set aside for the Temple. It has the same eastern and western boundaries as the tribal units, with the Temple in the center.


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"A strip of land measuring 8 1/3 miles long by 3 1/3 miles wide, north to south, surrounds the Temple.


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It is for the priests, that is, the sons of Zadok who obeyed me and didn't go into sin when the people of Israel and the rest of their tribe of Levi did.


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It is their special portion when the land is distributed, the most sacred land of all. Next to it lies the area where the other Levites will live.


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It will be of the same size and shape as the first. Together they measure 8 1/3 miles by 6 2/3 miles.


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None of this special land shall ever be sold or traded or used by others, for it belongs to the Lord; it is holy.


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"The strip of land 8 1/3 miles long by 1 2/3 miles wide, south of the Temple section, is for public use--homes, pasture, and parks, with a city in the center.


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Outside the city, stretching east and west for three miles alongside the holy grounds, is garden area belonging to the city, for public use.


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"The land on both sides of this area, extending clear out to the eastern and western boundaries of Israel, shall belong to the prince. This land, lying between the sections allotted to Judah and Benjamin, is 8 1/3 miles square on each side of the sacred and city lands.


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"The sections given to the remaining tribes are as follows: Benjamin's section extends across the entire country of Israel, from its eastern border clear across to the western border.


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South of Benjamin's area lies that of Simeon, also extending out to these same eastern and western borders.


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while its south border runs from Tamar to the Spring at Meribath-kadesh, and then follows the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) to the Mediterranean.


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"Each city gate will be named in honor of one of the tribes of Israel. On the north side, with its 1 1/2-mile wall, there will be three gates, one named for Reuben, one for Judah, and one for Levi.


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"The entire circumference of the city is six miles. And the name of the city will be 'The City of God.' "


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Three years after King Jehoiakim began to rule in Judah, Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem with his armies,


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and the Lord gave him victory over Jehoiakim. When he returned to Babylon, he took along some of the sacred cups from the Temple of God and placed them in the treasury of his god in the land of Shinar.


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Then he ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of his palace personnel, to select some of the Jewish youths brought back as captives--young men of the royal family and nobility of Judah--


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and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. "Pick strong, healthy, good-looking lads," he said; "those who have read widely in many fields, are well informed, alert and sensible, and have enough poise to look good around the palace."


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The king assigned them the best of food and wine from his own kitchen during their three-year training period, planning to make them his counselors when they graduated.


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Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah.


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However, their superintendent gave them Babylonian names, as follows: Daniel was called Belteshazzar; Hananiah was called Shadrach; Mishael was called Meshach; Azariah was called Abednego.


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But Daniel made up his mind not to eat the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the superintendent for permission to eat other things instead.


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Now as it happened, God had given the superintendent a special appreciation for Daniel and sympathy for his predicament.


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But he was alarmed by Daniel's suggestion. "I'm afraid you will become pale and thin compared with the other youths your age," he said, "and then the king will behead me for neglecting my responsibilities."


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Daniel talked it over with the steward who was appointed by the superintendent to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,


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then, at the end of this trial period the steward could see how they looked in comparison with the other fellows who ate the king's rich food and decide whether or not to let them continue their diet.


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Well, at the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the youths who had been eating the food supplied by the king!


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God gave these four youths great ability to learn, and they soon mastered all the literature and science of the time; and God gave to Daniel special ability in understanding the meanings of dreams and visions.


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When the three-year training period was completed, the superintendent brought all the young men to the king for oral exams, as he had been ordered to do.


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King Nebuchadnezzar had long talks with each of them, and none of them impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were put on his regular staff of advisors.


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And in all matters requiring information and balanced judgment, the king found these young men's advice ten times better than that of all the skilled magicians and wise astrologers in his realm.


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Daniel held this appointment as the king's counselor until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.


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One night in the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had a terrifying nightmare and awoke trembling with fear. And to make matters worse, he couldn't remember his dream!


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He immediately called in all his magicians, incantationists, sorcerers, and astrologers, and demanded that they tell him what his dream had been.


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"I've had a terrible nightmare," he said as they stood before him, "and I can't remember what it was. Tell me, for I fear some tragedy awaits me."


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Then the astrologers (speaking in Aramaic) said to the king, "Sir, tell us the dream and then we can tell you what it means."


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But the king replied, "I tell you the dream is gone--I can't remember it. And if you won't tell me what it was and what it means, I'll have you torn limb from limb and your houses made into heaps of rubble!


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But I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors if you tell me what the dream was and what it means. So, begin!"


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The king retorted, "I can see your trick! You're trying to stall for time until the calamity befalls me that the dream foretells.


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The astrologers replied to the king, "There isn't a man alive who can tell others what they have dreamed! And there isn't a king in all the world who would ask such a thing!


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This is an impossible thing the king requires. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they are not here to help."


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But when Arioch, the chief executioner, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with great wisdom by asking,


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So Daniel went in to see the king. "Give me a little time," he said, "and I will tell you the dream and what it means."


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They asked the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not die with the others.


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And that night in a vision God told Daniel what the king had dreamed. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven,


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World events are under his control. He removes kings and sets others on their thrones. He gives wise men their wisdom and scholars their intelligence.


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He reveals profound mysteries beyond man's understanding. He knows all hidden things, for he is light, and darkness is no obstacle to him.


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I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers, for you have given me wisdom and glowing health, and now even this vision of the king's dream and the understanding of what it means."


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Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, who had been ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said, "Don't kill them. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what he wants to know."


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Then Arioch hurried Daniel in to the king and said, "I've found one of the Jewish captives who will tell you your dream!"


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but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has told you in your dream what will happen in the future. This was your dream:


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(But remember, it's not because I am wiser than any living person that I know this secret of your dream, for God showed it to me for your benefit.)


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"O king, you saw a huge and powerful statue of a man, shining brilliantly, frightening and terrible.


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The head of the statue was made of purest gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs of brass,


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But as you watched, a Rock was cut from the mountainside by supernatural means. It came hurtling toward the statue and crushed the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.


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Then the whole statue collapsed into a heap of iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold; its pieces were crushed as small as chaff, and the wind blew them all away. But the Rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.


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"Your Majesty, you are a king over many kings, for the God of heaven has given you your kingdom, power, strength, and glory.


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You rule the farthest provinces, and even animals and birds are under your control, as God decreed. You are that head of gold.


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"But after your kingdom has come to an end, another world power will arise to take your place. This empire will be inferior to yours. And after that kingdom has fallen, yet a third great power --represented by the bronze belly of the statue--will rise to rule the world.


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The feet and toes you saw--part iron and part clay--show that later on, this kingdom will be divided.


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This mixture of iron with clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage of their rulers; but this will not succeed, for iron and clay don't mix.


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"During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; no one will ever conquer it. It will shatter all these kingdoms into nothingness, but it shall stand forever, indestructible.


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That is the meaning of the Rock cut from the mountain without human hands--the Rock that crushed to powder all the iron and brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. "Thus the great God has shown what will happen in the future, and this interpretation of your dream is as sure and certain as my description of it."


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Then Nebuchadnezzar fell to the ground before Daniel and worshiped him and commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him.


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"Truly, O Daniel," the king said, "your God is the God of gods, Ruler of kings, the Revealer of mysteries, because he has told you this secret."


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Then the king made Daniel very great; he gave him many valuable gifts and appointed him to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.


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Then, at Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as Daniel's assistants, to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon; Daniel served as chief magistrate in the king's court.


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King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet high and nine feet wide and set it up on the Plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon;


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then he sent messages to all the princes, governors, captains, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and rulers of all the provinces of his empire, to come to the dedication of his statue.


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"When the band strikes up, you are to fall flat on the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue;


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So when the band began to play, everyone--whatever his nation, language, or religion --fell to the ground and worshiped the statue.


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"you made a law that everyone must fall down and worship the gold statue when the band begins to play,


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But there are some Jews out there--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whom you have put in charge of Babylonian affairs--who have defied you, refusing to serve your gods or to worship the gold statue you set up."


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Then Nebuchadnezzar, in a terrible rage, ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought in before him.


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"Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego," he demanded, "that you are refusing to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I set up?


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I'll give you one more chance. When the music plays, if you fall down and worship the statue, all will be well. But if you refuse, you will be thrown into a flaming furnace within the hour. And what god can deliver you out of my hands then?"


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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not worried about what will happen to us.


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If we are thrown into the flaming furnace, our God is able to deliver us; and he will deliver us out of your hand, Your Majesty.


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But if he doesn't, please understand, sir, that even then we will never under any circumstance serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have erected."


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Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury and his face became dark with anger at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He commanded that the furnace be heated up seven times hotter than usual,


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and called for some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and throw them into the fire.


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And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers as they threw them in!


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But suddenly, as he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisors, "Didn't we throw three men into the furnace?" "Yes," they said, "we did indeed, Your Majesty."


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"Well, look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire, and they aren't even hurt by the flames! And the fourth looks like a god!"


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Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the open door of the flaming furnace and yelled: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God! Come out! Come here!" So they stepped out of the fire.


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Then the princes, governors, captains, and counselors crowded around them and saw that the fire hadn't touched them--not a hair of their heads was singed; their coats were unscorched, and they didn't even smell of smoke!


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Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, for he sent his angel to deliver his trusting servants when they defied the king's commandment and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own.


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Therefore, I make this decree, that any person of any nation, language, or religion who speaks a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and his house knocked into a heap of rubble. For no other God can do what this one does."


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Then the king gave promotions to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, so that they prospered greatly there in the province of Babylon.


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This is the proclamation of Nebuchadnezzar the king, which he sent to people of every language in every nation of the world: Greetings:


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It was incredible--a mighty miracle! And now I know for sure that his kingdom is everlasting; he reigns forever and ever.


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but when they came--the magicians, astrologers, fortune-tellers, and wizards--and I told them the dream, they couldn't interpret it.


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At last Daniel came in--the man I named Belteshazzar after my god--the man in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and I told him the dream.


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"O Belteshazzar, master magician," I said, "I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery is too great for you to solve. Tell me what my dream means:


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"I saw a very tall tree out in a field, growing higher and higher into the sky until it could be seen by everyone in all the world.


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Its leaves were fresh and green, and its branches were weighted down with fruit, enough for everyone to eat. Wild animals rested beneath its shade and birds sheltered in its branches, and all the world was fed from it.


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"He shouted, 'Cut down the tree; lop off its branches; shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Get the animals out from under it and the birds from its branches,


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but leave its stump and roots in the ground, banded with a chain of iron and brass, surrounded by the tender grass. Let the dew of heaven drench him and let him eat grass with the wild animals!


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For this has been decreed by the Watchers, demanded by the Holy Ones. The purpose of this decree is that all the world may understand that the Most High dominates the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he wants to, even the lowliest of men!'


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"O Belteshazzar, that was my dream; now tell me what it means. For no one else can help me; all the wisest men of my kingdom have failed me. But you can tell me, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you."


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Then Daniel sat there stunned and silent for an hour, aghast at the meaning of the dream. Finally the king said to him: "Belteshazzar, don't be afraid to tell me what it means." Daniel replied: "Oh, that the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!


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with its fresh green leaves, loaded with fruit for all to eat, the wild animals living in its shade, with its branches full of birds--


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that tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth.


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"Then you saw God's angel coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump and the roots in the earth surrounded by tender grass, banded with a chain of iron and brass. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. For seven years let him eat grass with the animals of the field.'


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that your people will chase you from your palace, and you will live in the fields like an animal, eating grass like a cow, your back wet with dew from heaven. For seven years this will be your life, until you learn that the Most High God dominates the kingdoms of men and gives power to anyone he chooses.


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But the stump and the roots were left in the ground! This means that you will get your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.


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"O King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to me--stop sinning; do what you know is right; be merciful to the poor. Perhaps even yet God will spare you."


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and saying, "I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as the capital of my empire."


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While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you: You are no longer ruler of this kingdom.


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You will be forced out of the palace to live with the animals in the fields and to eat grass like the cows for seven years, until you finally realize that God parcels out the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he chooses."


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That very same hour this prophecy was fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar was chased from his palace and ate grass like the cows, and his body was wet with dew; his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.


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"At the end of seven years I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High God and honored him who lives forever, whose rule is everlasting, his kingdom evermore.


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All the people of the earth are nothing when compared to him; he does whatever he thinks best among the angels of heaven, as well as here on earth. No one can stop him or challenge him, saying, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'


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When my mind returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My counselors and officers came back to me, and I was reestablished as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.


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"Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of Heaven, the Judge of all, whose every act is right and good; for he is able to take those who walk proudly and push them into the dust!"


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Belshazzar the king invited a thousand of his officers to a great feast where the wine flowed freely.


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While Belshazzar was drinking, he was reminded of the gold and silver cups taken long before from the Temple in Jerusalem during Nebuchadnezzar's reign and brought to Babylon. Belshazzar ordered that these sacred cups be brought in to the feast,


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Suddenly, as they were drinking from these cups, they saw the fingers of a man's hand writing on the plaster of the wall opposite the lampstand. The king himself saw the fingers as they wrote.


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His face blanched with fear, and such terror gripped him that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way beneath him.


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"Bring the magicians and astrologers!" he screamed. "Bring the Chaldeans! Whoever reads that writing on the wall and tells me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor, with a gold chain around his neck, and he will become the third ruler in the kingdom!"


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The king grew more and more hysterical; his face reflected the terror he felt, and his officers too were shaken.


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But when the queen-mother heard what was happening, she rushed to the banquet hall and said to Belshazzar, "Calm yourself, Your Majesty, don't be so pale and frightened over this.


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For there is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father this man was found to be as full of wisdom and understanding as though he were himself a god. And in the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, he was made chief of all the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers of Babylon.


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Call for this man, Daniel--or Belteshazzar, as the king called him--for his mind is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve knotty problems. He will tell you what the writing means."


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So Daniel was rushed in to see the king. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel brought from Israel as a captive by King Nebuchadnezzar?


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I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you and that you are filled with enlightenment and wisdom.


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My wise men and astrologers have tried to read that writing on the wall and tell me what it means, but they can't.


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I am told you can solve all kinds of mysteries. If you can tell me the meaning of those words, I will clothe you in purple robes, with a gold chain around your neck, and make you the third ruler in the kingdom."


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Daniel answered, "Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means.


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Your Majesty, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, who long ago preceded you, a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor.


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He gave him such majesty that all the nations of the world trembled before him in fear. He killed any who offended him and spared any he liked. At his whim they rose or fell.


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But when his heart and mind were hardened in pride, God removed him from his royal throne and took away his glory.


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He was chased out of his palace into the fields. His thoughts and feelings became those of an animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys; he ate grass like the cows, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until at last he knew that the Most High overrules the kingdoms of men and appoints anyone he desires to reign over them.


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For you have defied the Lord of Heaven and brought here these cups from his Temple; and you and your officers and wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone--gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not praised the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!


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"This is what it means: "Mene means 'numbered'--God has numbered the days of your reign, and they are ended.


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Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was robed in purple, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.


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The governors were accountable to three presidents (Daniel was one of them) so the king could administer the kingdom efficiently.


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Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other presidents and governors, for he had great ability, and the king began to think of placing him over the entire empire as his administrative officer.


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This made the other presidents and governors very jealous, and they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs so that they could complain to the king about him. But they couldn't find anything to criticize! He was faithful and honest and made no mistakes.


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We presidents, governors, counselors, and deputies have unanimously decided that you should make a law, irrevocable under any circumstance, that for the next thirty days anyone who asks a favor of God or man--except from you, Your Majesty--shall be thrown to the lions.


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Your Majesty, we request your signature on this law; sign it so that it cannot be canceled or changed; it will be a 'law of the Medes and Persians' that cannot be revoked."


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But though Daniel knew about it, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs bedroom, with its windows open toward Jerusalem, and prayed three times a day, just as he always had, giving thanks to his God.


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They rushed back to the king and reminded him about his law. "Haven't you signed a decree," they demanded, "that permits no petitions to any God or man--except you--for thirty days? And anyone disobeying will be thrown to the lions?" "Yes," the king replied, "it is 'a law of the Medes and Persians,' that cannot be altered or revoked."


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Then they told the king, "That fellow Daniel, one of the Jewish captives, is paying no attention to you or your law. He is asking favors of his God three times a day."


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Hearing this, the king was very angry with himself for signing the law and determined to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day trying to think of some way to get Daniel out of this predicament.


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In the evening the men came again to the king and said, "Your Majesty, there is nothing you can do. You signed the law, and it cannot be changed."


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So at last the king gave the order for Daniel's arrest, and he was taken to the den of lions. The king said to him, "May your God, whom you worship continually, deliver you." And then they threw him in.


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A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with that of his government, so that no one could rescue Daniel from the lions.


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Then the king returned to his palace and went to bed without dinner. He refused his usual entertainment and didn't sleep all night.


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and called out in anguish, "O Daniel, servant of the Living God, was your God, whom you worship continually, able to deliver you from the lions?"


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"My God has sent his angel," he said, "to shut the lions' mouths so that they can't touch me, for I am innocent before God; nor, sir, have I wronged you."


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The king was beside himself with joy and ordered Daniel lifted from the den. And not a scratch was found on him because he believed in his God.


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Then the king issued a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel and throw them into the den along with their children and wives, and the lions leaped upon them and tore them apart before they even hit the bottom of the den.


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I decree that everyone shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel in every part of my kingdom. For his God is the living, unchanging God whose kingdom shall never be destroyed and whose power shall never end.


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He delivers his people, preserving them from harm; he does great miracles in heaven and earth; it is he who delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."


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One night during the first year of Belshazzar's reign over the Babylonian Empire, Daniel had a dream and he wrote it down. This is his description of what he saw:


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The first was like a lion, but it had eagle's wings! And as I watched, its wings were pulled off so that it could no longer fly, and it was left standing on the ground, on two feet, like a man; and a man's mind was given to it.


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The second animal looked like a bear with its paw raised, ready to strike. It held three ribs between its teeth, and I heard a voice saying to it, "Get up! Devour many people!"


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The third of these strange animals looked like a leopard, but on its back it had wings like those of birds, and it had four heads! And great power was given to it over all mankind.


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Then, as I watched in my dream, a fourth animal rose up out of the ocean, too dreadful to describe and incredibly strong. It devoured some of its victims by tearing them apart with its huge iron teeth, and others it crushed beneath its feet. It was far more brutal and vicious than any of the other animals, and it had ten horns.


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As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them, and three of the first ones were yanked out, roots and all, to give it room; this little horn had a man's eyes and a bragging mouth.


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I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient of Days--the Almighty God--sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like whitest wool. He sat upon a fiery throne brought in on flaming wheels, and


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a river of fire flowed from before him. Millions of angels ministered to him, and hundreds of millions of people stood before him, waiting to be judged. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.


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As I watched, the brutal fourth animal was killed and its body handed over to be burned because of its arrogance against Almighty God and the boasting of its little horn.


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As for the other three animals, their kingdoms were taken from them, but they were allowed to live a short time longer.


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Next I saw the arrival of a Man--or so he seemed to be--brought there on clouds from heaven; he approached the Ancient of Days and was presented to him.


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He was given the ruling power and glory over all the nations of the world, so that all people of every language must obey him. His power is eternal--it will never end; his government shall never fall.


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so I approached one of those standing beside the throne and asked him the meaning of all these things, and he explained them to me.


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But in the end the people of the Most High God shall rule the governments of the world forever and forever."


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Then I asked about the fourth animal, the one so brutal and shocking, with its iron teeth and brass claws that tore men apart and stamped others to death with its feet.


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I asked, too, about the ten horns and the little horn that came up afterward and destroyed three of the others--the horn with the eyes and the loud, bragging mouth, the one that was stronger than the others.


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until the Ancient of Days came and opened his court and vindicated his people, giving them worldwide powers of government.


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"This fourth animal," he told me, "is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be more brutal than any of the others; it will devour the whole world, destroying everything before it.


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His ten horns are ten kings that will rise out of his empire; then another king will arise, more brutal than the other ten, and will destroy three of them.


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He will defy the Most High God and wear down the saints with persecution, and he will try to change all laws, morals, and customs. God's people will be helpless in his hands for three and a half years.


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"But then the Ancient of Days will come and open his court of justice and take all power from this vicious king, to consume and destroy it until the end.


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Then all nations under heaven and their power shall be given to the people of God; they shall rule all things forever, and all rulers shall serve and obey them."


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That was the end of the dream. When I awoke, I was greatly disturbed, and my face was pale with fright, but I told no one what I had seen.


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As I was looking around, I saw a ram with two long horns standing on the riverbank; and as I watched, one of these horns began to grow, so that it was longer than the other.


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The ram butted everything out of its way, and no one could stand against it or help its victims. It did as it pleased and became very great.


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While I was wondering what this could mean, suddenly a buck goat appeared from the west so swiftly that it didn't even touch the ground. This goat, which had one very large horn between its eyes,


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And the closer he came, the angrier he was. He charged into the ram and broke off both his horns. Now the ram was helpless, and the buck goat knocked him down and trampled him, for there was no one to rescue him.


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The victor became both proud and powerful, but suddenly, at the height of his power, his horn was broken, and in its place grew four good-sized horns pointing in four directions.


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One of these, growing slowly at first, soon became very strong and attacked the south and east, and warred against the land of Israel.


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He even challenged the Commander of the army of heaven by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by defiling his Temple.


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But the army of heaven was restrained from destroying him for this transgression. As a result, truth and righteousness perished, and evil triumphed and prospered.


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Then I heard two of the holy angels talking to each other. One of them said, "How long will it be until the daily sacrifice is restored again? How long until the destruction of the Temple is avenged and God's people triumph?"


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As I was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, suddenly a man was standing in front of me--or at least he looked like a man--


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and I heard a man's voice calling from across the river, "Gabriel, tell Daniel the meaning of his dream."


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So Gabriel started toward me. But as he approached, I was too frightened to stand and fell down with my face to the ground. "Son of man," he said, "you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision will not take place until the end times come."


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Then I fainted, lying face downward on the ground. But he roused me with a touch and helped me to my feet.


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"I am here," he said, "to tell you what is going to happen in the last days of the coming time of terror--for what you have seen pertains to that final event in history.


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the shaggy-haired goat is the nation of Greece, and its long horn represents the first great king of that country.


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When you saw the horn break off and four smaller horns replace it, this meant that the Grecian Empire will break into four sections with four kings, none of them as great as the first.


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"Toward the end of their kingdoms, when they have become morally rotten, an angry king shall rise to power with great shrewdness and intelligence.


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His power shall be mighty, but it will be satanic strength and not his own. Prospering wherever he turns, he will destroy all who oppose him, though their armies be mighty, and he will devastate God's people.


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"He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard as they bask in false security. Without warning he will destroy them. So great will he fancy himself to be that he will even take on the Prince of Princes in battle; but in so doing he will seal his own doom, for he shall be broken by the hand of God, though no human means could overpower him.


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"And then in your vision you heard about the twenty-three hundred days to pass before the rights of worship are restored. This number is literal, and means just that. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so don't tell anyone about them yet."


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Then I grew faint and was sick for several days. Afterward I was up and around again and performed my duties for the king, but I was greatly distressed by the dream and did not understand it.


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It was now the first year of the reign of King Darius, the son of Ahasuerus. (Darius was a Mede but became king of the Chaldeans.)


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In that first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the book of Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.


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So I earnestly pleaded with the Lord God  to end our captivity and send us back to our own land. As I prayed, I fasted and wore rough sackcloth, and I sprinkled myself with ashes


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and confessed my sins and those of my people. "O Lord," I prayed, "you are a great and awesome God; you always fulfill your promises of mercy to those who love you and keep your laws.


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We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, whom you sent again and again down through the years, with your messages to our kings and princes and to all the people.


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"O Lord, you are righteous; but as for us, we are always shamefaced with sin, just as you see us now; yes, all of us--the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel, scattered near and far wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you.


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O Lord, we and our kings and princes and fathers are weighted down with shame because of all our sins.


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"O Lord our God, we have disobeyed you; we have flouted all the laws you gave us through your servants, the prophets.


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All Israel has disobeyed; we have turned away from you and haven't listened to your voice. And so the awesome curse of God has crushed us--the curse written in the law of Moses your servant.


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And you have done exactly as you warned us you would do, for never in all history has there been a disaster like what happened at Jerusalem to us and our rulers.


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Every curse against us written in the law of Moses has come true; all the evils he predicted--all have come. But even so we still refuse to satisfy the Lord our God by turning from our sins and doing right.


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"And so the Lord deliberately crushed us with the calamity he prepared; he is fair in everything he does, but we would not obey.


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O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by removing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. Lord, do it again! Though we have sinned so much and are full of wickedness,


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yet because of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn away your furious anger from Jerusalem, your own city, your holy mountain. For the heathen mock at you because your city lies in ruins for our sins.


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"O our God, hear your servant's prayer! Listen as I plead! Let your face shine again with peace and joy upon your desolate sanctuary--for your own glory, Lord.


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"O my God, bend down your ear and listen to my plea. Open your eyes and see our wretchedness, how your city lies in ruins--for everyone knows that it is yours. We don't ask because we merit help, but because you are so merciful despite our grievous sins.


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"O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen to me and act! Don't delay--for your own sake, O my God, because your people and your city bear your name."


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Even while I was praying and confessing my sin and the sins of my people, desperately pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain,


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Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, flew swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice


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The moment you began praying a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, for God loves you very much. Listen and try to understand the meaning of the vision that you saw!


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"The Lord has commanded 490 years of further punishment upon Jerusalem and your people. Then at last they will learn to stay away from sin, and their guilt will be cleansed; then the kingdom of everlasting righteousness will begin, and the Most Holy Place (in the Temple) will be rededicated, as the prophets have declared.


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Now listen! It will be 49 years plus 434 years from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes! Jerusalem's streets and walls will be rebuilt despite the perilous times.


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"After this period of 434 years, the Anointed One will be killed, his kingdom still unrealized. . . and a king will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. They will be overwhelmed as with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.


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This king will make a seven-year treaty with the people, but after half that time, he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and their offerings; then, as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the Enemy shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God. But in God's time and plan, his judgment will be poured out upon this Evil One."


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In the third year of the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) had another vision. It concerned events certain to happen in the future: times of great tribulation--wars and sorrows, and this time he understood what the vision meant.


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All that time I tasted neither wine nor meat, and, of course, I went without desserts. I neither washed nor shaved nor combed my hair.


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I looked up, and suddenly there before me stood a person robed in linen garments, with a belt of purest gold around his waist


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and glowing, lustrous skin! From his face came blinding flashes like lightning, and his eyes were pools of fire; his arms and feet shone like polished brass, and his voice was like the roaring of a vast multitude of people.


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I, Daniel, alone saw this great vision; the men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly filled with unreasoning terror and ran to hide,


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so I was left alone. When I saw this frightening vision, my strength left me, and I grew pale and weak with fright.


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And I heard his voice--"O Daniel, greatly beloved of God," he said, "stand up and listen carefully to what I have to say to you, for God has sent me to you." So I stood up, still trembling with fear.


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Then he said, "Don't be frightened, Daniel, for your request has been heard in heaven and was answered the very first day you began to fast before the Lord and pray for understanding; that very day I was sent here to meet you.


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But for twenty-one days the mighty Evil Spirit who overrules the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the top officers of the heavenly army, came to help me, so that I was able to break through these spirit rulers of Persia.


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Now I am here to tell you what will happen to your people, the Jews, at the end times--for the fulfillment of this prophecy is many years away."


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Then someone--he looked like a man--touched my lips and I could talk again, and I said to the messenger from heaven, "Sir, I am terrified by your appearance and have no strength.


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"God loves you very much," he said; "don't be afraid! Calm yourself; be strong--yes, strong!" Suddenly, as he spoke these words, I felt stronger and said to him, "Now you can go ahead and speak, sir, for you have strengthened me."


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He replied, "Do you know why I have come? I am here to tell you what is written in the 'Book of the Future.' Then, when I leave, I will go again to fight my way back, past the prince of Persia; and after him, the prince of Greece.


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But now I will show you what the future holds. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. Using his wealth for political advantage, he will plan total war against Greece.


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"Then a mighty king will rise in Greece, a king who will rule a vast kingdom and accomplish everything he sets out to do.


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But at the zenith of his power, his kingdom will break apart and be divided into four weaker nations, not even ruled by his sons. For his empire will be torn apart and given to others.


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One of them, the king of Egypt, will increase in power, but this king's own officials will rebel against him and take away his kingdom and make it still more powerful.


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"Several years later an alliance will be formed between the king of Syria and the king of Egypt. The daughter of the king of Egypt will be given in marriage to the king of Syria as a gesture of peace, but she will lose her influence over him, and not only will her hopes be blighted, but those of her father, the king of Egypt, and of her ambassador and child.


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But when her brother takes over as king of Egypt, he will raise an army against the king of Syria and march against him and defeat him.


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When he returns again to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless gold and silver dishes; and for many years afterward he will leave the Syrian king alone.


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However, the sons of this Syrian king will assemble a mighty army that will overflow across Israel into Egypt, to a fortress there.


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Then the king of Egypt, in great anger, will rally against the vast forces of Syria and defeat them.


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Filled with pride after this great victory, he will have many thousands of his enemies killed, but his success will be short-lived.


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"A few years later the Syrian king will return with a fully-equipped army far greater than the one he lost,


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and other nations will join him in a crusade against Egypt. Insurgents among your own people, the Jews, will join them, thus fulfilling prophecy, but they will not succeed.


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Then the Syrian king and his allies will come and lay siege to a fortified city of Egypt and capture it, and the proud armies of Egypt will go down to defeat.


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"The Syrian king will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. And he will also enter 'The Glorious Land' of Israel and pillage it.


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This will be his plot for conquering all Egypt: he, too, will form an alliance with the Egyptian king, giving him a daughter in marriage, so that she can work for him from within. But the plan will fail.


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"After this he will turn his attention to the coastal cities and conquer many. But a general will stop him and cause him to retreat in shame.


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"His successor will be remembered as the king who sent a tax collector into Israel, but after a very brief reign, he will die mysteriously, though neither in battle nor in riot.


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"Next to come to power will be an evil man not directly in line for royal succession. But during a crisis he will take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue.


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His promises will be worthless. From the first his method will be deceit; with a mere handful of followers, he will become strong.


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He will enter the richest areas of the land without warning and do something never done before: he will take the property and wealth of the rich and scatter it out among the people. With great success he will besiege and capture powerful strongholds throughout his dominions, but this will last for only a short while.


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Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against Egypt; and Egypt, too, will raise a mighty army, but to no avail, for plots against him will succeed.


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"Both these kings will be plotting against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for neither can succeed until God's appointed time has come.


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"The Syrian king will then return home with great riches, first marching through Israel and destroying it.


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Then at the predestined time he will once again turn his armies southward, as he had threatened, but now it will be a very different story from those first two occasions.


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For Roman warships will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. Angered by having to retreat, the Syrian king will again pillage Jerusalem


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and pollute the sanctuary, putting a stop to the daily sacrifices, and worshiping idols inside the Temple. He will leave godless Jews in power when he leaves--men who have abandoned their fathers' faith.


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He will flatter those who hate the things of God and win them over to his side. But the people who know their God shall be strong and do great things.


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"Those with spiritual understanding will have a wide ministry of teaching in those days. But they will be in constant danger, many of them dying by fire and sword, or being jailed and robbed.


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Eventually these pressures will subside, and some ungodly men will come, pretending to offer a helping hand, only to take advantage of them.


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"And some who are most gifted in the things of God will stumble in those days and fall, but this will only refine and cleanse them and make them pure until the final end of all their trials, at God's appointed time.


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"The king will do exactly as he pleases, claiming to be greater than every god there is, even blaspheming the God of gods, and prospering--until his time is up. For God's plans are unshakable.


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He will have no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the god beloved of women, nor any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all.


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Instead of these, he will worship the Fortress god --a god his fathers never knew--and lavish on him costly gifts!


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Claiming this god's help, he will have great success against the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land to them as their reward.


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"Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack him again, and the northern king will react with the strength and fury of a whirlwind; his vast army and navy will rush out to bury him with their might.


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He will invade various lands on the way, including Israel, the Pleasant Land, and overthrow the governments of many nations. Moab, Edom, and most of Ammon will escape,


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"But then news from the east and north will alarm him, and he will return in great anger to destroy as he goes.


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He will halt between Jerusalem and the sea and there pitch his royal tents, but while he is there his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.


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"At that time Michael, the mighty angelic prince who stands guard over your nation, will stand up  and fight for you in heaven against satanic forces, and there will be a time of anguish for the Jews greater than any previous suffering in Jewish history. And yet every one of your people whose names are written in the Book will endure it.


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"And many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.


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"And those who are wise--the people of God--shall shine as brightly as the sun's brilliance, and those who turn many to righteousness will glitter like stars forever.


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"But Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal it up so that it will not be understood until the end times, when travel and education shall be vastly increased!"


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And one of them asked the man in linen robes who was standing now above the river, "How long will it be until all these terrors end?"


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He replied, with both hands lifted to heaven, taking oath by him who lives forever and ever, that they will not end until three and a half years after the power of God's people has been crushed.


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I heard what he said, but I didn't understand what he meant. So I said, "Sir, how will all this finally end?"


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But he said, "Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is not to be understood until the time of the end.


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Many shall be purified by great trials and persecutions. But the wicked shall continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are willing to learn will know what it means.


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"From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the Horrible Thing is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days.


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"But go on now to the end of your life and your rest; for you will rise again and have your full share of those last days."


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These are the messages from the Lord to Hosea, son of Beeri, during the reigns of these four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and  Hezekiah; and one of the kings of Israel, Jeroboam, son of Joash.


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Here is the first message: The Lord said to Hosea, "Go and marry a girl who is a prostitute, so that some of her children will be born to you from other men. This will illustrate the way my people have been untrue to me, committing open adultery against me by worshiping other gods."


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And the Lord said, "Name the child Jezreel, for in the Valley of Jezreel I am about to punish King Jehu's dynasty to avenge the murders he committed; in fact, I will put an end to Israel as an independent kingdom,


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Soon Gomer had another child--this one a daughter. And God said to Hosea, "Name her Lo-ruhamah (meaning 'No more mercy') for I will have no more mercy upon Israel, to forgive her again.


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But I will have mercy on the tribe of Judah. I will personally free her from her enemies without any help from her armies or her weapons."


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"Yet the time will come when Israel shall prosper and become a great nation; in that day her people will be too numerous to count--like sand along a seashore! Then, instead of saying to them, 'You are not my people,' I will tell them, 'You are my sons, children of the Living God.'


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Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite and have one leader; they will return from exile together; what a day that will be--the day when God will sow his people in the fertile soil of their own land again.


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"O Jezreel, rename your brother and sister. Call your brother Ammi (which means "Now you are mine"); name your sister Ruhamah ("Pitied"), for now God will have mercy upon her!


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"Plead with your mother, for she has become another man's wife--I am no longer her husband. Beg her to stop her harlotry, to quit giving herself to others.


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If she doesn't, I will strip her as naked as the day she was born and cause her to waste away and die of thirst as in a land riddled with famine and drought.


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And I will not give special favors to her children as I would to my own, for they are not my children; they belong to other men.


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"For their mother has committed adultery. She did a shameful thing when she said, 'I'll run after other men and sell myself to them for food and drinks and clothes.'


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"But I will fence her in with briars and thornbushes; I'll block the road before her to make her lose her way, so that


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when she runs after her lovers she will not catch up with them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, 'I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.'


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"She doesn't realize that all she has, has come from me. It was I who gave her all the gold and silver she used in worshiping Baal, her god!


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"But now I will take back the wine and ripened corn I constantly supplied, and the clothes I gave her to cover her nakedness--I will no longer give her rich harvests of grain in its season or wine at the time of the grape harvest.


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Now I will expose her nakedness in public for all her lovers to see, and no one will be able to rescue her from my hand.


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I will destroy her vineyards and her orchards--gifts she claims her lovers gave her--and let them grow into a jungle; wild animals will eat their fruit.


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"For all the incense she burned to Baal her idol and for the times when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out looking for her lovers and deserted me--for all these things I will punish her," says the Lord.


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"But I will court her again and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her tenderly there.


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There I will give back her vineyards to her and transform her Valley of Troubles into a Door of Hope. She will respond to me there, singing with joy as in days long ago in her youth after I had freed her from captivity in Egypt.


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"At that time I will make a treaty between you and the wild animals, birds, and snakes, not to fear each other any more; and I will destroy all weapons, and all wars will end. "Then you will lie down in peace and safety, unafraid;


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I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and love, and you will really know me then as you never have before.


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"In that day," says the Lord, "I will answer the pleading of the sky for clouds, to pour down water on the earth in answer to its cry for rain.


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Then the earth can answer the parched cry of the grain, the grapes, and the olive trees for moisture and for dew--and the whole grand chorus shall sing together that "God sows!" He has given all!


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"At that time I will sow a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself! I will pity those who are 'not pitied,' and I will say to those who are 'not my people,' 'Now you are my people'; and they will reply, 'You are our God!' "


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Then the Lord said to me, "Go, and get your wife again and bring her back to you and love her, even though she loves adultery. For the Lord still loves Israel though she has turned to other gods and offered them choice gifts."


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and I said to her, "You must live alone for many days; do not go out with other men nor be a prostitute, and I will wait for you."


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This illustrates the fact that Israel will be a long time without a king or prince, and without an altar, temple, priests, or even idols!


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Afterward they will return to the Lord their God and to the Messiah, their King, and they shall come trembling, submissive to the Lord and to his blessings in the end times.


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Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel. The Lord has filed a lawsuit against you listing the following charges: "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.


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You swear and lie and kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere, with one murder after another.


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"That is why your land is not producing; it is filled with sadness, and all living things grow sick and die; the animals, the birds, and even the fish begin to disappear.


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"Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame to him! Look, priest, I am pointing my finger at you.


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As a sentence for your crimes, you priests will stumble in broad daylight as well as in the night, and so will your false 'prophets' too; and I will destroy your mother, Israel.


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My people are destroyed because they don't know me, and it is all your fault, you priests, for you yourselves refuse to know me; therefore, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten my laws, I will 'forget' to bless your children.


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The more my people multiplied, the more they sinned against me. They exchanged the glory of God for the disgrace of idols.


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And thus it is: 'Like priests, like people'--because the priests are wicked, the people are too. Therefore, I will punish both priests and people for all their wicked deeds.


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They will eat and still be hungry. Though they do a big business as prostitutes, they shall have no children, for they have deserted me and turned to other gods.


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For they are asking a piece of wood to tell them what to do. 'Divine Truth' comes to them through tea leaves! Longing after idols has made them foolish. For they have played the harlot, serving other gods, deserting me.


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They sacrifice to idols on the tops of mountains; they go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks and poplars and sumac trees. "There your daughters turn to prostitution and your brides commit adultery.


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But why should I punish them? For you men are doing the same thing, sinning with harlots and temple prostitutes. Fools! Your doom is sealed, for you refuse to understand.


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"But though Israel is a prostitute, may Judah stay far from such a life. O Judah, do not join with those who insincerely worship me at Gilgal and at Bethel. Their worship is mere pretense.


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Don't be like Israel, stubborn as a heifer, resisting the Lord's attempts to lead her in green pastures.


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"The men of Israel finish up their drinking bouts, and off they go to find some whores. Their love for shame is greater than for honor.


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"Therefore, a mighty wind shall sweep them away; they shall die in shame because they sacrifice to idols.


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"Listen to this, you priests and all of Israel's leaders; listen, all you men of the royal family: You are doomed! For you have deluded the people with idols at Mizpah and Tabor


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and dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia. But never forget--I will settle up with all of you for what you've done.


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I have seen your evil deeds: Israel, you have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband; you are utterly defiled.


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Your deeds won't let you come to God again, for the spirit of adultery is deep within you, and you cannot know the Lord.


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"The very arrogance of Israel testifies against her in my court. She will stumble under her load of guilt, and Judah, too, shall fall.


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Then at last, they will come with their flocks and herds to sacrifice to God, but it will be too late--they will not find him. He has withdrawn from them and they are left alone.


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"For they have betrayed the honor of the Lord, bearing children that aren't his. Suddenly they and all their wealth will disappear.


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Sound the alarm! Warn with trumpet blasts in Gibeah and Ramah, and on over to Beth-aven; tremble, land of Benjamin!


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Hear this announcement, Israel: When your day of punishment comes, you will become a heap of rubble.


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"The leaders of Judah have become the lowest sort of thieves. Therefore, I will pour my anger down upon them like a waterfall,


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"When Ephraim and Judah see how sick they are, Ephraim will turn to Assyria, to the great king there, but he can neither help nor cure.


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"I will tear Ephraim and Judah as a lion rips apart its prey; I will carry them off and chase all rescuers away.


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"I will abandon them and return to my home until they admit their guilt and look to me for help again, for as soon as trouble comes, they will search for me and say:


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'Come, let us return to the Lord; it is he who has torn us--he will heal us. He has wounded--he will bind us up.


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In just a couple of days, or three at the most, he will set us on our feet again to live in his kindness!


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Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him, and he will respond to us as surely as the coming of dawn or the rain of early spring.' "


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"O Ephraim and Judah, what shall I do with you? For your love vanishes like morning clouds, and disappears like dew.


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I sent my prophets to warn you of your doom; I have slain you with the words of my mouth, threatening you with death. Suddenly, without warning, my judgment will strike you as surely as day follows night.


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"I don't want your sacrifices--I want your love; I don't want your offerings--I want you to know me.


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Her citizens are gangs of robbers, lying in ambush for their victims; packs of priests murder along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin.


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O Judah, for you also there is a plentiful harvest of punishment waiting--and I wanted so much to bless you!


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"I wanted to forgive Israel, but her sins were far too great--no one can even live in Samaria without being a liar, thief, and bandit!


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"Her people never seem to recognize that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds give them away on every side; I see them all.


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They are all adulterers; as a baker's oven is constantly aflame--except after he kneads the dough and waits for it to rise again--so are these people constantly aflame with lust.


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"On the king's birthday, the princes get him drunk; he makes a fool of himself and drinks with those who mock him.


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Their hearts blaze like a furnace with intrigue. Their plot smolders through the night, and in the morning it flames forth like raging fire.


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"My people mingle with the heathen, picking up their evil ways; thus they become as good-for-nothing as a half-baked cake!


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"Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don't know it. Ephraim's hair is turning gray, and he doesn't even realize how weak and old he is.


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His pride in other gods has openly condemned him; yet he doesn't return to his God, nor even try to find him.


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But as she flies, I throw my net over her and bring her down like a bird from the sky; I will punish her for all her evil ways.


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"Woe to my people for deserting me; let them perish, for they have sinned against me. I wanted to redeem them but their hard hearts would not accept the truth.


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They lie there sleepless with anxiety but won't ask my help. Instead, they worship heathen gods, asking them for crops and for prosperity.


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"They look everywhere except to heaven, to the Most High God. They are like a crooked bow that always misses targets; their leaders will perish by the sword of the enemy for their insolence to me. And all Egypt will laugh at them.


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"Sound the alarm! They are coming! Like a vulture, the enemy descends upon the people of God because they have broken my treaty and revolted against my laws.


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But it is too late! Israel has thrown away her chance with contempt, and now her enemies will chase her.


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She has appointed kings and princes, but not with my consent. They have cut themselves off from my help by worshiping the idols that they made from their silver and gold.


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"O Samaria, I reject this calf--this idol you have made. My fury burns against you. How long will it be before one honest man is found among you?


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When will you admit this calf you worship was made by human hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.


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"They have sown the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind. Their cornstalks stand there barren, withered, sickly, with no grain; if it has any, foreigners will eat it.


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She is a lonely, wandering wild ass. The only friends she has are those she hires; Assyria is one of them.


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"But though she hires 'friends' from many lands, I will send her off to exile. Then for a while at least she will be free of the burden of her wonderful king!


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Even if I gave her ten thousand laws, she'd say they weren't for her--that they applied to someone far away.


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Her people love the ritual of their sacrifice, but to me it is meaningless! I will call for an accounting of their sins and punish them; they shall return to Egypt.


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"Israel has built great palaces; Judah has constructed great defenses for her cities, but they have forgotten their Maker. Therefore, I will send down fire upon those palaces and burn those fortresses."


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O Israel, rejoice no more as others do, for you have deserted your God and sacrificed to other gods on every threshing floor.


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You may no longer stay here in this land of God; you will be carried off to Egypt and Assyria and live there on scraps of food.


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There, far from home, you are not allowed to pour out wine for sacrifice to God. For no sacrifice that is offered there can please him; it is polluted, just as food of mourners is; all who eat such sacrifices are defiled. They may eat this food to feed themselves, but may not offer it to God.


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when you are carried off to Assyria as slaves? Who will inherit your possessions left behind? Egypt will! She will gather your dead; Memphis will bury them. And thorns and thistles will grow up among the ruins.


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The time of Israel's punishment has come; the day of recompense is almost here, and soon Israel will know it all too well. "The prophets are crazy"; "The inspired men are mad." Yes, so they mock, for the nation is weighted with sin and shows only hatred for those who love God.


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"I appointed the prophets to guard my people, but the people have blocked them at every turn and publicly declared their hatred, even in the Temple of the Lord.


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The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago. The Lord does not forget. He will surely punish them.


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"O Israel, how well I remember those first delightful days when I led you through the wilderness! How refreshing was your love! How satisfying, like the early figs of summer in their first season! But then you deserted me for Baal-peor, to give yourselves to other gods, and soon you were as foul as they.


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The glory of Israel flies away like a bird, for your children will die at birth, or perish in the womb, or never even be conceived.


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And if your children grow, I will take them from you; all are doomed. Yes, it will be a sad day when I turn away and leave you alone."


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In my vision I have seen the sons of Israel doomed. The fathers are forced to lead their sons to slaughter.


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O Lord, what shall I ask for your people? I will ask for wombs that don't give birth, for breasts that cannot nourish.


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"All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their idolatry. I will love them no more, for all their leaders are rebels.


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Ephraim is doomed. The roots of Israel are dried up; she shall bear no more fruit. And if she gives birth, I will slay even her beloved child."


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My God will destroy the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wandering Jews, homeless among the nations.


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"How prosperous Israel is--a luxuriant vine all filled with fruit! But the more wealth I give her, the more she pours it on the altars of her heathen gods; the richer the harvests I give her, the more beautiful the statues and idols she erects.


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The hearts of her people are false toward God. They are guilty and must be punished. God will break down their heathen altars and smash their idols."


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Then they will say, "We deserted the Lord and he took away our king. But what's the difference? We don't need one anyway!"


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They make promises they don't intend to keep. Therefore punishment will spring up among them like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.


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The people of Samaria tremble lest their calf-god idols at Beth-aven should be hurt; the priests and people, too, mourn over the departed honor of their shattered gods.


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This idol--this calf-god thing--will be carted with them when they go as slaves to Assyria, a present to the great king there. Ephraim will be laughed at for trusting in this idol; Israel will be put to shame.


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And the idol altars of Aven at Bethel where Israel sinned will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up to surround them. And the people will cry to the mountains and hills to fall upon them and crush them.


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"O Israel, ever since that awful night in Gibeah, there has been only sin, sin, sin! You have made no progress whatever. Was it not right that the men of Gibeah were wiped out?


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I will come against you for your disobedience; I will gather the armies of the nations against you to punish you for your heaped-up sins.


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"Ephraim is accustomed to treading out the grain--an easy job she loves. I have never put her under a heavy yoke before; I have spared her tender neck. But now I will harness her to the plow and harrow. Her days of ease are gone.


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"Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will reap a crop of my love; plow the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower salvation upon you.


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"But you have cultivated wickedness and raised a thriving crop of sins. You have earned the full reward of trusting in a lie--believing that military might and great armies can make a nation safe!


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"Therefore, the terrors of war shall rise among your people, and all your forts will fall, just as at Beth-arbel, which Shalman destroyed; even mothers and children were dashed to death there.


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That will be your fate, too, you people of Israel, because of your great wickedness. In one morning the king of Israel shall be destroyed.


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But the more I called to him, the more he rebelled, sacrificing to Baal and burning incense to idols.


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I trained him from infancy, I taught him to walk, I held him in my arms. But he doesn't know or even care that it was I who raised him.


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"As a man would lead his favorite ox, so I led Israel with my ropes of love. I loosened his muzzle so he could eat. I myself have stooped and fed him.


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"War will swirl through their cities; their enemies will crash through their gates and trap them in their own fortresses.


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For my people are determined to desert me. And so I have sentenced them to slavery, and no one shall set them free.


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"Oh, how can I give you up, my Ephraim? How can I let you go? How can I forsake you like Admah and Zeboiim? My heart cries out within me; how I long to help you!


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No, I will not punish you as much as my fierce anger tells me to. This is the last time I will destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man; I am the Holy One living among you, and I did not come to destroy.


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"For the people shall walk after the Lord. I shall roar as a lion  at their enemies and my people shall return trembling from the west.


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Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt--like doves flying from Assyria. And I will bring them home again; it is a promise from the Lord."


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Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still trusts in God and is faithful to the Holy One.


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Israel is chasing the wind, yes, shepherding a whirlwind--a dangerous game! For she has given gifts to Egypt and Assyria to get their help, and in return she gets their worthless promises.


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Yes, he wrestled with the Angel and prevailed. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. He met God there at Bethel face to face. God spoke to him--


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Oh, come back to God. Live by the principles of love and justice, and always be expecting much from him, your God.


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I am the same Lord, the same God, who delivered you from slavery in Egypt, and I am the one who will consign you to living in tents again, as you do each year at the Tabernacle Feast.


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But the sins of Gilgal flourish just the same. Row on row of altars--like furrows in a field--are used for sacrifices to your idols. And Gilead, too, is full of fools who worship idols.


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But Ephraim has bitterly provoked the Lord. The Lord will sentence him to death as payment for his sins.


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It used to be when Israel spoke, the nations shook with fear, for he was a mighty prince; but he worshiped Baal and sealed his doom.


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And now the people disobey more and more. They melt their silver to mold into idols, formed with skill by the hands of men. "Sacrifice to these!" they say--men kissing calves!


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They shall disappear like morning mist, like dew that quickly dries away, like chaff blown by the wind, like a cloud of smoke.


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"I alone am God, your Lord, and have been ever since I brought you out from Egypt. You have no God but me, for there is no other Savior.


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I will rip you to pieces like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, and like a lion I will devour you.


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Where is your king? Why don't you call on him for help? Where are all the leaders of the land? You asked for them, now let them save you!


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Shall I ransom him from hell? Shall I redeem him from Death? O Death, bring forth your terrors for his tasting! O Grave, demonstrate your plagues! For I will not relent!


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"He was called the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind--a wind of the Lord from the desert--will blow hard upon him and dry up his land. All his flowing springs and green oases will dry away, and he will die of thirst.


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Samaria must bear her guilt, for she rebelled against her God. Her people will be killed by the invading army, her babies dashed to death against the ground, her pregnant women ripped open with a sword."


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Bring your petition. Come to the Lord and say, "O Lord, take away our sins; be gracious to us and receive us, and we will offer you the sacrifice of praise.


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Assyria cannot save us, nor can our strength in battle; never again will we call the idols we have made 'our gods'; for in you alone, O Lord, the fatherless find mercy."


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"Then I will cure you of idolatry and faithlessness, and my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be forever gone!


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I will refresh Israel like the dew from heaven; she will blossom as the lily and root deeply in the soil like cedars in Lebanon.


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Her people will return from exile far away and rest beneath my shadow. They will be a watered garden and blossom like grapes; they will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.


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"O Ephraim! Stay away from idols! I am living and strong! I look after you and care for you. I am like an evergreen tree, yielding my fruit to you throughout the year. My mercies never fail."


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Whoever is wise, let him understand these things. Whoever is intelligent, let him listen. For the paths of the Lord are true and right, and good men walk along them. But sinners trying them will fail.


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Listen, you aged men of Israel! Everyone, listen! In all your lifetime, yes, in all your history, have you ever heard of such a thing as I am going to tell you?


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In years to come, tell your children about it; pass the awful story down from generation to generation.


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After the cutter-locusts finish eating your crops, the swarmer-locusts will take what's left! After them will come the hopper-locusts! And then the stripper-locusts too!


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A vast army of locusts covers the land. It is a terrible army too numerous to count, with teeth as sharp as those of lions!


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They have ruined my vines and stripped the bark from the fig trees, leaving trunks and branches white and bare.


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Gone are the offerings of grain and wine to bring to the Temple of the Lord; the priests are starving. Hear the crying of these ministers of God.


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The fields are bare of crops. Sorrow and sadness are everywhere. The grain, the grapes, the olive oil are gone.


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Well may you farmers stand so shocked and stricken; well may you vinedressers weep. Weep for the wheat and the barley, too, for they are gone.


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The grapevines are dead; the fig trees are dying; the pomegranates wither; the apples shrivel on the trees; all joy has withered with them.


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O priests, robe yourselves in sackcloth. O ministers of my God, lie all night before the altar, weeping. For there are no more offerings of grain and wine for you.


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Announce a fast; call a solemn meeting. Gather the elders and all the people into the Temple of the Lord your God, and weep before him there.


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Our food will disappear before our eyes; all joy and gladness will be ended in the Temple of our God.


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The seed rots in the ground; the barns and granaries are empty; the grain has dried up in the fields.


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The cattle groan with hunger; the herds stand perplexed, for there is no pasture for them; the sheep bleat in misery.


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Even the wild animals cry to you for help, for there is no water for them. The creeks are dry, and the pastures are scorched.


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Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Let the blast of the warning trumpet be heard upon my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear, for the day of the Lord's judgment approaches.


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It is a day of darkness and gloom, of black clouds and thick darkness. What a mighty army! It covers the mountains like night! How great, how powerful these "people" are! The likes of them have not been seen before, and never will again throughout the generations of the world!


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Fire goes before them and follows them on every side! Ahead of them the land lies fair as Eden's Garden in all its beauty, but they destroy it to the ground; not one thing escapes.


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Look at them leaping along the tops of the mountain! Listen to the noise they make, like the rumbling of chariots, or the roar of fire sweeping across a field, and like a mighty army moving into battle.


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These "soldiers" charge like infantry; they scale the walls like picked and trained commandos. Straight forward they march, never breaking ranks.


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They swarm upon the city; they run upon the walls; they climb up into the houses, coming like thieves through the windows.


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The earth quakes before them and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon are obscured and the stars are hid.


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The Lord leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the judgment of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can endure it?


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That is why the Lord says, "Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me all your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, mourning.


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Let your remorse tear at your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered; he is full of kindness and anxious not to punish you.


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Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will decide to let you alone and give you a blessing instead of his terrible curse. Perhaps he will give you so much that you can offer your grain and wine to the Lord as before!


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Bring everyone--the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her privacy.


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The priests, the ministers of God, will stand between the people and the altar, weeping; and they will pray, "Spare your people, O our God; don't let the heathen rule them, for they belong to you. Don't let them be disgraced by the taunts of the heathen who say, 'Where is this God of theirs? How weak and helpless he must be!' "


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He will reply, "See, I am sending you much corn and wine and oil, to fully satisfy your need. No longer will I make you a laughingstock among the nations.


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I will remove these armies from the north and send them far away; I will turn them back into the parched wastelands where they will die; half shall be driven into the Dead Sea and the rest into the Mediterranean, and then their rotting stench will rise upon the land. The Lord has done a mighty miracle for you."


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Let the flocks and herds forget their hunger; the pastures will turn green again. The trees will bear their fruit; the fig trees and grape vines will flourish once more.


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Rejoice, O people of Jerusalem, rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rains he sends are tokens of forgiveness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as those of spring.


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The threshing floors will pile high again with wheat, and the presses overflow with olive oil and wine.


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"And I will give you back the crops the locusts ate!--my great destroying army that I sent against you.


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Once again you will have all the food you want. "Praise the Lord, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people experience disaster such as this.


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And you will know that I am here among my people Israel, and that I alone am the Lord your God. And my people shall never again be dealt a blow like this.


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"After I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all of you! Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions.


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"The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord shall come.


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"Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved; even in Jerusalem some will escape, just as the Lord has promised, for he has chosen some to survive.


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"I will gather the armies of the world into the 'Valley Where Jehovah Judges' and punish them there for harming my people, for scattering my inheritance among the nations and dividing up my land.


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"They divided up my people as their slaves; they traded a young lad for a prostitute, and a little girl for wine enough to get drunk.


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Tyre and Sidon, don't you try to interfere! Are you trying to take revenge on me, you cities of Philistia? Beware, for I will strike back swiftly and return the harm to your own heads.


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"You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures and carried them off to your heathen temples.


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You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, who took them far from their own land.


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But I will bring them back again from all these places you have sold them to, and I will pay you back for all that you have done.


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I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans far away. This is a promise from the Lord."


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Announce this far and wide: Get ready for war! Conscript your best soldiers; collect all your armies.


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"Collect the nations; bring them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.


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Now let the sickle do its work; the harvest is ripe and waiting. Tread the winepress, for it is full to overflowing with the wickedness of these men."


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Multitudes, multitudes waiting in the valley for the verdict of their doom! For the Day of the Lord is near, in the Valley of Judgment.


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The Lord shouts from his Temple in Jerusalem, and the earth and sky begin to shake. But to his people Israel, the Lord will be very gentle. He is their Refuge and Strength.


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"Then you shall know at last that I am the Lord your God in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem shall be mine forever; the time will come when no foreign armies will pass through her any more.


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"Sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and the hills shall flow with milk. Water will fill the dry stream beds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the Temple of the Lord to water Acacia Valley.


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Egypt will be destroyed, and Edom, too, because of their violence against the Jews, for they killed innocent people in those nations.


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For I will avenge the blood of my people; I will not clear their oppressors of guilt. For my home is in Jerusalem with my people."


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Amos was a herdsman living in the village of Tekoa.  All day long he sat on the hillsides watching the sheep, keeping them from straying.


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One day, in a vision, God told him some of the things that were going to happen to his nation, Israel. This vision came to him at the time Uzziah was king of Judah and while Jeroboam (son of Joash) was king of Israel--two years before the earthquake. This is his report of what he saw and heard: The Lord roared--like a ferocious lion from his lair--from his Temple on Mount Zion. And suddenly the lush pastures of Mount Carmel withered and dried, and all the shepherds mourned.


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The Lord says, "The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave her unpunished any more. For they have threshed my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron rods.


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I will snap the bars that locked the gates of Damascus and kill her people as far away as the plain of Aven, and the people of Syria shall return to Kir as slaves." The Lord has spoken.


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The Lord says, "Gaza has sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave her unpunished any more. For she sent my people into exile, selling them as slaves in Edom.


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I will kill the people of Ashdod and destroy Ekron and the king of Ashkelon; all Philistines left will perish." The Lord has spoken.


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The Lord says, "The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished any more. For they broke their treaty with their brother, Israel; they attacked and conquered him, and led him into slavery to Edom.


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The Lord says, "Edom has sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave him unpunished any more. For he chased his brother, Israel, with the sword; he was pitiless in unrelenting anger.


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The Lord says, "The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished any more. For in their wars in Gilead to enlarge their borders they committed cruel crimes, ripping open pregnant women with their swords.


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"So I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah, and it will burn down their forts and palaces; there will be wild shouts of battle like a whirlwind in a mighty storm.


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The Lord says, "The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished any more. For they desecrated the tombs of the kings of Edom, with no respect for the dead.


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Now in return I will send fire upon Moab, and it will destroy all the palaces in Kerioth. Moab shall go down in tumult as the warriors shout and trumpets blare.


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The Lord says, "The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished any more. For they have rejected the laws of God, refusing to obey him. They have hardened their hearts and sinned as their fathers did.


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The Lord says, "The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished any more. For they have perverted justice by accepting bribes and sold into slavery the poor who can't repay their debts; they trade them for a pair of shoes.


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They trample the poor in the dust and kick aside the meek. "And a man and his father defile the same temple-girl, corrupting my holy name.


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At their religious feasts they lounge in clothing stolen from their debtors, and in my own Temple they offer sacrifices of wine they purchased with stolen money.


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"Yet think of all I did for them! I cleared the land of the Amorites before them--the Amorites, as tall as cedar trees, and strong as oaks! But I lopped off their fruit and cut their roots.


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And I brought you out from Egypt and led you through the desert forty years, to possess the land of the Amorites.


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"But you caused the Nazirites to sin by urging them to drink your wine, and you silenced my prophets, telling them, 'Shut up!'


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Your swiftest warriors will stumble in flight. The strong will all be weak, and the great ones can no longer save themselves.


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The archer's aim will fail, the swiftest runners won't be fast enough to flee, and even the best of horsemen can't outrun the danger then.


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The most courageous of your mighty men will drop their weapons and run for their lives that day." The Lord God has spoken.


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Listen! This is your doom! It is spoken by the Lord against both Israel and Judah--against the entire family I brought from Egypt:


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"Of all the peoples of the earth, I have chosen you alone. That is why I must punish you the more for all your sins.


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"Would I be roaring as a lion unless I had a reason? The fact is, I am getting ready to destroy you. Even a young lion, when it growls, shows it is ready for its food.


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The Lion has roared--tremble in fear. The Lord God has sounded your doom--I dare not refuse to proclaim it.


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"Call together the Assyrian and Egyptian leaders, saying, 'Take your seats now on the mountains of Samaria to witness the scandalous spectacle of all Israel's crimes.'


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My people have forgotten what it means to do right," says the Lord. "Their beautiful homes are full of the loot from their thefts and banditry.


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Therefore," the Lord God says, "an enemy is coming! He is surrounding them and will shatter their forts and plunder those beautiful homes."


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The Lord says, "A shepherd tried to rescue his sheep from a lion, but it was too late; he snatched from the lion's mouth two legs and a piece of ear. So it will be when the Israelites in Samaria are finally rescued--all they will have left is half a chair and a tattered pillow.


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"Listen to this announcement and publish it throughout all Israel," says the Lord, the Lord Almighty:


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"On the same day that I punish Israel for her sins I will also destroy the idol altars at Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.


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"And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy--their winter mansions and their summer houses too--and demolish their ivory palaces."


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Listen to me, you "fat cows" of Bashan living in Samaria--you women who encourage your husbands to rob the poor and crush the needy--you who never have enough to drink!


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The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that the time will come when he will put hooks in your noses and lead you away like the cattle you are; they will drag the last of you away with fishhooks!


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You will be hauled from your beautiful homes and tossed out through the nearest breach in the wall. The Lord has said it.


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Go ahead and sacrifice to idols at Bethel and Gilgal. Keep disobeying--your sins are mounting up. Sacrifice each morning and bring your tithes twice a week!


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Go through all your proper forms and give extra offerings. How you pride yourselves and crow about it everywhere!


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I ruined your crops by holding back the rain three months before the harvest. I sent rain on one city but not another. While rain fell on one field, another was dry and withered.


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People from two or three cities would make their weary journey for a drink of water to a city that had rain, but there wasn't ever enough. Yet you wouldn't return to me," says the Lord.


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"I sent blight and mildew on your farms and your vineyards; the locusts ate your figs and olive trees. And still you wouldn't return to me," says the Lord.


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"I sent you plagues like those of Egypt long ago. I killed your lads in war and drove away your horses. The stench of death was terrible to smell. And yet you refused to come.


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I destroyed some of your cities, as I did Sodom and Gomorrah; those left are like half-burned firebrands snatched away from fire. And still you won't return to me," says the Lord.


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"Therefore, I will bring upon you all these further evils I have spoken of. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, Israel.


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For you are dealing with the One who formed the mountains, made the winds, and knows your every thought; he turns the morning to darkness and crushes down the mountains underneath his feet: Jehovah, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, is his name."


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Beautiful Israel lies broken and crushed upon the ground and cannot rise. No one will help her. She is left alone to die."


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For the Lord God says, "The city that sends a thousand men to battle, a hundred will return. The city that sends a hundred, only ten will come back alive."


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Don't seek the idols of Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba; for the people of Gilgal will be carried off to exile, and those of Bethel shall surely come to grief."


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Seek the Lord and live, or else he will sweep like fire through Israel and consume her, and none of the idols in Bethel can put it out.


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O evil men, you make "justice" a bitter pill for the poor and oppressed. "Righteousness" and "fair play" are meaningless fictions to you!


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Seek him who created the Seven Stars and the constellation Orion, who turns darkness into morning and day into night, who calls forth the water from the ocean and pours it out as rain upon the land. The Lord, Jehovah, is his name.


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You trample the poor and steal their smallest crumb by all your taxes, fines, and usury; therefore, you will never live in the beautiful stone houses you are building, nor drink the wine from the lush vineyards you are planting.


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For many and great are your sins. I know them all so well. You are the enemies of everything good; you take bribes; you refuse justice to the poor.


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Therefore, those who are wise will not try to interfere with the Lord in the dread day of your punishment.


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Be good, flee evil--and live! Then the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will truly be your Helper, as you have claimed he is.


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Hate evil and love the good; remodel your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Hosts will have mercy on his people who remain.


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Therefore the Lord God says this: "There will be crying in all the streets and every road. Call for the farmers to weep with you too; call for professional mourners to wail and lament.


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You say, 'If only the Day of the Lord were here, for then God would deliver us from all our foes.' But you have no idea what you ask. For that day will not be light and prosperity, but darkness and doom! How terrible the darkness will be for you; not a ray of joy or hope will shine.


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In that day you will be as a man who is chased by a lion and is met by a bear, or a man in a dark room who leans against a wall and puts his hand on a snake.


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"I hate your show and pretense--your hypocrisy of 'honoring' me with your religious feasts and solemn assemblies.


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I will not accept your burnt offerings and thank offerings. I will not look at your offerings of peace.


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Away with your hymns of praise--they are mere noise to my ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is.


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--but always your real interest has been in your heathen gods--in Sakkuth your king, and in Kaiwan, your god of the stars, and in all the images of them you made.


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So I will send them into captivity with you far to the east of Damascus," says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.


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Woe to those lounging in luxury at Jerusalem and Samaria, so famous and popular among the people of Israel.


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Go over to Calneh and see what happened there; then go to great Hamath and down to Gath in the Philistines' land. Once they were better and greater than you, but look at them now.


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You push away all thought of punishment awaiting you, but by your deeds you bring the Day of Judgment near.


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You lie on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of the tenderest lambs and the choicest calves.


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You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be as great musicians as King David was.


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You drink wine by the bucketful and perfume yourselves with sweet ointments, caring nothing at all that your brothers need your help.


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Jehovah the Almighty Lord has sworn by his own name, "I despise the pride and false glory of Israel and hate their beautiful homes. I will turn over this city and everything in it to her enemies."


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A man's uncle will be the only one left to bury him, and when he goes in to carry his body from the house, he will ask the only one still alive inside, "Are any others left?" And the answer will be, "No," and he will add, "Shhh. . . don't mention the name of the Lord--he might hear you."


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Can horses run on rocks? Can oxen plow the sea? Stupid even to ask--but no more stupid than what you do when you make a mockery of justice and corrupt and sour all that should be good and right.


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And just as stupid is your rejoicing in how great you are when you are less than nothing--and priding yourselves on your own tiny power!


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"O Israel, I will bring against you a nation that will bitterly oppress you from your northern boundary to your southern tip, all the way from Hamath to the brook of Arabah," says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.


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This is what the Lord God showed me in a vision: He was preparing a vast swarm of locusts to destroy all the main crop that sprang up after the first mowing, which went as taxes to the king.


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They ate everything in sight. Then I said, "O Lord God, please forgive your people! Don't send them this plague! If you turn against Israel, what hope is there? For Israel is so small!"


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Then the Lord God showed me a great fire he had prepared to punish them; it had burned up the waters and was devouring the entire land.


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Then I said, "O Lord God, please don't do it. If you turn against them, what hope is there? For Israel is so small!"


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Then he showed me this: The Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumbline, checking it with a plumbline to see if it was straight.


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And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" I answered, "A plumbline." And he replied, "I will test my people with a plumbline. I will no longer turn away from punishing.


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The idol altars and temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will destroy the dynasty of King Jeroboam by the sword."


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But when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, heard what Amos was saying, he rushed a message to Jeroboam, the king: "Amos is a traitor to our nation and is plotting your death. This is intolerable. It will lead to rebellion all across the land.


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Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos, "Get out of here, you prophet, you! Flee to the land of Judah and do your prophesying there!


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But Amos replied, "I am not really one of the prophets. I do not come from a family of prophets. I am just a herdsman and fruit picker.


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"Now, therefore, listen to this message to you from the Lord. You say, 'Don't prophesy against Israel.'


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The Lord's reply is this: 'Because of your interference, your wife will become a prostitute in this city, your sons and daughters will be killed, and your land divided up. You yourself will die in a heathen land, and the people of Israel will certainly become slaves in exile, far from their land.' "


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"What do you see, Amos?" he asked. I replied, "A basket full of ripe fruit." Then the Lord said, "This fruit represents my people Israel--ripe for punishment. I will not defer their punishment again.


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The riotous sound of singing in the Temple will turn to weeping then. Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere. They will be carried out of the city in silence." The Lord has spoken.


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you who long for the Sabbath to end and the religious holidays to be over so you can get out and start cheating again--using your weighted scales and under-sized measures;


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you who make slaves of the poor, buying them for their debt of a piece of silver or a pair of shoes, or selling them your moldy wheat:


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The land will tremble as it awaits its doom, and everyone will mourn. It will rise up like the river Nile at floodtime, toss about, and sink again.


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And I will turn your parties into times of mourning, and your songs of joy will be turned to cries of despair. You will wear funeral clothes and shave your heads as signs of sorrow, as if your only son had died; bitter, bitter will be that day.


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"The time is surely coming," says the Lord God, "when I will send a famine on the land--not a famine of bread or water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.


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Men will wander everywhere from sea to sea, seeking the word of the Lord, searching, running here and going there, but will not find it.


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I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, saying, "Smash the tops of the pillars and shake the Temple until the pillars crumble and the roof crashes down upon the people below. Though they run, they will not escape; they all will be killed.


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"Though they dig down to Sheol, I will reach down and pull them up; though they climb into the heavens, I will bring them down.


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Though they hide among the rocks at the top of Carmel, I will search them out and capture them. Though they hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will send the sea-serpent after them to bite and destroy them.


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Though they volunteer for exile, I will command the sword to kill them there. I will see to it that they receive evil and not good."


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The Lord Almighty touches the land and it melts, and all its people mourn. It rises like the river Nile in Egypt and then sinks again.


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The upper stories of his home are in the heavens, the first floor on the earth. He calls for the vapor to rise from the ocean and pours it down as rain upon the ground. Jehovah, the Lord, is his name.


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"O people of Israel, are you any more to me than the Ethiopians are? Have not I, who brought you out of Egypt, done as much for other people too? I brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians out of Kir.


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"The eyes of the Lord God are watching Israel, that sinful nation, and I will root her up and scatter her across the world. Yet I have promised that this rooting out will not be permanent.


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For I have commanded that Israel be sifted by the other nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.


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"Then, at that time I will rebuild the City of David, which is now lying in ruins, and return it to its former glory,


text:
and Israel will possess what is left of Edom and of all the nations that belong to me." For so the Lord, who plans it all, has said.


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"The time will come when there will be such abundance of crops that the harvesttime will scarcely end before the farmer starts again to sow another crop, and the terraces of grapes upon the hills of Israel will drip sweet wine!


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I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again; they will plant vineyards and gardens; they will eat their crops and drink their wine.


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I will firmly plant them there upon the land that I have given them; they shall not be pulled up again," says the Lord your God.


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In a vision the Lord God showed Obadiah the future of the land of Edom. "A report has come from the Lord," he said, "that God has sent an ambassador to the nations with this message: 'Attention! You are to send your armies against Edom and destroy her!' "


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"You are proud because you live in those high, inaccessible cliffs. 'Who can ever reach us way up here!' you boast. Don't fool yourselves!


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Though you soar as high as eagles, and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you plummeting down," says the Lord.


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"Far better it would be for you if thieves had come at night to plunder you--for they would not take everything! Or if your vineyards were robbed of all their fruit--for at least the gleanings would be left!


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"All your allies will turn against you and help to push you out of your land. They will promise peace while plotting your destruction. Your trusted friends will set traps for you, and all your counterstrategy will fail.


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In that day not one wise man will be left in all of Edom!" says the Lord. "For I will fill the wise men of Edom with stupidity.


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"And why? Because of what you did to your brother Israel. Now your sins will be exposed for all to see; ashamed and defenseless, you will be cut off forever.


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For you deserted Israel in his time of need. You stood aloof, refusing to lift a finger to help him when invaders carried off his wealth and divided Jerusalem among them by lot; you were as one of his enemies.


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"You should not have done it. You should not have gloated when they took him far away to foreign lands; you should not have rejoiced in the day of his misfortune; you should not have mocked in his time of need.


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You yourselves went into the land of Israel in the day of his calamity and looted him. You made yourselves rich at his expense.


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You stood at the crossroads and killed those trying to escape; you captured the survivors and returned them to their enemies in that terrible time of his distress.


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The Lord's vengeance will soon fall upon all Gentile nations. As you have done to Israel, so will it be done to you. Your acts will boomerang upon your heads.


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You drank my cup of punishment upon my holy mountain, and the nations round about will drink it too; yes, they will drink and stagger back and disappear from history, no longer nations any more.


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Israel will be a fire that sets the dry fields of Edom aflame. There will be no survivors," for the Lord has spoken.


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Then my people who live in the Negeb shall occupy the hill country of Edom; those living in Judean lowlands shall possess the Philistine plains and repossess the fields of Ephraim and Samaria. And the people of Benjamin shall possess Gilead.


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The Israeli exiles shall return and occupy the Phoenician coastal strip as far north as Zarephath. Those exiled in Asia Minor shall return to their homeland and conquer the Negeb's outlying villages.


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"Go to the great city of Nineveh, and give them this announcement from the Lord: 'I am going to destroy you, for your wickedness rises before me; it smells to highest heaven.' "


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But Jonah was afraid to go and ran away from the Lord. He went down to the seacoast, to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket, went on board, and climbed down into the dark hold of the ship to hide there from the Lord.


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But as the ship was sailing along, suddenly the Lord flung a terrific wind over the sea, causing a great storm that threatened to send them to the bottom.


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Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. And all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold.


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So the captain went down after him. "What do you mean," he roared, "sleeping at a time like this? Get up and cry to your god, and see if he will have mercy on us and save us!"


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Then the crew decided to draw straws to see which of them had offended the gods and caused this terrible storm; and Jonah drew the short one.


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"What have you done," they asked, "to bring this awful storm upon us? Who are you? What is your work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?"


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Then he told them he was running away from the Lord. The men were terribly frightened when they heard this. "Oh, why did you do it?" they shouted.


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"Throw me out into the sea," he said, "and it will become calm again. For I know this terrible storm has come because of me."


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They tried harder to row the boat ashore, but couldn't make it. The storm was too fierce to fight against.


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Then they shouted out a prayer to Jehovah, Jonah's God. "O Jehovah," they pleaded, "don't make us die for this man's sin, and don't hold us responsible for his death, for it is not our fault--you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons."


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Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.


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"In my great trouble I cried to the Lord and he answered me; from the depths of death I called, and Lord, you heard me!


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You threw me into the ocean depths; I sank down into the floods of waters and was covered by your wild and stormy waves.


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Then I said, 'O Lord, you have rejected me and cast me away. How shall I ever again see your holy Temple?'


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"I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed above me; the seaweed wrapped itself around my head.


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I went down to the bottoms of the mountains that rise from off the ocean floor. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of death. But, O Lord my God, you have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death!


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"When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. And my earnest prayer went to you in your holy Temple.


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(Those who worship false gods have turned their backs on all the mercies waiting for them from the Lord!)


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"I will never worship anyone but you! For how can I thank you enough for all you have done? I will surely fulfill my promises. For my deliverance comes from the Lord alone."


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Then the Lord spoke to Jonah again: "Go to that great city, Nineveh," he said, "and warn them of their doom, as I told you to before!"


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So Jonah obeyed and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city with many villages around it--so large that it would take three days to walk through it.


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But the very first day when Jonah entered the city and began to preach, the people repented. Jonah shouted to the crowds that gathered around him, "Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!"


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And they believed him and declared a fast; from the king on down, everyone put on sackcloth--the rough, coarse garments worn at times of mourning.


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For when the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne, laid aside his royal robes, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes.


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And the king and his nobles sent this message throughout the city: "Let no one, not even the animals, eat anything at all, nor even drink any water.


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Everyone must wear sackcloth and cry mightily to God, and let everyone turn from his evil ways, from his violence and robbing.


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Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will decide to let us live and will hold back his fierce anger from destroying us."


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And when God saw that they had put a stop to their evil ways, he abandoned his plan to destroy them and didn't carry it through.


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He complained to the Lord about it: "This is exactly what I thought you'd do, Lord, when I was there in my own country and you first told me to come here. That's why I ran away to Tarshish. For I knew you were a gracious God, merciful, slow to get angry, and full of kindness; I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people.


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So Jonah went out and sat sulking on the east side of the city, and he made a leafy shelter to shade him as he waited there to see if anything would happen to the city.


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And when the leaves of the shelter withered in the heat, the Lord arranged for a vine to grow up quickly and spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head to shade him. This made him comfortable and very grateful.


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But God also prepared a worm! The next morning the worm ate through the stem of the plant, so that it withered away and died.


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Then when the sun was hot, God ordered a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah, and the sun beat down upon his head until he grew faint and wished to die. For he said, "Death is better than this!"


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And God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?" "Yes," Jonah said, "it is; it is right for me to be angry enough to die!"


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Then the Lord said, "You feel sorry for yourself when your shelter is destroyed, though you did no work to put it there, and it is, at best, short-lived.


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And why shouldn't I feel sorry for a great city like Nineveh with its 120,000 people in utter spiritual darkness and all its cattle?"


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These are messages from the Lord to Micah, who lived in the town of Moresheth during the reigns of King Jotham, King Ahaz, and King Hezekiah, all kings of Judah. The messages were addressed to both Samaria and Judah and came to Micah in the form of visions.


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Attention! Let all the peoples of the world listen. For the Lord in his holy Temple has made accusations against you!


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They melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in fire, like water pouring down a hill.


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And why is this happening? Because of the sins of Israel and Judah. What sins? The idolatry and oppression centering in the capital cities, Samaria and Jerusalem!


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Therefore, the entire city of Samaria will crumble into a heap of rubble and become an open field, her streets plowed up for planting grapes! The Lord will tear down her wall and her forts, exposing their foundations, and pour their stones into the valleys below.


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All her carved images will be smashed to pieces; her ornate idol temples, built with the gifts of worshipers, will all be burned.


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I will wail and lament, howling as a jackal, mournful as an ostrich crying across the desert sands at night. I will walk naked and barefoot in sorrow and shame;


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for my people's wound is far too deep to heal. The Lord stands ready at Jerusalem's gates to punish her.


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Woe to the city of Gath. Weep, men of Bakah. In Beth-le-aphrah roll in the dust in your anguish and shame.


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There go the people of Shaphir, led away as slaves--stripped, naked and ashamed. The people of Zaanan dare not show themselves outside their walls. The foundations of Beth-ezel are swept away--the very ground on which it stood.


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The people of Maroth vainly hope for better days, but only bitterness awaits them as the Lord stands poised against Jerusalem.


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Quick! Use your swiftest chariots and flee, O people of Lachish, for you were the first of the cities of Judah to follow Israel in her sin of idol worship. Then all the cities of the south began to follow your example.


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Write off Moresheth of Gath; there is no hope of saving her. The town of Achzib has deceived the kings of Israel, for she promised help she cannot give.


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You people of Mareshah will be a prize to your enemies. They will penetrate to Adullum, the "Pride of Israel."


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Weep, weep for your little ones. For they are snatched away, and you will never see them again. They have gone as slaves to distant lands. Shave your heads in sorrow.


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Woe to you who lie awake at night, plotting wickedness; you rise at dawn to carry out your schemes; because you can, you do.


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You want a certain piece of land or someone else's house (though it is all he has); you take it by fraud and threats and violence.


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But the Lord God says, "I will reward your evil with evil; nothing can stop me; never again will you be proud and haughty after I am through with you.


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Then your enemies will taunt you and mock your dirge of despair: 'We are finished, ruined. God has confiscated our land and sent us far away; he has given what is ours to others.' "


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"Don't say such things," the people say. "Don't harp on things like that. It's disgraceful, that sort of talk. Such evils surely will not come our way."


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Is that the right reply for you to make, O House of Jacob? Do you think the Spirit of the Lord likes to talk to you so roughly? No! His threats are for your good, to get you on the path again.


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Yet to this very hour my people rise against me. For you steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, who walk in peace.


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You have driven out the widows from their homes and stripped their children of every God-given right.


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Up! Begone! This is no more your land and home, for you have filled it with sin, and it will vomit you out.


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"I'll preach to you the joys of wine and drink"--that is the kind of drunken, lying prophet that you like!


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"The time will come, O Israel, when I will gather you--all that are left--and bring you together again like sheep in a fold, like a flock in a pasture--a noisy, happy crowd.


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The Messiah will lead you out of exile and bring you through the gates of your cities of captivity, back to your own land. Your King will go before you--the Lord leads on.


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yet you are the very ones who hate good and love evil; you skin my people and strip them to the bone.


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and then you plead with the Lord for his help in times of trouble! Do you really expect him to listen? He will look the other way!


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You false prophets! You who lead his people astray! You who cry "Peace" to those who give you food and threaten those who will not pay! This is God's message to you:


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"The night will close about you and cut off all your visions; darkness will cover you with never a word from God. The sun will go down upon you, and your day will end.


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But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, fearlessly announcing God's punishment on Israel for her sins.


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you leaders who take bribes; you priests and prophets who won't preach and prophesy until you're paid. (And yet you fawn upon the Lord and say, "All is well--the Lord is here among us. No harm can come to us.")


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It is because of you that Jerusalem will be plowed like a field and become a heap of rubble; the mountaintop where the Temple stands will be overgrown with brush.


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But in the last days Mount Zion will be the most renowned of all the mountains of the world, praised by all nations; people from all over the world will make pilgrimages there.


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"Come," they will say to one another, "let us visit the mountain of the Lord, and see the Temple of the God of Israel; he will tell us what to do, and we will do it." For in those days the whole world will be ruled by the Lord from Jerusalem! He will issue his laws and announce his decrees from there.


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He will arbitrate among the nations and dictate to strong nations far away. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nations shall no longer fight each other, for all war will end. There will be universal peace, and all the military academies and training camps will be closed down.


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Everyone will live quietly in his own home in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord himself has promised this.


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(Therefore we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever, even though all the nations around us worship idols!)


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In that coming day, the Lord says that he will bring back his punished people--sick and lame and dispossessed--


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and make them strong again in their own land, a mighty nation, and the Lord himself shall be their King from Mount Zion forever.


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O Jerusalem--the Watchtower of God's people--your royal might and power will come back to you again, just as before.


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But for now, now you scream in terror. Where is your king to lead you? He is dead! Where are your wise men? All are gone! Pain has gripped you like a woman in labor.


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Writhe and groan in your terrible pain, O people of Zion, for you must leave this city and live in the fields; you will be sent far away into exile in Babylon. But there I will rescue you and free you from the grip of your enemies.


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True, many nations have gathered together against you, calling for your blood, eager to destroy you.


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But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord understand his plan, for the time will come when the Lord will gather together the enemies of his people like sheaves upon the threshing floor, helpless before Israel.


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Rise, thresh, O daughter of Zion; I will give you horns of iron and hoofs of brass; you will trample to pieces many people, and you will give their wealth as offerings to the Lord, the Lord of all the earth.


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Mobilize! The enemy lays siege to Jerusalem! With a rod they shall strike the Judge of Israel on the face.


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"O Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past!"


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God will abandon his people to their enemies until she who is to give birth has her son; then at last his fellow countrymen--the exile remnants of Israel--will rejoin their brethren in their own land.


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And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and his people shall remain there undisturbed, for he will be greatly honored all around the world.


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He will be our Peace. And when the Assyrian invades our land and marches across our hills, he will appoint seven shepherds to watch over us, eight princes to lead us.


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They will rule Assyria with drawn swords and enter the gates of the land of Nimrod. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land.


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for I will abolish the heathen shrines from among you, and destroy the cities where your idol temples stand.


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Listen to what the Lord is saying to his people: "Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaint.


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"And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord's complaint! For he has a case against his people Israel! He will prosecute them to the full.


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O my people, what have I done that makes you turn away from me? Tell me why your patience is exhausted! Answer me!


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For I brought you out of Egypt and cut your chains of slavery. I gave you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.


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"Don't you remember, O my people, how Balak, king of Moab, tried to destroy you through the curse of Balaam, son of Beor, but I made him bless you instead? That is the kindness I showed you again and again. Have you no memory at all of what happened at Acacia and Gilgal and how I blessed you there?"


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"How can we make up to you for what we've done?" you ask. "Shall we bow before the Lord with offerings of yearling calves?" Oh no!


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For if you offered him thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of olive oil--would that please him? Would he be satisfied? If you sacrificed your oldest child, would that make him glad? Then would he forgive your sins? Of course not!


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No, he has told you what he wants, and this is all it is: to be fair, just, merciful, and to walk humbly with your God.


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The Lord's voice calls out to all Jerusalem--listen to the Lord if you are wise! "The armies of destruction are coming; the Lord is sending them.


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For your sins are very great--is there to be no end of getting rich by cheating? The homes of the wicked are full of ungodly treasures and lying scales.


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Shall I say 'Good!' to all your merchants with their bags of false, deceitful weights? How could God be just while saying that?


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Your rich men are wealthy through extortion and violence; your citizens are so used to lying that their tongues can't tell the truth!


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You will eat but never have enough; hunger pangs and emptiness will still remain. And though you try and try to save your money, it will come to nothing at the end, and what little you succeed in storing up I'll give to those who conquer you!


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You will plant crops but not harvest them; you will press out the oil from the olives and not get enough to anoint yourself! You will trample the grapes but get no juice to make your wine.


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"The only commands you keep are those of Omri; the only example you follow is that of Ahab! Therefore, I will make an awesome example of you--I will destroy you. I will make you the laughingstock of the world; all who see you will snicker and sneer!"


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Woe is me! It is as hard to find an honest man as grapes and figs when harvest days are over. Not a cluster to eat, not a single early fig, however much I long for it!


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The good men have disappeared from the earth; not one fair-minded man is left. They are all murderers, turning against even their own brothers.


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They go at their evil deeds with both hands, and how skilled they are in using them! The governor and judge alike demand bribes. The rich man pays them off and tells them whom to ruin. Justice is twisted between them.


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Even the best of them are prickly as briars; the straightest is more crooked than a hedge of thorns. But your judgment day is coming swiftly now; your time of punishment is almost here; confusion, destruction, and terror will be yours.


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For the son despises his father; the daughter defies her mother; the bride curses her mother-in-law. Yes, a man's enemies will be found in his own home.


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Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy, for though I fall, I will rise again! When I sit in darkness, the Lord himself will be my Light.


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I will be patient while the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him; then he will defend me from my enemies and punish them for all the evil they have done to me. God will bring me out of my darkness into the light, and I will see his goodness.


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Then my enemy will see that God is for me and be ashamed for taunting, "Where is that God of yours?" Now with my own eyes I see them trampled down like mud in the street.


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Citizens of many lands will come and honor you--from Assyria to Egypt, and from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and from distant hills and mountains.


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O Lord, come and rule your people; lead your flock; make them live in peace and prosperity; let them enjoy the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead as they did long ago.


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"Yes," replies the Lord, "I will do mighty miracles for you, like those when I brought you out of slavery in Egypt.


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All the world will stand amazed at what I will do for you and be embarrassed at their puny might. They will stand in silent awe, deaf to all around them."


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They will see what snakes they are, lowly as worms crawling from their holes. They will come trembling out from their fortresses to meet the Lord our God. They will fear him; they will stand in awe.


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Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people, for you love to be merciful.


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Once again you will have compassion on us. You will tread our sins beneath your feet; you will throw them into the depths of the ocean!


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You will bless us as you promised Jacob long ago. You will set your love upon us, as you promised our father Abraham!


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This is the vision God gave to Nahum, who lived in Elkosh, concerning the impending doom of Nineveh:


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God is jealous over those he loves; that is why he takes vengeance on those who hurt them. He furiously destroys their enemies.


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He is slow in getting angry, but when aroused, his power is incredible, and he does not easily forgive. He shows his power in the terrors of the cyclone and the raging storms; clouds are billowing dust beneath his feet!


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At his command the oceans and rivers become dry sand; the lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade away; the green forests of Lebanon wilt.


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Who can stand before an angry God? His fury is like fire; the mountains tumble down before his anger.


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The Lord is good. When trouble comes, he is the place to go! And he knows everyone who trusts in him!


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What are you thinking of, Nineveh, to defy the Lord? He will stop you with one blow; he won't need to strike again.


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He tosses his enemies into the fire like a tangled mass of thorns. They burst into flames like straw.


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But the Lord is not afraid of him! "Though he build his army millions strong," the Lord declares, "it will vanish. "O my people, I have punished you enough!


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And to the king he says, "I have ordered an end to your dynasty; your sons will never sit upon your throne. And I will destroy your gods and temples, and I will bury you! For how you stink with sin!"


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See, the messengers come running down the mountains with glad news: "The invaders have been wiped out and we are safe!" O Judah, proclaim a day of thanksgiving and worship only the Lord, as you have vowed. For this enemy from Nineveh will never come again. He is cut off forever; he will never be seen again.


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Nineveh, you are finished! You are already surrounded by enemy armies! Sound the alarm! Man the ramparts! Muster your defenses, full force, and keep a sharp watch for the enemy attack to begin!


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For the land of the people of God lies empty and broken after your attacks, but the Lord will restore their honor and power again!


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Shields flash red in the sunlight! The attack begins! See their scarlet uniforms! See their glittering chariots moving forward side by side, pulled by prancing steeds!


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Your own chariots race recklessly along the streets and through the squares, darting like lightning, gleaming like torches.


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The king shouts for his officers; they stumble in their haste, rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.


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The queen of Nineveh is brought out naked to the streets and led away, a slave, with all her maidens weeping after her; listen to them mourn like doves and beat their breasts!


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Nineveh is like a leaking water tank! Her soldiers slip away, deserting her; she cannot hold them back. "Stop, stop," she shouts, but they keep on running.


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Loot the silver! Loot the gold! There seems to be no end of treasures. Her vast, uncounted wealth is stripped away.


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Soon the city is an empty shambles; hearts melt in horror; knees quake; her people stand aghast, pale-faced and trembling.


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Where now is that great Nineveh, lion of the nations, full of fight and boldness, where even the old and feeble, as well as the young and tender, lived unafraid?


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O Nineveh, once mighty lion! You crushed your enemies to feed your children and your wives and filled your city and your homes with captured goods and slaves.


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But now the Lord Almighty has turned against you. He destroys your weapons. Your chariots stand there, silent and unused. Your finest youth lie dead. Never again will you bring back slaves from conquered nations; never again will you rule the earth.


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Listen! Hear the crack of the whips as the chariots rush forward against her, wheels rumbling, horses' hoofs pounding, and chariots clattering as they bump wildly through the streets!


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See the flashing swords and glittering spears in the upraised arms of the cavalry! The dead are lying in the streets--bodies, heaps of bodies, everywhere. Men stumble over them, scramble to their feet, and fall again.


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All this because Nineveh sold herself to the enemies of God. The beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty, then taught them all to worship her false gods, bewitching people everywhere.


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"No wonder I stand against you," says the Lord Almighty; "and now all the earth will see your nakedness and shame.


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All who see you will shrink back in horror: "Nineveh lies in utter ruin." Yet no one anywhere regrets your fate!


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Ethiopia and the whole land of Egypt were her mighty allies, and she could call on them for infinite assistance, as well as Put and Libya.


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Yet Thebes fell and her people were led off as slaves; her babies were dashed to death against the stones of the streets. Soldiers drew straws to see who would get her officers as servants. All her leaders were bound in chains.


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All your forts will fall. They will be devoured like first-ripe figs that fall into the mouths of those who shake the trees.


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Your troops will be weak and helpless as women. The gates of your land will be opened wide to the enemy and set on fire and burned.


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Get ready for the siege! Store up water! Strengthen the forts! Prepare many bricks for repairing your walls! Go into the pits to trample the clay, and pack it in the molds!


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But in the middle of your preparations, the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down; the enemy will consume you like young locusts that eat up everything before them. There is no escape, though you multiply like grasshoppers.


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Merchants, numerous as stars, filled your city with vast wealth, but your enemies swarm like locusts and carry it away.


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Your princes and officials crowd together like grasshoppers in the hedges in the cold, but all of them will flee away and disappear, like locusts when the sun comes up and warms the earth.


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O Assyrian king, your princes lie dead in the dust; your people are scattered across the mountains; there is no shepherd now to gather them.


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There is no healing for your wound--it is far too deep to cure. All who hear your fate will clap their hands for joy, for where can one be found who has not suffered from your cruelty?


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O Lord, how long must I call for help before you will listen? I shout to you in vain; there is no answer. "Help! Murder!" I cry, but no one comes to save.


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Must I forever see this sin and sadness all around me? Wherever I look I see oppression and bribery and men who love to argue and to fight.


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The law is not enforced, and there is no justice given in the courts, for the wicked far outnumber the righteous, and bribes and trickery prevail.


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The Lord replied: "Look, and be amazed! You will be astounded at what I am about to do! For I am going to do something in your own lifetime that you will have to see to believe.


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I am raising a new force on the world scene, the Chaldeans, a cruel and violent nation who will march across the world and conquer it.


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Their horses are swifter than leopards. They are a fierce people, more fierce than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry move proudly forward from a distant land; like eagles they come swooping down to pounce upon their prey.


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"They scoff at kings and princes and scorn their forts. They simply heap up dirt against their walls and capture them!


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They sweep past like wind and are gone, but their guilt is deep, for they claim their power is from their gods."


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O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal--is your plan in all of this to wipe us out? Surely not! O God our Rock, you have decreed the rise of these Chaldeans to chasten and correct us for our awful sins.


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We are wicked, but they far more! Will you, who cannot allow sin in any form, stand idly by while they swallow us up? Should you be silent while the wicked destroy those who are better than they?


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Are we but fish, to be caught and killed? Are we but creeping things that have no leader to defend them from their foes?


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Then they will worship their nets and burn incense before them! "These are the gods who make us rich," they'll say.


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And the Lord said to me, "Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others.


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But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!


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"Note this: Wicked men trust themselves alone  as these Chaldeans do, and fail; but the righteous man trusts in me and lives!


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What's more, these arrogant Chaldeans are betrayed by all their wine, for it is treacherous. In their greed they have collected many nations, but like death and hell, they are never satisfied.


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The time is coming when all their captives will taunt them, saying: 'You robbers! At last justice has caught up with you! Now you will get your just deserts for your oppression and extortion!'


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"Suddenly your debtors will rise up in anger and turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless.


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You have ruined many nations; now they will ruin you. You murderers! You have filled the countryside with lawlessness and all the cities too.


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The very stones in the walls of your homes cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo what they say.


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Has not the Lord decreed that godless nations' gains will turn to ashes in their hands? They work so hard, but all in vain!


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("The time will come when all the earth is filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.)


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"Woe to you for making your neighboring lands reel and stagger like drunkards beneath your blows, and then gloating over their nakedness and shame.


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Soon your own glory will be replaced by shame. Drink down God's judgment on yourselves. Stagger and fall!


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You cut down the forests of Lebanon--now you will be cut down! You terrified the wild animals you caught in your traps--now terror will strike you because of all your murdering and violence in cities everywhere.


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"What profit was there in worshiping all your man-made idols? What a foolish lie that they could help! What fools you were to trust what you yourselves had made.


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Woe to those who command their lifeless wooden idols to arise and save them, who call out to the speechless stone to tell them what to do. Can images speak for God? They are overlaid with gold and silver, but there is no breath at all inside!


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O Lord, now I have heard your report, and I worship you in awe for the fearful things you are going to do. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. In your wrath, remember mercy.


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I see God moving across the deserts from Mount Sinai. His brilliant splendor fills the earth and sky; his glory fills the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise! What a wonderful God he is!


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He stops; he stands still for a moment, gazing at the earth. Then he shakes the nations, scattering the everlasting mountains and leveling the hills. His power is just the same as always!


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Was it in anger, Lord, you smote the rivers and parted the sea? Were you displeased with them? No, you were sending your chariots of salvation! All saw your power! Then springs burst forth upon the earth at your command!


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The mountains watched and trembled. Onward swept the raging water. The mighty deep cried out, announcing its surrender to the Lord.


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The lofty sun and moon began to fade, obscured by brilliance from your arrows and the flashing of your glittering spear.


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You went out to save your chosen people. You crushed the head of the wicked and laid bare his bones from head to toe.


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You destroyed with their own weapons those who came out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be an easy prey.


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I tremble when I hear all this; my lips quiver with fear. My legs give way beneath me, and I shake in terror. I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon the people who invade us.


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Even though the fig trees are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit; though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty,


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The Lord God is my strength; he will give me the speed of a deer and bring me safely over the mountains. (A note to the choir director: When singing this ode, the choir is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)


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Subject: a message from the Lord. To: Zephaniah (son of Cushi, grandson of Gedaliah, great-grandson of Amariah, and great-great-grandson of Hezekiah). When: During the reign of Josiah (son of Amon) king of Judah.


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I will sweep away both men and animals alike. Mankind and all the idols that he worships--all will vanish. Even the birds of the air and the fish in the sea will perish.


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I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every remnant of those who worship Baal; I will put an end to their idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear.


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They go up on their roofs and bow to the sun, moon, and stars. They 'follow the Lord,' but worship Molech too! I will destroy them.


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And I will destroy those who formerly worshiped the Lord, but now no longer do, and those who never loved him and never wanted to."


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Stand in silence in the presence of the Lord. For the awesome Day of his Judgment has come; he has prepared a great slaughter of his people and has chosen their executioners.


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"On that Day of Judgment I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all others wearing heathen clothing.


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Yes, I will punish those who follow heathen customs and who rob and kill to fill their masters' homes with evil gain of violence and fraud.


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A cry of alarm will begin at the farthest gate of Jerusalem, coming closer and closer until the noise of the advancing army reaches the very top of the hill where the city is built.


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"Wail in sorrow, you people of Jerusalem. All your greedy businessmen, all your loan sharks--all will die.


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"I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to find and punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to God, thinking he will let them alone.


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They are the very ones whose property will be plundered by the enemy, whose homes will be ransacked; they will never have a chance to live in the new homes they have built. They will never drink wine from the vineyards they have planted.


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It is a day of the wrath of God poured out; it is a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, of clouds, blackness,


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"I will make you as helpless as a blind man searching for a path because you have sinned against the Lord; therefore, your blood will be poured out into the dust and your bodies will lie there rotting on the ground."


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Your silver and gold will be of no use to you in that day of the Lord's wrath. You cannot ransom yourselves with it. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. He will make a speedy riddance of all the people of Judah.


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while there still is time--before judgment begins and your opportunity is blown away like chaff; before the fierce anger of the Lord falls and the terrible day of his wrath begins.


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Beg him to save you, all who are humble--all who have tried to obey. Walk humbly and do what is right; perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you from his wrath in that day of doom.


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Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron--these Philistine cities, too, will be rooted out and left in desolation.


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And woe to you Philistines living on the coast and in the land of Canaan, for the judgment is against you too. The Lord will destroy you until not one of you is left.


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There the little remnant of the tribe of Judah will be pastured. They will lie down to rest in the abandoned houses in Ashkelon. For the Lord God will visit his people in kindness and restore their prosperity again.


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"I have heard the taunts of the people of Moab and Ammon, mocking my people and invading their land.


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Therefore as I live," says the Lord Almighty, God of Israel, "Moab and Ammon will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah and become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation; those of my people who are left will plunder and possess them."


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They will receive the wages of their pride, for they have scoffed at the people of the Lord Almighty.


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The Lord will do terrible things to them. He will starve out all those gods of foreign powers, and everyone shall worship him, each in his own land throughout the world.


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and so will the lands of the north; he will destroy Assyria and make its great capital Nineveh a desolate wasteland like a wilderness.


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That once proud city will become a pastureland for sheep. All sorts of wild animals will have their homes in her. Hedgehogs will burrow there; the vultures and the owls will live among the ruins of her palaces, hooting from the gaping windows; the ravens will croak from her doors. All her cedar paneling will lie open to the wind and weather.


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This is the fate of that vast, prosperous city that lived in such security, that said to herself, "In all the world there is no city as great as I." But now--see how she has become a place of utter ruins, a place for animals to live! Everyone passing that way will mock or shake his head in disbelief.


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In her pride she won't listen even to the voice of God. No one can tell her anything; she refuses all correction. She does not trust the Lord nor seek for God.


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Her leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims--out for everything that they can get. Her judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.


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Her "prophets" are liars seeking their own gain; her priests defile the Temple by their disobedience to God's laws.


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But the Lord is there within the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day his justice is more evident, but no one heeds--the wicked know no shame.


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"I have cut off many nations, laying them waste to their farthest borders; I have left their streets in silent ruin and their cities deserted without a single survivor to remember what happened.


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I thought, 'Surely they will listen to me now--surely they will heed my warnings, so that I'll not need to strike again.' But no; however much I punish them, they continue all their evil ways from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn."


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But the Lord says, "Be patient; the time is coming soon when I will stand up and accuse these evil nations. For it is my decision to gather together the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and wrath upon them. All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.


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"At that time I will change the speech of my returning people to pure Hebrew so that all can worship the Lord together.


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My scattered people who live in the Sudan, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, will come with their offerings, asking me to be their God again.


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And then you will no longer need to be ashamed of yourselves, for you will no longer be rebels against me. I will remove all your proud and arrogant people from among you; there will be no pride or haughtiness on my holy mountain.


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They will not be sinners, full of lies and deceit. They will live quietly, in peace, and lie down in safety, and no one will make them afraid."


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Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.


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For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over--you need fear no more.


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For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will give you victory. He will rejoice over you with great gladness; he will love you and not accuse you." Is that a joyous choir I hear? No, it is the Lord himself exulting over you in happy song.


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And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones, and bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory to my former exiles, mocked and shamed.


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"At that time, I will gather you together and bring you home again, and give you a good name, a name of distinction among all the peoples of the earth, and they will praise you when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes," says the Lord.


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Subject: a message from the Lord. To: Haggai the prophet, who delivered it to Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel), governor of Judah; and to Joshua (son of Josedech), the High Priest--for it was addressed to them. When: In late August of the second year of the reign of King Darius I.


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You plant much but harvest little. You have scarcely enough to eat or drink and not enough clothes to keep you warm. Your income disappears, as though you were putting it into pockets filled with holes!


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"Think it over," says the Lord Almighty. "Consider how you have acted and what has happened as a result!


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Then go up into the mountains, bring down timber, and rebuild my Temple, and I will be pleased with it and appear there in my glory," says the Lord.


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"You hope for much but get so little. And when you bring it home, I blow it away--it doesn't last at all. Why? Because my Temple lies in ruins, and you don't care. Your only concern is your own fine homes.


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In fact, I have called for a drought upon the land, yes, and in the highlands too--a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olives and all your other crops, a drought to starve both you and all your cattle and ruin everything you have worked so hard to get."


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Then Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel), the governor of Judah, and Joshua (son of Josedech), the High Priest, and the few people remaining in the land obeyed Haggai's message from the Lord their God; they began to worship him in earnest.


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Then the Lord told them (again sending the message through Haggai, his messenger), "I am with you; I will bless you."


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And the Lord gave them a desire to rebuild his Temple; so they all gathered in early September of the second year of King Darius' reign and volunteered their help.


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'Who among you can remember the Temple as it was before? How glorious it was! In comparison, it is nothing now, is it?


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But take courage, O Zerubbabel and Joshua and all the people; take courage and work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty.


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"For the Lord Almighty says, 'In just a little while I will begin to shake the heavens and earth--and the oceans, too, and the dry land.


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I will shake all nations, and the Desire of All Nations shall come to this Temple, and I will fill this place with my glory,' says the Lord Almighty.


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'The future splendor of this Temple will be greater than the splendor of the first one! For I have plenty of silver and gold to do it! And here I will give peace," says the Lord.


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In early December, in the second year of the reign of King Darius, this message came from the Lord through Haggai the prophet:


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'If one of you is carrying a holy sacrifice in his robes and happens to brush against some bread or wine or meat, will it too become holy?' " "No," the priests replied. "Holiness does not pass to other things that way."


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Then Haggai asked, "But if someone touches a dead person, and so becomes ceremonially impure, and then brushes against something, does it become contaminated?" And the priests answered, "Yes."


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Haggai then made his meaning clear. 'You people,' he said (speaking for the Lord), 'were contaminating your sacrifices by living with selfish attitudes and evil hearts--and not only your sacrifices, but everything else that you did as a "service" to me.


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And so everything you did went wrong. But all is different now because you have begun to build the Temple.


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Before, when you expected a twenty-bushel crop, there were only ten. When you came to draw fifty gallons from the olive press, there were only twenty.


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I rewarded all your labor with rust and mildew and hail. Yet, even so, you refused to return to me,' " says the Lord.


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'But now note this: From today, this 24th day of the month, as the foundation of the Lord's Temple is finished, and from this day onward, I will bless you.


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Notice, I am giving you this promise now before you have even begun to rebuild the Temple structure, and before you have harvested your grain, and before the grapes, the figs, the pomegranates, and olives have produced their next crops: From this day I will bless you."


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to overthrow thrones, destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow their armed might, and brothers and companions will kill each other.


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But when that happens, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, and honor you like a signet ring upon my finger; for I have specially chosen you,' " says the Lord Almighty.


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Subject: messages from the Lord. These messages from the Lord were given to Zechariah (son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo the prophet) in early November of the second year of the reign of King Darius.


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Don't be like your fathers were! The earlier prophets pled in vain with them to turn from all their evil ways. "Come, return to me," the Lord God said. But no, they wouldn't listen; they paid no attention at all.


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but remember the lesson they learned, that God's Word endures! It caught up with them and punished them. Then at last they repented. "We have gotten what we deserved from God," they said. "He has done just what he warned us he would."


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The following February, still in the second year of the reign of King Darius, another message from the Lord came to Zechariah (son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo the prophet), in a vision in the night:


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I saw a Man sitting on a red horse that was standing among the myrtle trees beside a river. Behind him were other horses, red and bay and white, each with its rider.


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An angel stood beside me, and I asked him, "Sir, what are all those horses for?" "I'll tell you," he replied.


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Then the rider on the red horse--he was the Angel of the Lord--answered me, "The Lord has sent them to patrol the earth for him."


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Then the other riders reported to the Angel of the Lord, "We have patrolled the whole earth, and everywhere there is prosperity and peace."


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Upon hearing this, the Angel of the Lord prayed this prayer: "O Lord Almighty, for seventy years your anger has raged against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. How long will it be until you again show mercy to them?"


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Then the angel said, "Shout out this message from the Lord Almighty: 'Don't you think I care about what has happened to Judah and Jerusalem? I am as jealous as a husband for his captive wife.


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I am very angry with the heathen nations sitting around at ease, for I was only a little displeased with my people, but the nations afflicted them far beyond my intentions.'


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Therefore the Lord declares: 'I have returned to Jerusalem filled with mercy; my Temple will be rebuilt,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and so will all Jerusalem.'


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Say it again: 'The Lord Almighty declares that the cities of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Jerusalem and bless her and live in her.' "


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"What are these?" I asked the angel. He replied, "They represent the four world powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."


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"What have these men come to do?" I asked. The angel replied, "They have come to take hold of the four horns that scattered Judah so terribly, and to pound them on the anvil and throw them away."


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"Where are you going?" I asked. "To measure Jerusalem," he said. "I want to see whether it is big enough for all the people!"


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"Go tell this young man," said the other angel, "that Jerusalem will some day be so full of people that she won't have room enough for all! Many will live outside the city walls, with all their many cattle--and yet they will be safe.


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For the Lord himself will be a wall of fire protecting them and all Jerusalem; he will be the glory of the city.


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"Come, flee from the land of the north, from Babylon," says the Lord to all his exiles there; "I scattered you to the winds, but I will bring you back again.


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"The Lord of Glory has sent me against the nations that oppressed you, for he who harms you sticks his finger in Jehovah's eye!


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"I will smash them with my fist and their slaves will be their rulers! Then you will know it was the Lord Almighty who sent me.


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"At that time many nations will be converted to the Lord, and they too shall be my people; I will live among them all. Then you will know it was the Lord Almighty who sent me to you.


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And Judah shall be the Lord's inheritance in the Holy Land, for God shall once more choose to bless Jerusalem.


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"Be silent, all mankind, before the Lord, for he has come to earth from heaven, from his holy home."


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Then the Angel showed me (in my vision) Joshua the High Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord; and Satan was there too, at the Angel's right hand, accusing Joshua of many things.


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And the Lord said to Satan, "I reject your accusations, Satan; yes, I, the Lord, for I have decided to be merciful to Jerusalem--I rebuke you. I have decreed mercy to Joshua and his nation; they are like a burning stick pulled out of the fire."


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Then the Angel said to the others standing there, "Remove his filthy clothing." And turning to Joshua he said, "See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes."


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"The Lord Almighty declares: 'If you will follow the paths I set for you and do all I tell you to, then I will put you in charge of my Temple, to keep it holy; and I will let you walk in and out of my presence with these angels.


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Listen to me, O Joshua the High Priest, and all you other priests, you are illustrations of the good things to come. Don't you see?--Joshua represents my servant the Branch whom I will send.


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He will be the Foundation Stone of the Temple that Joshua is standing beside, and I will engrave this inscription on it seven times: I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.


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And after that,' the Lord Almighty declares, 'you will all live in peace and prosperity, and each of you will own a home of your own where you can invite your neighbors.' "


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"What do you see now?" he asked. I answered, "I see a gold lampstand holding seven lamps, and at the top there is a reservoir for the olive oil that feeds the lamps, flowing into them through seven tubes.


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Then he said, "This is God's message to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty--you will succeed because of my Spirit, though you are few and weak.'


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Therefore no mountain, however high, can stand before Zerubbabel! For it will flatten out before him! And Zerubbabel will finish building this Temple with mighty shouts of thanksgiving for God's mercy, declaring that all was done by grace alone."


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"Zerubbabel laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. (Then you will know these messages are from God, the Lord Almighty.)


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Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin, to see the plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel. For these seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that see everywhere around the world."


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"What do you see?" he asked. "A flying scroll!" I replied. "It appears to be about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide!"


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"This scroll," he told me, "represents the words of God's curse going out over the entire land. It says that all who steal and lie have been judged and sentenced to death."


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"I am sending this curse into the home of every thief and everyone who swears falsely by my name," says the Lord Almighty. "And my curse shall remain upon his home and completely destroy it."


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Then the angel left me for awhile, but he returned and said, "Look up! Something is traveling through the sky!"


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"What is it?" I asked. He replied, "It is a bushel basket filled with the sin prevailing everywhere throughout the land."


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Suddenly the heavy lead cover on the basket was lifted off, and I could see a woman sitting inside the basket!


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He said, "She represents wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and clamped down the heavy lid again.


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Then I saw two women flying toward us, with wings like those of a stork. And they took the bushel basket and flew off with it, high in the sky.


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Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between what looked like two mountains made of brass.


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He replied, "These are the four heavenly spirits who stand before the Lord of all the earth; they are going out to do his work.


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The chariot pulled by the black horses will go north, and the one pulled by white horses will follow it there, while the dappled-grays will go south."


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The red horses were impatient to be off, to patrol back and forth across the earth, so the Lord said, "Go. Begin your patrol." So they left at once.


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Then the Lord summoned me and said, "Those who went north have executed my judgment and quieted my anger there."


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"Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring gifts of silver and gold from the Jews exiled in Babylon. The same day they arrive, meet them at the home of Josiah (son of Zephaniah), where they will stay.


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Accept their gifts and make from them a crown from the silver and gold. Then put the crown on the head of Joshua (son of Josedech) the High Priest.


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Tell him that the Lord Almighty says, 'You represent the Man who will come, whose name is "The Branch"--he will grow up from himself --and will build the Temple of the Lord.


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To him belongs the royal title. He will rule both as King and as Priest, with perfect harmony between the two!'


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"Then put the crown in the Temple of the Lord, to honor those who gave it--Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and also Josiah.


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These three who have come from so far away represent many others who will some day come from distant lands to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And when this happens, you will know my messages have been from God, the Lord Almighty. But none of this will happen unless you carefully obey the commandments of the Lord your God."


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Another message came to me from the Lord in late November of the fourth year of the reign of King Darius.


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The Jews of the city of Bethel had sent a group of men headed by Sharezer, the chief administrative officer of the king, and Regem-melech, to the Lord's Temple at Jerusalem, to seek his blessing


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and to speak with the priests and prophets about whether they must continue their traditional custom of fasting and mourning during the month of August each year, as they had been doing so long.


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"When you return to Bethel, say to all your people and your priests, 'During those seventy years of exile when you fasted and mourned in August and October, were you really in earnest about leaving your sins behind and coming back to me? No, not at all!


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And even now in your holy feasts to God, you don't think of me, but only of the food and fellowship and fun.


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Long years ago, when Jerusalem was prosperous and her southern suburbs out along the plain were filled with people, the prophets warned them that this attitude would surely lead to ruin, as it has.' "


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Tell them to stop oppressing widows and orphans, foreigners and poor people, and to stop plotting evil against each other.


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Your fathers would not listen to this message. They turned stubbornly away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing me.


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They hardened their hearts like flint, afraid to hear the words that God, the Lord Almighty, commanded them--the laws he had revealed to them by his Spirit through the early prophets. That is why such great wrath came down on them from God.


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I scattered them as with a whirlwind among the far-off nations. Their land became desolate; no one even traveled through it; the Pleasant Land lay bare and blighted."


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The Lord Almighty says, "I am greatly concerned--yes, furiously angry--because of all that Jerusalem's enemies have done to her.


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Now I am going to return to my land, and I, myself, will live within Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem shall be called 'The Faithful City,' and 'The Holy Mountain,' and 'The Mountain of the Lord Almighty.' "


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The Lord Almighty declares that Jerusalem will have peace and prosperity so long that there will once again be aged men and women hobbling through her streets on canes,


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The Lord says, "This seems unbelievable to you--a remnant, small, discouraged as you are--but it is no great thing for me.


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I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem, and they will be my people, and I will be their God, just and true and yet forgiving them their sins!"


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The Lord Almighty says, "Get on with the job and finish it! You have been listening long enough! For since you began laying the foundation of the Temple, the prophets have been telling you about the blessings that await you when it's finished.


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Before the work began there were no jobs, no wages, no security; if you left the city, there was no assurance you would ever return, for crime was rampant.


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"For I am sowing peace and prosperity among you. Your crops will prosper; the grapevines will be weighted down with fruit; the ground will be fertile, with plenty of rain; all these blessings will be given to the people left in the land.


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'May you be as poor as Judah,' the heathen used to say to those they cursed! But no longer! For now Judah is a word of blessing, not a curse. 'May you be as prosperous and happy as Judah is,' they'll say. So don't be afraid or discouraged! Get on with rebuilding the Temple!


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If you do, I will certainly bless you. And don't think that I might change my mind. I did what I said I would when your fathers angered me and I promised to punish them, and I won't change this decision of mine to bless you.


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Don't plot harm to others; don't swear that something is true when it isn't! How I hate all that sort of thing!" says the Lord.


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"The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in July, August, October, and January are ended. They will be changed to joyous festivals if you love truth and peace!


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People from around the world will come on pilgrimages and pour into Jerusalem from many foreign cities to attend these celebrations.


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People will write their friends in other cities and say, 'Let's go to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us and be merciful to us. I'm going! Please come with me. Let's go now!'


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Yes, many people, even strong nations, will come to the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem to ask for his blessing and help.


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In those days ten men from ten different nations will clutch at the coat sleeves of one Jew and say, 'Please be my friend, for I know that God is with you.' "


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This is the message concerning God's curse on the lands of Hadrach and Damascus, for the Lord is closely watching all mankind, as well as Israel.


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Though Tyre has armed herself to the hilt and become so rich that silver is like dirt to her, and fine gold like dust in the streets,


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yet the Lord will dispossess her and hurl her fortifications into the sea; and she shall be set on fire and burned to the ground.


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"Ashkelon will see it happen and be filled with fear; Gaza will huddle in desperation, and Ekron will shake with terror, for their hopes that Tyre would stop the enemies' advance will all be dashed. Gaza will be conquered, her king killed, and Ashkelon will be completely destroyed.


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I will yank her idolatry out of her mouth and pull from her teeth her sacrifices that she eats with blood. Everyone left will worship God and be adopted into Israel as a new clan: the Philistines of Ekron will intermarry with the Jews, just as the Jebusites did so long ago.


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And I will surround my Temple like a guard to keep invading armies from entering Israel. I am closely watching their movements, and I will keep them away; no foreign oppressors will again overrun my people's land.


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"Rejoice greatly, O my people! Shout with joy! For look--your King is coming! He is the Righteous One, the Victor! Yet he is lowly, riding on a donkey's colt!


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I will disarm all peoples of the earth, including my people in Israel, and he shall bring peace among the nations. His realm shall stretch from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.


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"I have delivered you from death in a waterless pit because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood.


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Come to the place of safety, all you prisoners, for there is yet hope! I promise right now, I will repay you two mercies for each of your woes!


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Judah, you are my bow! Ephraim, you are my arrow! Both of you will be my sword, like the sword of a mighty soldier brandished against the sons of Greece."


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The Lord shall lead his people as they fight! His arrows shall fly like lightning; the Lord God shall sound the trumpet call and go out against his enemies like a whirlwind off the desert from the south.


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He will defend his people, and they will subdue their enemies, treading them beneath their feet. They will taste victory and shout with triumph. They will slaughter their foes, leaving horrible carnage everywhere.


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The Lord their God will save his people in that day, as a Shepherd caring for his sheep. They shall shine in his land as glittering jewels in a crown.


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How wonderful and beautiful all shall be! The abundance of grain and grapes will make the young men and girls flourish; they will be radiant with health and happiness.


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Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime, and he will answer with lightning and showers. Every field will become a lush pasture.


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How foolish to ask the idols for anything like that! Fortune-tellers' predictions are all a bunch of silly lies; what comfort is there in promises that don't come true? Judah and Israel have been led astray and wander like lost sheep; everyone attacks them, for they have no shepherd to protect them.


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"My anger burns against your 'shepherds'--your leaders--and I will punish them--these goats. For the Lord Almighty has arrived to help his flock of Judah. I will make them strong and glorious like a proud steed in battle.


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From them will come the Cornerstone, the Peg on which all hope hangs, the Bow that wins the battle, the Ruler over all the earth.


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They will be mighty warriors for God, grinding their enemies' faces into the dust beneath their feet. The Lord is with them as they fight; their enemy is doomed.


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"I will strengthen Judah, yes, and Israel too; I will reestablish them because I love them. It will be as though I had never cast them all away, for I, the Lord their God, will hear their cries.


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They shall be like mighty warriors. They shall be happy as with wine. Their children, too, shall see the mercies of the Lord and be glad. Their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.


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When I whistle to them, they'll come running, for I have bought them back again. From the few that are left, their population will grow again to former size.


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Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember me and return again to God; with all their children, they will come home again to Israel.


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I will bring them back from Egypt and Assyria and resettle them in Israel--in Gilead and Lebanon; there will scarcely be room for all of them!


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They shall pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves will be held back. The Nile will become dry--the rule of Assyria and Egypt over my people will end."


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The Lord says, "I will make my people strong with power from me! They will go wherever they wish, and wherever they go they will be under my personal care."


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Open your doors, O Lebanon, to judgment. You will be destroyed as though by fire raging through your forests.


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Weep, O cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars; the tallest and most beautiful of them are fallen. Cry in fear, you oaks of Bashan, as you watch the thickest forests felled.


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Listen to the wailing of Israel's leaders--all these evil shepherds--for their wealth is gone. Hear the young lions roaring--the princes are weeping, for their glorious Jordan valley lies in ruins.


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Then said the Lord my God to me, "Go and take a job as shepherd of a flock being fattened for the butcher.


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This will illustrate the way my people have been bought and slain by wicked leaders, who go unpunished. 'Thank God, now I am rich!' say those who have betrayed them--their own shepherds have sold them without mercy.


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And I won't spare them either," says the Lord, "for I will let them fall into the clutches of their own wicked leaders, and they will slay them. They shall turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not protect it from them."


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So I took two shepherd's staffs, naming one Grace and the other Union, and I fed the flock as I had been told to do.


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And I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep--this nation--and they hated me too.


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So I told them, "I won't be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die; if you are killed, I don't care. Go ahead and destroy yourselves!"


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And I took my staff called Grace and snapped it in two, showing that I had broken my contract to lead and protect them.


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That was the end of the agreement. Then those who bought and sold sheep, who were watching, realized that God was telling them something through what I did.


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And I said to their leaders, "If you like, give me my pay, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to." So they counted out thirty little silver coins as my wages.


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And the Lord told me, "Use it to buy a field from the pottery makers--this magnificent sum they value you at!" So I took the thirty coins and threw them into the Temple for the pottery makers.


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Then I broke my other staff, "Union," to show that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken.


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Then the Lord told me to go again and get a job as a shepherd; this time I was to act the part of a worthless, wicked shepherd.


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And he said to me, "This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for the dying ones, nor look after the young, nor heal the broken bones, nor feed the healthy ones, nor carry the lame that cannot walk; instead, he will eat the fat ones, even tearing off their feet.


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Woe to this worthless shepherd who doesn't care for the flock. God's sword will cut his arm and pierce through his right eye; his arm will become useless and his right eye blinded."


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This is the fate of Israel, as pronounced by the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him:


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"I will make Jerusalem and Judah like a cup of poison to all the nearby nations that send their armies to surround Jerusalem.


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Jerusalem will be a heavy stone burdening the world. And though all the nations of the earth unite in an attempt to move her, they will all be crushed.


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"In that day," says the Lord, "I will bewilder the armies drawn up against her, and make fools of them, for I will watch over the people of Judah, but blind all her enemies.


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"And the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, 'The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the Lord Almighty, their God.'


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"In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a little fire that sets the forest aflame--like a burning match among the sheaves; they will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while Jerusalem stands unmoved.


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The Lord will give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David won't be filled with pride at their success.


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"The Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal line will be as God, like the Angel of the Lord who goes before them!


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"Then I will pour out the spirit of grace and prayer on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on him they pierced, and mourn for him as for an only son, and grieve bitterly for him as for an oldest child who died.


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The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem at that time will be even greater than the grievous mourning for the godly King Josiah, who was killed in the valley of Megiddo.


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"All of Israel will weep in profound sorrow. The whole nation will be bowed down with universal grief--king, prophet, priest, and people. Each family will go into private mourning, husbands and wives apart, to face their sorrow alone.


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"At that time a Fountain will be opened to the people of Israel and Jerusalem, a Fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement."


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And the Lord Almighty declares, "In that day I will get rid of every vestige of idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. All false prophets and fortune-tellers will be wiped out,


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and if anyone begins false prophecy again, his own father and mother will slay him! 'You must die,' they will tell him, 'for you are prophesying lies in the name of the Lord.'


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"No one will be boasting then of his prophetic gift! No one will wear prophet's clothes to try to fool the people then.


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'No,' he will say. 'I am not a prophet; I am a farmer. The soil has been my livelihood from my earliest youth.'


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"And if someone asks, 'Then what are these scars on your chest and your back?' he will say, 'I got into a brawl at the home of a friend!'


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"Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, the man who is my associate and equal," says the Lord Almighty. "Strike down the Shepherd and the sheep will scatter, but I will come back and comfort and care for the lambs.


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Two-thirds of all the nation of Israel will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in the land.


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I will bring the third that remain through the fire and make them pure, as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call upon my name and I will hear them; I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.' "


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On that day the Lord will gather together the nations to fight Jerusalem; the city will be taken, the houses rifled, the loot divided, the women raped; half the population will be taken away as slaves, and half will be left in what remains of the city.


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That day his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a very wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.


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You will escape through that valley, for it will reach across to the city gate. Yes, you will escape as your people did long centuries ago from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come, and all his saints and angels with him.


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yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how! There will be no normal day and night--at evening time it will still be light.


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Life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in winter and in summer.


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And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord--his name alone will be worshiped.


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All the land from Geba (the northern border of Judah) to Rimmon (the southern border) will become one vast plain, but Jerusalem will be on an elevated site, covering the area all the way from the Gate of Benjamin over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses.


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And the Lord will send a plague on all the people who fought Jerusalem. They will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away; their eyes will shrivel in their sockets, and their tongues will decay in their mouths.


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They will be seized with terror, panic-stricken from the Lord, and will fight against each other in hand-to-hand combat.


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All Judah will be fighting at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be confiscated--great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing.


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(This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camp.)


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In the end, those who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, to celebrate a time of thanksgiving.


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And any nation anywhere in all the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, will have no rain.


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In that day the bells on the horses will have written on them, "These Are Holy Property"; and the trash cans in the Temple of the Lord will be as sacred as the bowls beside the altar.


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In fact, every container in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord Almighty; all who come to worship may use any of them free of charge to boil their sacrifices in; there will be no more grasping traders in the Temple of the Lord Almighty!


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"I have loved you very deeply," says the Lord. But you retort, "Really? When was this?" And the Lord replies, "I showed my love for you by loving your father, Jacob. I didn't need to.


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I even rejected his very own brother, Esau, and destroyed Esau's mountains and inheritance, to give it to the jackals of the desert.


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And if his descendants should say, 'We will rebuild the ruins,' then the Lord Almighty will say, 'Try to if you like, but I will destroy it again,' for their country is named 'The Land of Wickedness,' and their people are called 'Those Whom God Does Not Forgive.' "


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O Israel, lift your eyes to see what God is doing all around the world; then you will say, "Truly, the Lord's great power goes far beyond our borders!"


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"A son honors his father, a servant honors his master. I am your Father and Master, yet you don't honor me, O priests, but you despise my name." "Who? Us?" you say. "When did we ever despise your name?"


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"When you offer polluted sacrifices on my altar." "Polluted sacrifices? When have we ever done a thing like that?" "Every time you say, 'Don't bother bringing anything very valuable to offer to God!'


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You tell the people, 'Lame animals are all right to offer on the altar of the Lord--yes, even the sick and the blind ones.' And you claim this isn't evil? Try it on your governor sometime--give him gifts like that--and see how pleased he is!


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'God have mercy on us,' you recite; 'God be gracious to us!' But when you bring that kind of gift, why should he show you any favor at all?


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"Oh, to find one priest among you who would shut the doors and refuse this kind of sacrifice! I have no pleasure in you," says the Lord Almighty, "and I will not accept your offerings.


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"But my name will be honored by the Gentiles from morning till night. All around the world they will offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name shall be great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty.


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"But you dishonor it, saying that my altar is not important and encouraging people to bring cheap, sick animals to offer to me on it.


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"You say, 'Oh, it's too difficult to serve the Lord and do what he asks.' And you turn up your noses at the rules he has given you to obey. Think of it! Stolen animals, lame and sick--as offerings to God! Should I accept such offerings as these?" asks the Lord.


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"Cursed is that man who promises a fine ram from his flock and substitutes a sick one to sacrifice to God. For I am a Great King," says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be mightily revered among the Gentiles."


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Listen, you priests, to this warning from the Lord Almighty: "If you don't change your ways and give glory to my name, then I will send terrible punishment upon you, and instead of giving you blessings as I would like to, I will turn on you with curses. Indeed, I have cursed you already because you haven't taken seriously the things that are most important to me.


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"Take note that I will rebuke your children; I will spread on your faces the manure of these animals you offer me and throw you out like dung.


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Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning to return to the laws I gave your father Levi," says the Lord Almighty.


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"The purpose of these laws was to give him life and peace, to be a means of showing his respect and awe for me by keeping them.


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He passed on to the people all the truth he got from me. He did not lie or cheat; he walked with me, living a good and righteous life, and turned many from their lives of sin.


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"Priests' lips should flow with the knowledge of God so the people will learn God's laws. The priests are the messengers of the Lord Almighty, and men should come to them for guidance.


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But not to you! For you have left God's paths. Your 'guidance' has caused many to stumble in sin. You have distorted the covenant of Levi and made it into a grotesque parody," says the Lord Almighty.


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"Therefore, I have made you contemptible in the eyes of all the people; for you have not obeyed me, but you let your favorites break the law without rebuke."


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We are children of the same father, Abraham, all created by the same God. And yet we are faithless to each other, violating the covenant of our fathers!


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In Judah, in Israel, and in Jerusalem, there is treachery, for the men of Judah have defiled God's holy and beloved Temple by marrying heathen women who worship idols.


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May the Lord cut off from his covenant every last man, whether priest or layman, who has done this thing!


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Yet you cover the altar with your tears because the Lord doesn't pay attention to your offerings anymore, and you receive no blessing from him.


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"Why has God abandoned us?" you cry. I'll tell you why; it is because the Lord has seen your treachery in divorcing your wives who have been faithful to you through the years, the companions you promised to care for and keep.


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You were united to your wife by the Lord. In God's wise plan, when you married, the two of you became one person in his sight. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. Therefore, guard your passions! Keep faith with the wife of your youth.


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For the Lord, the God of Israel, says he hates divorce and cruel men. Therefore, control your passions--let there be no divorcing of your wives.


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You have wearied the Lord with your words. "Wearied him?" you ask in fake surprise. "How have we wearied him?" By saying that evil is good, that it pleases the Lord! Or by saying that God won't punish us--he doesn't care.


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"Listen: I will send my messenger before me to prepare the way. And then the One you are looking for will come suddenly to his Temple--the Messenger of God's promises, to bring you great joy. Yes, he is surely coming," says the Lord Almighty.


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"But who can live when he appears? Who can endure his coming? For he is like a blazing fire refining precious metal, and he can bleach the dirtiest garments!


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Like a refiner of silver he will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away. He will purify the Levites, the ministers of God, refining them like gold or silver, so that they will do their work for God with pure hearts.


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Then once more the Lord will enjoy the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did before.


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At that time my punishments will be quick and certain; I will move swiftly against wicked men who trick the innocent, against adulterers and liars, against all those who cheat their hired hands, who oppress widows and orphans, or defraud strangers, and do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty.


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"For I am the Lord--I do not change. That is why you are not already utterly destroyed  for my mercy endures forever.


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"Though you have scorned my laws from earliest time, yet you may still return to me," says the Lord Almighty. "Come and I will forgive you. "But you say, 'We have never even gone away!'


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"Will a man rob God? Surely not! And yet you have robbed me. 'What do you mean? When did we ever rob you?' "You have robbed me of the tithes and offerings due to me.


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Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won't have room enough to take it in! "Try it! Let me prove it to you!


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Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won't shrivel away before they ripen," says the Lord Almighty.


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"And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land sparkling with happiness. These are the promises of the Lord Almighty.


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"Your attitude toward me has been proud and arrogant," says the Lord. "But you say, 'What do you mean? What have we said that we shouldn't?'


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"Listen; you have said, 'It is foolish to worship God and obey him. What good does it do to obey his laws, and to sorrow and mourn for our sins?


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From now on, as far as we're concerned, "Blessed are the arrogant." For those who do evil shall prosper, and those who dare God to punish them shall get off scot-free.' "


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Then those who feared and loved the Lord spoke often of him to each other. And he had a Book of Remembrance drawn up in which he recorded the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him.


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"They shall be mine," says the Lord Almighty, "in that day when I make up my jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares an obedient and dutiful son.


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Then you will see the difference between God's treatment of good men and bad, between those who serve him and those who don't.


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"Watch now," the Lord Almighty declares, "the day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. The proud and wicked will be burned up like straw; like a tree, they will be consumed--roots and all.


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"But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.


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"See, I will send you another prophet like Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful judgment day of God.


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His preaching will bring fathers and children together again, to be of one mind and heart, for they will know that if they do not repent, I will come and utterly destroy their land."


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Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob; Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.


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Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (Tamar was their mother); Perez was the father of Hezron; Hezron was the father of Aram;


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Aram was the father of Amminadab; Amminadab was the father of Nahshon; Nahshon was the father of Salmon;


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Salmon was the father of Boaz (Rahab was his mother); Boaz was the father of Obed (Ruth was his mother); Obed was the father of Jesse;


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Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (his mother was the widow of Uriah);


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Solomon was the father of Rehoboam; Rehoboam was the father of Abijah; Abijah was the father of Asa;


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Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram; Joram was the father of Uzziah;


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Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh; Manasseh was the father of Amos; Amos was the father of Josiah;


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Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud; Abiud was the father of Eliakim; Eliakim was the father of Azor;


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Eliud was the father of Eleazar; Eleazar was the father of Matthan; Matthan was the father of Jacob;


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Jacob was the father of Joseph (who was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ the Messiah).


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These are fourteen of the generations from Abraham to King David; and fourteen from King David's time to the exile; and fourteen from the exile to Christ.


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These are the facts concerning the birth of Jesus Christ: His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.


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Then Joseph, her fiance, being a man of stern principle, decided to break the engagement but to do it quietly, as he didn't want to publicly disgrace her.


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As he lay awake considering this, he fell into a dream, and saw an angel standing beside him. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "don't hesitate to take Mary as your wife! For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.


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And she will have a Son, and you shall name him Jesus (meaning 'Savior'), for he will save his people from their sins.


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'Listen! The virgin shall conceive a child! She shall give birth to a Son, and he shall be called "Emmanuel" (meaning "God is with us").' "


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Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. At about that time some astrologers from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,


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"Where is the newborn King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him."


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He called a meeting of the Jewish religious leaders. "Did the prophets tell us where the Messiah would be born?" he asked.


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'O little town of Bethlehem, you are not just an unimportant Judean village, for a Governor shall rise from you to rule my people Israel.' "


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Then Herod sent a private message to the astrologers, asking them to come to see him; at this meeting he found out from them the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them,


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"Go to Bethlehem and search for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too!"


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After this interview the astrologers started out again. And look! The star appeared to them again, standing over Bethlehem.


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Entering the house where the baby and Mary, his mother, were, they threw themselves down before him, worshiping. Then they opened their presents and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.


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But when they returned to their own land, they didn't go through Jerusalem to report to Herod, for God had warned them in a dream to go home another way.


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After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up and flee to Egypt with the baby and his mother," the angel said, "and stay there until I tell you to return, for King Herod is going to try to kill the child."


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and stayed there until King Herod's death. This fulfilled the prophet's prediction, "I have called my Son from Egypt."


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Herod was furious when he learned that the astrologers had disobeyed him. Sending soldiers to Bethlehem, he ordered them to kill every baby boy two years old and under, both in the town and on the nearby farms, for the astrologers had told him the star first appeared to them two years before.


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"Screams of anguish come from Ramah, Weeping unrestrained; Rachel weeping for her children, Uncomforted-- For they are dead."


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"Get up and take the baby and his mother back to Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead."


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But on the way he was frightened to learn that the new king was Herod's son, Archelaus. Then, in another dream, he was warned not to go to Judea, so they went to Galilee instead


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and lived in Nazareth. This fulfilled the prediction of the prophets concerning the Messiah, "He shall be called a Nazarene."


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While they were living in Nazareth, John the Baptist began preaching out in the Judean wilderness. His constant theme was,


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Isaiah the prophet had told about John's ministry centuries before! He had written, "I hear a shout from the wilderness, 'Prepare a road for the Lord--straighten out the path where he will walk.' "


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John's clothing was woven from camel's hair and he wore a leather belt; his food was locusts and wild honey.


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People from Jerusalem and from all over the Jordan Valley, and, in fact, from every section of Judea went out to the wilderness to hear him preach,


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But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he denounced them. "You sons of snakes!" he warned. "Who said that you could escape the coming wrath of God?


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Don't try to get by as you are, thinking, 'We are safe for we are Jews--descendants of Abraham.' That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into Jews!


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"And even now the axe of God's judgment is poised to chop down every unproductive tree. They will be chopped and burned.


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"With water I baptize those who repent of their sins; but someone else is coming, far greater than I am, so great that I am not worthy to carry his shoes! He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.


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He will separate the chaff from the grain, burning the chaff with never-ending fire and storing away the grain."


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John didn't want to do it. "This isn't proper," he said. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by you."


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After his baptism, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove.


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Then Satan tempted him to get food by changing stones into loaves of bread. "It will prove you are the Son of God," he said.


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But Jesus told him, "No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won't feed men's souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need."


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"Jump off," he said, "and prove you are the Son of God; for the Scriptures declare, 'God will send his angels to keep you from harm,' . . . they will prevent you from smashing on the rocks below."


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Next Satan took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory.


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"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "The Scriptures say, 'Worship only the Lord God. Obey only him.' "


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he left Judea and returned home to Nazareth in Galilee; but soon he moved to Capernaum, beside the Lake of Galilee, close to Zebulun and Naphtali.


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"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, beside the Lake, and the countryside beyond the Jordan River, and Upper Galilee where so many foreigners live--


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"there the people who sat in darkness have seen a great Light; they sat in the land of death, and the Light broke through upon them."


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From then on, Jesus began to preach, "Turn from sin and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."


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One day as he was walking along the beach beside the Lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--out in a boat fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen.


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A little farther up the beach he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets; and he called to them to come too.


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Jesus traveled all through Galilee teaching in the Jewish synagogues, everywhere preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of Heaven. And he healed every kind of sickness and disease.


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The report of his miracles spread far beyond the borders of Galilee so that sick folk were soon coming to be healed from as far away as Syria. And whatever their illness and pain, or if they were possessed by demons, or were insane, or paralyzed--he healed them all.


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Enormous crowds followed him wherever he went--people from Galilee, and the Ten Cities, and Jerusalem, and from all over Judea, and even from across the Jordan River.


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Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.


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"You are the world's seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.


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Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.


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"Don't misunderstand why I have come--it isn't to cancel the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them and to make them all come true.


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With all the earnestness I have I say: Every law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved.


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And so if anyone breaks the least commandment and teaches others to, he shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But those who teach God's laws and obey them shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.


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"But I warn you--unless your goodness is greater than that of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, you can't get into the Kingdom of Heaven at all!


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But I have added to that rule and tell you that if you are only angry, even in your own home, you are in danger of judgment! If you call your friend an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse him, you are in danger of the fires of hell.


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"So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you,


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leave your sacrifice there beside the altar and go and apologize and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer your sacrifice to God.


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Come to terms quickly with your enemy before it is too late and he drags you into court and you are thrown into a debtor's cell,


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But I say: Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.


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So if your eye--even if it is your best eye! --causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. Better for part of you to be destroyed than for all of you to be cast into hell.


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And if your hand--even your right hand--causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better that than find yourself in hell.


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"The law of Moses says, 'If anyone wants to be rid of his wife, he can divorce her merely by giving her a letter of dismissal.'


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But I say that a man who divorces his wife, except for fornication, causes her to commit adultery if she marries again. And he who marries her commits adultery.


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But I say: Don't make any vows! And even to say 'By heavens!' is a sacred vow to God, for the heavens are God's throne.


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And if you say 'By the earth!' it is a sacred vow, for the earth is his footstool. And don't swear 'By Jerusalem!' for Jerusalem is the capital of the great King.


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Say just a simple 'Yes, I will' or 'No, I won't.' Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.


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"The law of Moses says, 'If a man gouges out another's eye, he must pay with his own eye. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the one who did it.'


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In that way you will be acting as true sons of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust too.


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If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that.


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"Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.


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When you give a gift to a beggar, don't shout about it as the hypocrites do--blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you in all earnestness, they have received all the reward they will ever get.


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But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly--don't tell your left hand what your right hand is doing.


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"And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who pretend piety by praying publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. Truly, that is all the reward they will ever get.


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But when you pray, go away by yourself, all alone, and shut the door behind you and pray to your Father secretly, and your Father, who knows your secrets, will reward you.


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"Don't recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again.


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We ask that your kingdom will come now. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.


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"And now about fasting. When you fast, declining your food for a spiritual purpose, don't do it publicly, as the hypocrites do, who try to look wan and disheveled so people will feel sorry for them. Truly, that is the only reward they will ever get.


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so that no one will suspect you are hungry, except your Father who knows every secret. And he will reward you.


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But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!


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"You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around.


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"So my counsel is: Don't worry about things--food, drink, and clothes. For you already have life and a body--and they are far more important than what to eat and wear.


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Look at the birds! They don't worry about what to eat--they don't need to sow or reap or store up food--for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.


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And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you, O men of little faith?


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For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them,


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"So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.


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Should you say, 'Friend, let me help you get that speck out of your eye,' when you can't even see because of the board in your own?


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"Don't give holy things to depraved men. Don't give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls and turn and attack you.


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"Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened.


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For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open.


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And if you hardhearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won't your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?


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"Do for others what you want them to do for you. This is the teaching of the laws of Moses in a nutshell.


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"Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way.


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"Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart.


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You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles.


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A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can't produce what is good.


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"Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord,' but still won't get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in heaven.


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At the Judgment many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles.'


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"All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock.


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Though the rain comes in torrents, and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won't collapse, for it is built on rock.


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"But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand.


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For when the rains and floods come, and storm winds beat against his house, it will fall with a mighty crash."


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Look! A leper is approaching. He kneels before him, worshiping. "Sir," the leper pleads, "if you want to, you can heal me."


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Then Jesus says to him, "Don't stop to talk to anyone; go right over to the priest to be examined; and take with you the offering required by Moses' law for lepers who are healed--a public testimony of your cure."


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and pled with him to come to his home and heal his servant boy who was in bed paralyzed and racked with pain.


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Then the officer said, "Sir, I am not worthy to have you in my home;  and it isn't necessary for you to come. If you will only stand here and say, 'Be healed,' my servant will get well!


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I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers, and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave boy, 'Do this or that,' and he does it. And I know you have authority to tell his sickness to go--and it will go!"


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Jesus stood there amazed! Turning to the crowd he said, "I haven't seen faith like this in all the land of Israel!


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And I tell you this, that many Gentiles  like this Roman officer, shall come from all over the world and sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


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And many an Israelite--those for whom the Kingdom was prepared--shall be cast into outer darkness, into the place of weeping and torment."


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Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, "Go on home. What you have believed has happened!" And the boy was healed that same hour!


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That evening several demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus; and when he spoke a single word, all the demons fled; and all the sick were healed.


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When Jesus noticed how large the crowd was growing, he instructed his disciples to get ready to cross to the other side of the lake.


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Just then one of the Jewish religious teachers said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you no matter where you go!"


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But Jesus said, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but I, the Messiah, have no home of my own--no place to lay my head."


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But Jesus answered, "O you men of little faith! Why are you so frightened?" Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and waves, and the storm subsided and all was calm.


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The disciples just sat there, awed! "Who is this," they asked themselves, "that even the winds and the sea obey him?"


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When they arrived on the other side of the lake, in the country of the Gadarenes, two men with demons in them met him. They lived in a cemetery and were so dangerous that no one could go through that area.


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They began screaming at him, "What do you want with us, O Son of God? You have no right to torment us yet."


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"All right," Jesus told them. "Begone." And they came out of the men and entered the pigs, and the whole herd rushed over a cliff and drowned in the water below.


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and the entire population came rushing out to see Jesus and begged him to go away and leave them alone.


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Soon some men brought him a paralyzed boy on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick boy, "Cheer up, son! For I have forgiven your sins!"


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I, the Messiah, have the authority on earth to forgive sins. But talk is cheap--anybody could say that.


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"So I'll prove it to you by healing this man." Then, turning to the paralyzed man, he commanded, "Pick up your stretcher and go on home, for you are healed."


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A chill of fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen right before their eyes. How they praised God for giving such authority to a man!


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As Jesus was going on down the road, he saw a tax collector, Matthew, sitting at a tax collection booth. "Come and be my disciple," Jesus said to him, and Matthew jumped up and went along with him.


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Later, as Jesus and his disciples were eating dinner  at Matthew's house, there were many notorious swindlers there as guests!


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Then he added, "Now go away and learn the meaning of this verse of Scripture, 'It isn't your sacrifices and your gifts I want--I want you to be merciful.' For I have come to urge sinners, not the self-righteous, back to God."


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One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, "Why don't your disciples fast as we do and as the Pharisees do?"


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"Should the bridegroom's friends mourn and go without food while he is with them?" Jesus asked. "But the time is coming when I will be taken from them. Time enough then for them to refuse to eat.


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"And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch would tear away and make the hole worse.


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And who would use old wineskins to store new wine? For the old skins would burst with the pressure, and the wine would be spilled and skins ruined. Only new wineskins are used to store new wine. That way both are preserved."


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As he was saying this, the rabbi of the local synagogue came and worshiped him. "My little daughter has just died," he said, "but you can bring her back to life again if you will only come and touch her."


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a woman who had been sick for twelve years with internal bleeding came up behind him and touched a tassel of his robe,


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Jesus turned around and spoke to her. "Daughter," he said, "all is well! Your faith has healed you." And the woman was well from that moment.


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he said, "Get them out, for the little girl isn't dead; she is only sleeping!" Then how they all scoffed and sneered at him!


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When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in where the little girl was lying and took her by the hand, and she jumped up and was all right again!


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As Jesus was leaving her home, two blind men followed along behind, shouting, "O Son of King David, have mercy on us."


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They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can make you see?" "Yes, Lord," they told him, "we do."


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So Jesus cast out the demon, and instantly the man could talk. How the crowds marveled! "Never in all our lives have we seen anything like this," they exclaimed.


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But the Pharisees said, "The reason he can cast out demons is that he is demon-possessed himself--possessed by Satan, the demon king!"


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Jesus traveled around through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the Jewish synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went he healed people of every sort of illness.


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And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know what to do or where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd.


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"So pray to the one in charge of the harvesting, and ask him to recruit more workers for his harvest fields."


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Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of sickness and disease.


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Here are the names of his twelve disciples:  Simon (also called Peter),  Andrew (Peter's brother),  James (Zebedee's son),  John (James' brother),


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Simon (a member of "The Zealots," a subversive political party),  Judas Iscariot (the one who betrayed him).


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Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the lepers, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!


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don't even carry a duffle bag with extra clothes and shoes, or even a walking stick; for those you help should feed and care for you.


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Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a godly man and stay in his home until you leave for the next town.


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Any city or home that doesn't welcome you--shake off the dust of that place from your feet as you leave.


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Yes, and you must stand trial before governors and kings for my sake. This will give you the opportunity to tell them about me, yes, to witness to the world.


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"When you are arrested, don't worry about what to say at your trial, for you will be given the right words at the right time.


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For it won't be you doing the talking--it will be the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you!


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"Brother shall betray brother to death, and fathers shall betray their own children. And children shall rise against their parents and cause their deaths.


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Everyone shall hate you because you belong to me. But all of you who endure to the end shall be saved.


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"When you are persecuted in one city, flee to the next! I will return before you have reached them all!


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The student shares his teacher's fate. The servant shares his master's! And since I, the master of the household, have been called 'Satan,' how much more will you!


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But don't be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when the truth will be revealed: their secret plots will become public information.


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"What I tell you now in the gloom, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ears, proclaim from the housetops!


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"Don't be afraid of those who can kill only your bodies--but can't touch your souls! Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.


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Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.


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"If anyone publicly acknowledges me as his friend, I will openly acknowledge him as my friend before my Father in heaven.


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I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--


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If you love your father and mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.


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"Those who welcome you are welcoming me. And when they welcome me they are welcoming God who sent me.


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If you welcome a prophet because he is a man of God, you will be given the same reward a prophet gets. And if you welcome good and godly men because of their godliness, you will be given a reward like theirs.


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"And if, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded."


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When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went off preaching in the cities where they were scheduled to go.


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John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the miracles the Messiah was doing, so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,


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the blind people I've healed, and the lame people now walking without help, and the cured lepers, and the deaf who hear, and the dead raised to life; and tell him about my preaching the Good News to the poor.


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When John's disciples had gone, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. "When you went out into the barren wilderness to see John, what did you expect him to be like? Grass blowing in the wind?


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For John is the man mentioned in the Scriptures--a messenger to precede me, to announce my coming, and prepare people to receive me.


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"Truly, of all men ever born, none shines more brightly than John the Baptist. And yet, even the lesser lights in the Kingdom of Heaven will be greater than he is!


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And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, ardent multitudes have been crowding toward the Kingdom of Heaven,


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and if you are willing to understand what I mean, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come  at the time the Kingdom begins.


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"What shall I say about this nation? These people are like children playing, who say to their little friends,


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For John the Baptist doesn't even drink wine and often goes without food, and you say, 'He's crazy.'


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And I, the Messiah, feast and drink, and you complain that I am 'a glutton and a drinking man, and hang around with the worst sort of sinners!' But brilliant men like you can justify your every inconsistency!"


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Then he began to pour out his denunciations against the cities where he had done most of his miracles, because they hadn't turned to God.


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"Woe to you, Chorazin, and woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in your streets had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon their people would have repented long ago in shame and humility.


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And Capernaum, though highly honored, shall go down to hell! For if the marvelous miracles I did in you had been done in Sodom, it would still be here today.


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And Jesus prayed this prayer: "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise, and for revealing it to little children.


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"Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. Only the Father knows the Son, and the Father is known only by the Son and by those to whom the Son reveals him.


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Wear my yoke--for it fits perfectly--and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls;


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About that time, Jesus was walking one day through some grainfields with his disciples. It was on the Sabbath, the Jewish day of worship, and his disciples were hungry; so they began breaking off heads of wheat and eating the grain.


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But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, "Your disciples are breaking the law. They are harvesting on the Sabbath."


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But Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read what King David did when he and his friends were hungry?


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He went into the Temple and they ate the special bread permitted to the priests alone. That was breaking the law too.


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And haven't you ever read in the law of Moses how the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?


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But if you had known the meaning of this Scripture verse, 'I want you to be merciful more than I want your offerings,' you would not have condemned those who aren't guilty!


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and noticed there a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Is it legal to work by healing on the Sabbath day?" (They were, of course, hoping he would say yes, so they could arrest him!)


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This was his answer: "If you had just one sheep, and it fell into a well on the Sabbath, would you work to rescue it that day? Of course you would.


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Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your arm." And as he did, his hand became normal, just like the other one!


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But he knew what they were planning and left the synagogue, with many following him. He healed all the sick among them,


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"Look at my Servant. See my Chosen One. He is my Beloved, in whom my soul delights. I will put my Spirit upon him, And he will judge the nations.


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He does not crush the weak, Or quench the smallest hope; He will end all conflict with his final victory,


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Then a demon-possessed man--he was both blind and unable to talk--was brought to Jesus, and Jesus healed him so that he could both speak and see.


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But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle they said, "He can cast out demons because he is Satan, king of devils."


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Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, "A divided kingdom ends in ruin. A city or home divided against itself cannot stand.


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And if, as you claim, I am casting out demons by invoking the powers of Satan, then what power do your own people use when they cast them out? Let them answer your accusation!


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speaking against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.


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"A tree is identified by its fruit. A tree from a select variety produces good fruit; poor varieties don't.


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You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For a man's heart determines his speech.


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A good man's speech reveals the rich treasures within him. An evil-hearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it.


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Your words now reflect your fate then: either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned."


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One day some of the Jewish leaders, including some Pharisees, came to Jesus asking him to show them a miracle.


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But Jesus replied, "Only an evil, faithless nation would ask for further proof; and none will be given except what happened to Jonah the prophet!


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"For as Jonah was in the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Messiah, shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.


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The men of Nineveh shall arise against this nation at the judgment and condemn you. For when Jonah preached to them, they repented and turned to God from all their evil ways. And now a greater than Jonah is here--and you refuse to believe him.


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The Queen of Sheba shall rise against this nation in the judgment and condemn it; for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and now a greater than Solomon is here--and you refuse to believe him.


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"This evil nation is like a man possessed by a demon. For if the demon leaves, it goes into the deserts for a while, seeking rest but finding none.


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"Then it says, 'I will return to the man I came from.' So it returns and finds the man's heart clean but empty!


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"Then the demon finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and all enter the man and live in him. And so he is worse off than before."


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As Jesus was speaking in a crowded house his mother and brothers were outside, wanting to talk with him.


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He got into a boat and taught from it while the people listened on the beach. He used many illustrations such as this one in his sermon: "A farmer was sowing grain in his fields.


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And some fell on rocky soil where there was little depth of earth; the plants sprang up quickly enough in the shallow soil,


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But some fell on good soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as he had planted.


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Then he explained to them that only they were permitted to understand about the Kingdom of Heaven, and others were not.


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"For to him who has will more be given," he told them, "and he will have great plenty; but from him who has not, even the little he has will be taken away.


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For their hearts are fat and heavy, and their ears are dull, and they have closed their eyes in sleep,


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so they won't see and hear and understand and turn to God again, and let me heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.


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Many a prophet and godly man has longed to see what you have seen and hear what you have heard, but couldn't.


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The hard path where some of the seeds fell represents the heart of a person who hears the Good News about the Kingdom and doesn't understand it; then Satan comes and snatches away the seeds from his heart.


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The shallow, rocky soil represents the heart of a man who hears the message and receives it with real joy,


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but he doesn't have much depth in his life, and the seeds don't root very deeply, and after a while when trouble comes, or persecution begins because of his beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and he drops out.


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The ground covered with thistles represents a man who hears the message, but the cares of this life and his longing for money choke out God's Word, and he does less and less for God.


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The good ground represents the heart of a man who listens to the message and understands it and goes out and brings thirty, sixty, or even a hundred others into the Kingdom."


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Here is another illustration Jesus used: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer sowing good seed in his field;


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"The farmer's men came and told him, 'Sir, the field where you planted that choice seed is full of thistles!'


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Let both grow together until the harvest, and I will tell the reapers to sort out the thistles and burn them, and put the wheat in the barn.' "


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Here is another of his illustrations: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field.


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"It is the smallest of all seeds but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter."


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He also used this example: "The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman making bread. She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast until it permeates every part of the dough."


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Jesus constantly used these illustrations when speaking to the crowds. In fact, because the prophets said that he would use so many, he never spoke to them without at least one illustration.


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For it had been prophesied, "I will talk in parables; I will explain mysteries hidden since the beginning of time."


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Then, leaving the crowds outside, he went into the house. His disciples asked him to explain to them the illustration of the thistles and the wheat.


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The field is the world, and the seed represents the people of the Kingdom; the thistles are the people belonging to Satan.


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The enemy who sowed the thistles among the wheat is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.


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"Just as in this story the thistles are separated and burned, so shall it be at the end of the world:


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I will send my angels, and they will separate out of the Kingdom every temptation and all who are evil,


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"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure a man discovered in a field. In his excitement, he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field--and get the treasure, too!


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"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by a fisherman--he casts a net into the water and gathers in fish of every kind, valuable and worthless.


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When the net is full, he drags it up onto the beach and sits down and sorts out the edible ones into crates and throws the others away.


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That is the way it will be at the end of the world--the angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly,


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Then he added, "Those experts in Jewish law who are now my disciples have double treasures--from the Old Testament as well as from the New!"


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he returned to his hometown, Nazareth in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue and astonished everyone with his wisdom and his miracles.


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"How is this possible?" the people exclaimed. "He's just a carpenter's son, and we know Mary his mother and his brothers--James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.


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And they became angry with him! Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people!"


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he said to his men, "This must be John the Baptist, come back to life again. That is why he can do these miracles."


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For Herod had arrested John and chained him in prison at the demand of his wife Herodias, his brother Philip's ex-wife,


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The king was grieved, but because of his oath, and because he didn't want to back down in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.


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As soon as Jesus heard the news, he went off by himself in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds saw where he was headed and followed by land from many villages.


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So when Jesus came out of the wilderness, a vast crowd was waiting for him, and he pitied them and healed their sick.


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That evening the disciples came to him and said, "It is already past time for supper, and there is nothing to eat here in the desert; send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy some food."


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Then he told the people to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up into the sky, and asked God's blessing on the meal, then broke the loaves apart and gave them to the disciples to place before the people.


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And everyone ate until full! And when the scraps were picked up afterwards, there were twelve basketfuls left over!


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Immediately after this, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he stayed to get the people started home.


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and out on the lake the disciples were in trouble. For the wind had risen and they were fighting heavy seas.


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Then Peter called to him: "Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water."


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"All right," the Lord said, "come along!" So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.


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But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted.


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Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. "O man of little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?"


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The news of their arrival spread quickly throughout the city, and soon people were rushing around, telling everyone to bring in their sick to be healed.


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"Why do your disciples disobey the ancient Jewish traditions?" they demanded. "For they ignore our ritual of ceremonial handwashing before they eat."


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But you say, 'Even if your parents are in need, you may give their support money to the church instead.'


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And so, by your man-made rule, you nullify the direct command of God to honor and care for your parents.


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You aren't made unholy by eating nonkosher food! It is what you say and think that makes you unclean."


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Then Peter asked Jesus to explain what he meant when he said that people are not defiled by nonkosher food.


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These are what defile; but there is no spiritual defilement from eating without first going through the ritual of ceremonial handwashing!"


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A woman from Canaan who was living there came to him, pleading, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, King David's Son! For my daughter has a demon within her, and it torments her constantly."


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But Jesus gave her no reply--not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. "Tell her to get going," they said, "for she is bothering us with all her begging."


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Then he said to the woman, "I was sent to help the Jews--the lost sheep of Israel--not the Gentiles."


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"Yes, it is!" she replied, "for even the puppies beneath the table are permitted to eat the crumbs that fall."


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"Woman," Jesus told her, "your faith is large, and your request is granted." And her daughter was healed right then.


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And a vast crowd brought him their lame, blind, maimed, and those who couldn't speak, and many others, and laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.


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What a spectacle it was! Those who hadn't been able to say a word before were talking excitedly, and those with missing arms and legs had new ones; the crippled were walking and jumping around, and those who had been blind were gazing about them! The crowds just marveled, and praised the God of Israel.


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Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I pity these people--they've been here with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat; I don't want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road."


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Jesus asked them, "How much food do you have?" And they replied, "Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish!"


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and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks to God for them, and divided them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples who presented them to the crowd.


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One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus' claim of being the Messiah by asking him to show them some great demonstrations in the skies.


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He replied, "You are good at reading the weather signs of the skies--red sky tonight means fair weather tomorrow;


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red sky in the morning means foul weather all day--but you can't read the obvious signs of the times!


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This evil, unbelieving nation is asking for some strange sign in the heavens, but no further proof will be given except the miracle that happened to Jonah." Then Jesus walked out on them.


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Jesus knew what they were thinking and told them, "O men of little faith! Why are you so worried about having no food?


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Won't you ever understand? Don't you remember at all the five thousand I fed with five loaves, and the basketfuls left over?


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How could you even think I was talking about food? But again I say, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' "


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Then at last they understood that by yeast he meant the wrong teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


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"Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; some, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."


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"God has blessed you, Simon, son of Jonah," Jesus said, "for my Father in heaven has personally revealed this to you--this is not from any human source.


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You are Peter, a stone; and upon this rock I will build my church; and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.


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And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever doors you lock on earth shall be locked in heaven; and whatever doors you open on earth shall be open in heaven!"


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From then on Jesus began to speak plainly to his disciples about going to Jerusalem, and what would happen to him there--that he would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, that he would be killed, and that three days later he would be raised to life again.


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But Peter took him aside to remonstrate with him. "Heaven forbid, sir," he said. "This is not going to happen to you!"


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Jesus turned on Peter and said, "Get away from me, you Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are thinking merely from a human point of view, and not from God's."


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Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.


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For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again.


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What profit is there if you gain the whole world--and lose eternal life? What can be compared with the value of eternal life?


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For I, the Son of Mankind, shall come with my angels in the glory of my Father and judge each person according to his deeds.


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and as they watched, his appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun and his clothing became dazzling white.


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Peter blurted out, "Sir, it's wonderful that we can be here! If you want me to, I'll make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."


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But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him. Obey him."


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As they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead.


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His disciples asked, "Why do the Jewish leaders insist Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?"


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And, in fact, he has already come, but he wasn't recognized, and was badly mistreated by many. And I, the Messiah, shall also suffer at their hands."


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When they arrived at the bottom of the hill, a huge crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,


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"Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is mentally deranged and in great trouble, for he often falls into the fire or into the water;


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Jesus replied, "Oh, you stubborn, faithless people! How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me."


text:
"Because of your little faith," Jesus told them. "For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed you could say to this mountain, 'Move!' and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible.


text:
One day while they were still in Galilee, Jesus told them, "I am going to be betrayed into the power of those


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who will kill me, and on the third day afterwards I will be brought back to life again." And the disciples' hearts were filled with sorrow and dread.


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On their arrival in Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, "Doesn't your master pay taxes?"


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"Of course he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house to talk to Jesus about it, but before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Peter? Do kings levy assessments against their own people or against conquered foreigners?"


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"However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the shore and throw in a line, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin to cover the taxes for both of us; take it and pay them."


text:
About that time the disciples came to Jesus to ask which of them would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven!


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and said, "Unless you turn to God from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.


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And any of you who welcomes a little child like this because you are mine is welcoming me and caring for me.


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But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith, it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.


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"Woe upon the world for all its evils. Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but woe to the man who does the tempting.


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So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better to enter heaven crippled than to be in hell with both of your hands and feet.


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And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. Better to enter heaven with one eye than to be in hell with two.


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"Beware that you don't look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access to my Father.


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"If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one?


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"If a brother sins against you, go to him privately and confront him with his fault. If he listens and confesses it, you have won back a brother.


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But if not, then take one or two others with you and go back to him again, proving everything you say by these witnesses.


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If he still refuses to listen, then take your case to the church, and if the church's verdict favors you, but he won't accept it, then the church should excommunicate him.


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And I tell you this--whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you free on earth will be freed in heaven.


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"I also tell you this--if two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask for, my Father in heaven will do it for you.


text:
Then Peter came to him and asked, "Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?"


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He couldn't pay, so the king ordered him sold for the debt, also his wife and children and everything he had.


text:
"But the man fell down before the king, his face in the dust, and said, 'Oh, sir, be patient with me and I will pay it all.'


text:
"But when the man left the king, he went to a man who owed him $2,000 and grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.


text:
"The man fell down before him and begged him to give him a little time. 'Be patient and I will pay it,' he pled.


text:
"But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt would be paid in full.


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And the king called before him the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil-hearted wretch! Here I forgave you all that tremendous debt, just because you asked me to--


text:
After Jesus had finished this address, he left Galilee and circled back to Judea from across the Jordan River.


text:
Some Pharisees came to interview him and tried to trap him into saying something that would ruin him. "Do you permit divorce?" they asked.


text:
"Don't you read the Scriptures?" he replied. "In them it is written that at the beginning God created man and woman,


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The two shall become one--no longer two, but one! And no man may divorce what God has joined together."


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"Then, why," they asked, "did Moses say a man may divorce his wife by merely writing her a letter of dismissal?"


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Jesus replied, "Moses did that in recognition of your hard and evil hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.


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And I tell you this, that anyone who divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery."


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Some are born without the ability to marry, and some are disabled by men, and some refuse to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone who can, accept my statement."


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Little children were brought for Jesus to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. "Don't bother him," they said.


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But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and don't prevent them. For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven."


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"When you call me good you are calling me God," Jesus replied, "for God alone is truly good. But to answer your question, you can get to heaven if you keep the commandments."


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"Which ones?" the man asked. And Jesus replied, "Don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie,


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Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."


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Then Jesus said to his disciples, "It is almost impossible for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.


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I say it again--it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!"


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Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, no one. But with God, everything is possible."


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And Jesus replied, "When I, the Messiah, shall sit upon my glorious throne in the Kingdom, you my disciples shall certainly sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


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And anyone who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life.


text:
Here is another illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven. "The owner of an estate went out early one morning to hire workers for his harvest field.


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"A couple of hours later he was passing a hiring hall and saw some men standing around waiting for jobs,


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so he sent them also into his fields, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.


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"At five o'clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more men standing around and asked them, 'Why haven't you been working today?'


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'Because no one hired us,' they replied. 'Then go on out and join the others in my fields,' he told them.


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"That evening he told the paymaster to call the men in and pay them, beginning with the last men first.


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So when the men hired earlier came to get theirs, they assumed they would receive much more. But they, too, were paid $20.


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'Those fellows worked only one hour, and yet you've paid them just as much as those of us who worked all day in the scorching heat.'


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and talked to them about what would happen to him when they arrived. "I will be betrayed to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders, and they will condemn me to die.


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And they will hand me over to the Roman government, and I will be mocked and crucified, and the third day I will rise to life again."


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Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, brought them to Jesus and respectfully asked a favor.


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"What is your request?" he asked. She replied, "In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit on two thrones next to yours?"


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But Jesus told her, "You don't know what you are asking!" Then he turned to James and John and asked them, "Are you able to drink from the terrible cup I am about to drink from?" "Yes," they replied, "we are able!"


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"You shall indeed drink from it," he told them. "But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. Those places are reserved for the persons my Father selects."


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But Jesus called them together and said, "Among the heathen, kings are tyrants and each minor official lords it over those beneath him.


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Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many."


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Two blind men were sitting beside the road, and when they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, "Sir, King David's Son, have mercy on us!"


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When Jesus came to the place where they were, he stopped in the road and called, "What do you want me to do for you?"


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Jesus was moved with pity for them and touched their eyes. And instantly they could see, and followed him.


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As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, and were near the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of them into the village ahead.


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"Just as you enter," he said, "you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them here.


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If anyone asks you what you are doing, just say, 'The Master needs them,' and there will be no trouble."


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And some in the crowd threw down their coats along the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them out before him.


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Then the crowds surged on ahead and pressed along behind, shouting, "God bless King David's Son!" . . . "God's Man is here!". . . Bless him, Lord!" . . . "Praise God in highest heaven!"


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Jesus went into the Temple, drove out the merchants, and knocked over the moneychangers' tables and the stalls of those selling doves.


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"The Scriptures say my Temple is a place of prayer," he declared, "but you have turned it into a den of thieves."


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But when the chief priests and other Jewish leaders saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the little children in the Temple shouting, "God bless the Son of David," they were disturbed and indignant and asked him, "Do you hear what these children are saying?"


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"Yes," Jesus replied. "Didn't you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, 'Even little babies shall praise him!' "


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and noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, "Never bear fruit again!" And soon the fig tree withered up.


text:
Then Jesus told them, "Truly, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this Mount of Olives, 'Move over into the ocean,' and it will.


text:
When he had returned to the Temple and was teaching, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders came up to him and demanded to know by whose authority he had thrown out the merchants the day before.


text:
"Was John the Baptist sent from God or not?" They talked it over among themselves. "If we say, 'From God,' " they said, "then he will ask why we didn't believe what John said.


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So they finally replied, "We don't know!" And Jesus said, "Then I won't answer your question either.


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"But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, 'Son, go out and work on the farm today.'


text:
Which of the two was obeying his father?" They replied, "The first, of course." Then Jesus explained his meaning: "Surely evil men and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom before you do.


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For John the Baptist told you to repent and turn to God, and you wouldn't, while very evil men and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to repent, and so you couldn't believe.


text:
"Now listen to this story: A certain landowner planted a vineyard with a hedge around it, and built a platform for the watchman, then leased the vineyard to some farmers on a sharecrop basis, and went away to live in another country.


text:
"But when these farmers saw the son coming they said among themselves, 'Here comes the heir to this estate; come on, let's kill him and get it for ourselves!'


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The Jewish leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him promptly."


text:
Then Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read in the Scriptures: 'The stone rejected by the builders has been made the honored cornerstone; how remarkable! what an amazing thing the Lord has done'?


text:
"What I mean is that the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation that will give God his share of the crop.


text:
All who stumble on this rock of truth shall be broken, but those it falls on will be scattered as dust."


text:
When the chief priests and other Jewish leaders realized that Jesus was talking about them--that they were the farmers in his story--


text:
they wanted to get rid of him but were afraid to try because of the crowds, for they accepted Jesus as a prophet.


text:
Jesus told several other stories to show what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. "For instance," he said,


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Many guests were invited, and when the banquet was ready he sent messengers to notify everyone that it was time to come. But all refused!


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"But the guests he had invited merely laughed and went on about their business, one to his farm, another to his store;


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And he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren't worthy of the honor.


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"So the servants did, and brought in all they could find, good and bad alike; and the banquet hall was filled with guests.


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But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the wedding robe  provided for him.


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'Friend,' he asked, 'how does it happen that you are here without a wedding robe?' And the man had no reply.


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"Then the king said to his aides, 'Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.'


text:
Then the Pharisees met together to try to think of some way to trap Jesus into saying something for which they could arrest him.


text:
They decided to send some of their men along with the Herodians to ask him this question: "Sir, we know you are very honest and teach the truth regardless of the consequences, without fear or favor.


text:
But Jesus saw what they were after. "You hypocrites!" he exclaimed. "Who are you trying to fool with your trick questions?


text:
"Caesar's," they replied. "Well, then," he said, "give it to Caesar if it is his, and give God everything that belongs to God."


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But that same day some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection after death, came to him and asked,


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"Sir, Moses said that if a man died without children, his brother should marry the widow and their children would get all the dead man's property.


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Well, we had among us a family of seven brothers. The first of these men married and then died, without children, so his widow became the second brother's wife.


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This brother also died without children, and the wife was passed to the next brother, and so on until she had been the wife of each of them.


text:
But now, as to whether there is a resurrection of the dead--don't you ever read the Scriptures? Don't you realize that God was speaking directly to you when he said,


text:
All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others."


text:
"Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, call him 'Lord'?" Jesus asked. "For David said,


text:
"You would think these Jewish leaders and these Pharisees were Moses, the way they keep making up so many laws!


text:
And of course you should obey their every whim! It may be all right to do what they say, but above anything else, don't follow their example. For they don't do what they tell you to do.


text:
"Everything they do is done for show. They act holy by wearing on their arms little prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and by lengthening the memorial fringes of their robes.


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Don't ever let anyone call you that. For only God is your Rabbi and all of you are on the same level, as brothers.


text:
And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven should be addressed like that.


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But those who think themselves great shall be disappointed and humbled; and those who humble themselves shall be exalted.


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"Woe to you, Pharisees, and you other religious leaders. Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven and won't go in yourselves.


text:
And you pretend to be holy, with all your long, public prayers in the streets, while you are evicting widows from their homes. Hypocrites!


text:
Yes, woe upon you hypocrites. For you go to all lengths to make one convert, and then turn him into twice the son of hell you are yourselves.


text:
Blind guides! Woe upon you! For your rule is that to swear 'By God's Temple' means nothing--you can break that oath, but to swear 'By the gold in the Temple' is binding!


text:
And you say that to take an oath 'By the altar' can be broken, but to swear 'By the gifts on the altar' is binding!


text:
"Yes, woe upon you, Pharisees, and you other religious leaders--hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden, but ignore the important things--justice and mercy and faith. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn't leave the more important things undone.


text:
"Woe to you, Pharisees, and you religious leaders--hypocrites! You are so careful to polish the outside of the cup, but the inside is foul with extortion and greed.


text:
"Woe to you, Pharisees, and you religious leaders! You are like beautiful mausoleums--full of dead men's bones, and of foulness and corruption.


text:
You try to look like saintly men, but underneath those pious robes of yours are hearts besmirched with every sort of hypocrisy and sin.


text:
"Yes, woe to you, Pharisees, and you religious leaders--hypocrites! For you build monuments to the prophets killed by your fathers and lay flowers on the graves of the godly men they destroyed,


text:
"I will send you prophets, and wise men, and inspired writers, and you will kill some by crucifixion, and rip open the backs of others with whips in your synagogues, and hound them from city to city,


text:
so that you will become guilty of all the blood of murdered godly men from righteous Abel to Zechariah (son of Barachiah), slain by you in the Temple between the altar and the sanctuary.


text:
Yes, all the accumulated judgment of the centuries shall break upon the heads of this very generation.


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"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones all those God sends to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me.


text:
For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you are ready to welcome the one sent to you from God."


text:
As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples came along and wanted to take him on a tour of the various Temple buildings.


text:
But he told them, "All these buildings will be knocked down, with not one stone left on top of another!"


text:
"When will this happen?" the disciples asked him later, as he sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. "What events will signal your return and the end of the world?"


text:
When you hear of wars beginning, this does not signal my return; these must come, but the end is not yet.


text:
The nations and kingdoms of the earth will rise against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many places.


text:
"And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.


text:
"So, when you see the horrible thing (told about by Daniel the prophet) standing in a holy place (Note to the reader: You know what is meant!),


text:
For there will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history and will never see again.


text:
"In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen people.


text:
"Then if anyone tells you, 'The Messiah has arrived at such and such a place, or has appeared here or there,' don't believe it.


text:
For false Christs shall arise, and false prophets, and will do wonderful miracles so that if it were possible, even God's chosen ones would be deceived.


text:
"So if someone tells you the Messiah has returned and is out in the desert, don't bother to go and look. Or, that he is hiding at a certain place, don't believe it!


text:
For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah, return.


text:
"Immediately after the persecution of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give light, and the stars will seem to fall from the heavens, and the powers overshadowing the earth will be convulsed.


text:
"And then at last the signal of my coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning all around the earth. And the nations of the world will see me arrive in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.


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And I shall send forth my angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they shall gather my chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.


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"Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When her branch is tender and the leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is almost here.


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Just so, when you see all these things beginning to happen, you can know that my return is near, even at the doors.


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But no one knows the date and hour when the end will be--not even the angels. No, nor even God's Son. Only the Father knows.


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people wouldn't believe what was going to happen until the flood actually arrived and took them all away. So shall my coming be.


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"Are you a wise and faithful servant of the Lord? Have I given you the task of managing my household, to feed my children day by day?


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and severely whip you and send you off to the judgment of the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


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"The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.


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But only five of them were wise enough to fill their lamps with oil, while the other five were foolish and forgot.


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"Then the five who hadn't any oil begged the others to share with them, for their lamps were going out.


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"But while they were gone, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked.


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"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going into another country, who called together his servants and loaned them money to invest for him while he was gone.


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"He gave $5,000 to one, $2,000 to another, and $1,000 to the last--dividing it in proportion to their abilities--and then left on his trip.


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The man who received the $5,000 began immediately to buy and sell with it and soon earned another $5,000.


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"After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to him to account for his money.


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"His master praised him for good work. 'You have been faithful in handling this small amount,' he told him, 'so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Begin the joyous tasks I have assigned to you.'


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"Next came the man who had received the $2,000, with the report, 'Sir, you gave me $2,000 to use, and I have doubled it.'


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'Good work,' his master said. 'You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over this small amount, so now I will give you much more.'


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and I was afraid you would rob me of what I earned, so I hid your money in the earth and here it is!'


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For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him.


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And throw the useless servant out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'


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"But when I, the Messiah, shall come in my glory, and all the angels with me, then I shall sit upon my throne of glory.


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And all the nations shall be gathered before me. And I will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,


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"Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, 'Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.


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For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes;


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"Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink?


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Then I will turn to those on my left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.


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a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked, and you wouldn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'


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"Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?'


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"And I will answer, 'When you refused to help the least of these my brothers, you were refusing help to me.'


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At that very moment the chief priests and other Jewish officials were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas the High Priest,


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While he was eating, a woman came in with a bottle of very expensive perfume and poured it over his head.


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Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Why are you criticizing her? For she has done a good thing to me.


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And she will always be remembered for this deed. The story of what she has done will be told throughout the whole world, wherever the Good News is preached."


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and asked, "How much will you pay me to get Jesus into your hands?" And they gave him thirty silver coins.


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On the first day of the Passover ceremonies, when bread made with yeast was purged from every Jewish home, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where shall we plan to eat the Passover?"


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He replied, "Go into the city and see Mr. So-and-So, and tell him, 'Our Master says, my time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.' "


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For I must die just as was prophesied, but woe to the man by whom I am betrayed. Far better for that one if he had never been born."


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As they were eating, Jesus took a small loaf of bread and blessed it and broke it apart and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take it and eat it, for this is my body."


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And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks for it and gave it to them and said, "Each one drink from it,


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Mark my words--I will not drink this wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom."


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Then Jesus said to them, "Tonight you will all desert me. For it is written in the Scriptures that God will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.


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Jesus told him, "The truth is that this very night, before the cock crows at dawn, you will deny me three times!"


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Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove, Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray.


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He took Peter with him and Zebedee's two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair.


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Then he told them, "My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death. . . stay here. . . stay awake with me."


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He went forward a little, and fell face downward on the ground, and prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine."


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Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep. "Peter," he called, "couldn't you even stay awake with me one hour?


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Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For the spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!"


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Again he left them and prayed, "My Father! If this cup cannot go away until I drink it all, your will be done."


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Then he came to the disciples and said, "Sleep on now and take your rest. . . but no! The time has come! I am betrayed into the hands of evil men!


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At that very moment while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived with a great crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the Jewish leaders.


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So now Judas came straight to Jesus and said, "Hello, Master!" and embraced him in friendly fashion.


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Don't you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?


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Then Jesus spoke to the crowd. "Am I some dangerous criminal," he asked, "that you had to arm yourselves with swords and clubs before you could arrest me? I was with you teaching daily in the Temple and you didn't stop me then.


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But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures." At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.


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Then the mob led him to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where all the Jewish leaders were gathering.


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Meanwhile, Peter was following far to the rear, and came to the courtyard of the High Priest's house and went in and sat with the soldiers, and waited to see what was going to be done to Jesus.


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The chief priests and, in fact, the entire Jewish Supreme Court assembled there and looked for witnesses who would lie about Jesus, in order to build a case against him that would result in a death sentence.


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But even though they found many who agreed to be false witnesses, these always contradicted each other. Finally two men were found


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who declared, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.' "


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Then the High Priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Well, what about it? Did you say that, or didn't you?"


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But Jesus remained silent. Then the High Priest said to him, "I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God."


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"Yes," Jesus said, "I am. And in the future you will see me, the Messiah, sitting at the right hand of God and returning on the clouds of heaven."


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Then the High Priest tore at his own clothing, shouting, "Blasphemy! What need have we for other witnesses? You have all heard him say it!


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Meanwhile, as Peter was sitting in the courtyard, a girl came over and said to him, "You were with Jesus, for both of you are from Galilee."


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Later, out by the gate, another girl noticed him and said to those standing around, "This man was with Jesus--from Nazareth."


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But after a while the men who had been standing there came over to him and said, "We know you are one of his disciples, for we can tell by your Galilean accent."


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Peter began to curse and swear. "I don't even know the man," he said. And immediately the cock crowed.


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Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said, "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." And he went away, crying bitterly.


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When it was morning, the chief priests and Jewish leaders met again to discuss how to induce the Roman government to sentence Jesus to death.


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About that time Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus had been condemned to die, changed his mind and deeply regretted what he had done, and brought back the money to the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.


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"I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." "That's your problem," they retorted.


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The chief priests picked the money up. "We can't put it in the collection," they said, "since it's against our laws to accept money paid for murder."


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They talked it over and finally decided to buy a certain field where the clay was used by potters, and to make it into a cemetery for foreigners who died in Jerusalem.


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This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah which says, "They took the thirty pieces of silver--the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel--


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Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. "Are you the Jews' Messiah?" the governor asked him. "Yes," Jesus replied.


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But when the chief priests and other Jewish leaders made their many accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.


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Now the governor's custom was to release one Jewish prisoner each year during the Passover celebration--anyone they wanted.


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and as the crowds gathered before Pilate's house that morning he asked them, "Which shall I release to you--Barabbas, or Jesus your Messiah?"


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For he knew very well that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy because of his popularity with the people.


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Just then, as he was presiding over the court, Pilate's wife sent him this message: "Leave that good man alone; for I had a terrible nightmare concerning him last night."


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Meanwhile the chief priests and Jewish officials persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas' release, and for Jesus' death.


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So when the governor asked again, "Which of these two shall I release to you?" the crowd shouted back their reply: "Barabbas!"


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When Pilate saw that he wasn't getting anywhere and that a riot was developing, he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this good man. The responsibility is yours!"


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Then Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after he had whipped Jesus, he gave him to the Roman soldiers to take away and crucify.


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and made a crown from long thorns and put it on his head, and placed a stick in his right hand as a scepter and knelt before him in mockery. "Hail, King of the Jews," they yelled.


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After the mockery, they took off the robe and put his own garment on him again, and took him out to crucify him.


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As they were on the way to the execution grounds they came across a man from Cyrene, in Africa--Simon was his name--and forced him to carry Jesus' cross.


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"So! You can destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, can you? Well, then, come on down from the cross if you are the Son of God!"


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"He saved others," they scoffed, "but he can't save himself! So you are the King of Israel, are you? Come down from the cross and we'll believe you!


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That afternoon, the whole earth was covered with darkness for three hours, from noon until three o'clock.


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About three o'clock, Jesus shouted, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"


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One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a stick and held it up to him to drink.


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And look! The curtain secluding the Holiest Place in the Temple was split apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and rocks broke,


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After Jesus' resurrection, they left the cemetery and went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many people there.


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The soldiers at the crucifixion and their sergeant were terribly frightened by the earthquake and all that happened. They exclaimed, "Surely this was God's Son."


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And many women who had come down from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.


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Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John (the sons of Zebedee).


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and placed it in his own new rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a great stone across the entrance as he left.


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The next day--at the close of the first day of the Passover ceremonies --the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate,


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So we request an order from you sealing the tomb until the third day, to prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we'll be worse off than we were at first."


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Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to the tomb.


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Suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it.


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Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be frightened!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified,


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but he isn't here! For he has come back to life again, just as he said he would. Come in and see where his body was lying. . . .


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And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and that he is going to Galilee to meet them there. That is my message to them."


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The women ran from the tomb, badly frightened, but also filled with joy, and rushed to find the disciples to give them the angel's message.


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And as they were running, suddenly Jesus was there in front of them! "Good morning!" he said. And they fell to the ground before him, holding his feet and worshiping him.


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Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be frightened! Go tell my brothers to leave at once for Galilee, to meet me there."


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As the women were on the way into the city, some of the Temple police who had been guarding the tomb went to the chief priests and told them what had happened.


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and it was decided to bribe the police to say they had all been asleep when Jesus' disciples came during the night and stole his body.


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"If the governor hears about it," the Council promised, "we'll stand up for you and everything will be all right."


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So the police accepted the bribe and said what they were told to. Their story spread widely among the Jews and is still believed by them to this very day.


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Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had said they would find him.


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Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,


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and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this--that I am with you always, even to the end of the world."


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In the book written by the prophet Isaiah, God announced that he would send his Son to earth, and that a special messenger would arrive first to prepare the world for his coming.


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"This messenger will live out in the barren wilderness," Isaiah said, "and will proclaim that everyone must straighten out his life to be ready for the Lord's arrival."


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This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptized as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.


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People from Jerusalem and from all over Judea traveled out into the Judean wastelands to see and hear John, and when they confessed their sins he baptized them in the Jordan River.


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His clothes were woven from camel's hair and he wore a leather belt; locusts and wild honey were his food.


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Here is a sample of his preaching: "Someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.


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Then one day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John there in the Jordan River.


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The moment Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending on him,


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There, for forty days, alone except for desert animals, he was subjected to Satan's temptations to sin. And afterwards the angels came and cared for him.


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"At last the time has come!" he announced. "God's Kingdom is near! Turn from your sins and act on this glorious news!"


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One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing with nets, for they were commercial fishermen.


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He called them too, and immediately they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went with him.


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Jesus and his companions now arrived at the town of Capernaum and on Saturday morning went into the Jewish place of worship--the synagogue--where he preached.


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The congregation was surprised at his sermon because he spoke as an authority and didn't try to prove his points by quoting others--quite unlike what they were used to hearing!


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"Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth--have you come to destroy us demons? I know who you are--the holy Son of God!"


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Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened. "What sort of new religion is this?" they asked excitedly. "Why, even evil spirits obey his orders!"


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where they found Simon's mother-in-law sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away.


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He went to her bedside, and as he took her by the hand and helped her to sit up, the fever suddenly left, and she got up and prepared dinner for them!


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So Jesus healed great numbers of sick folk that evening and ordered many demons to come out of their victims. (But he refused to allow the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.)


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But he replied, "We must go on to other towns as well, and give my message to them too, for that is why I came."


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So he traveled throughout the province of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and releasing many from the power of demons.


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Once a leper came and knelt in front of him and begged to be healed. "If you want to, you can make me well again," he pled.


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"Go and be examined immediately by the Jewish priest. Don't stop to speak to anyone along the way. Take along the offering prescribed by Moses for a leper who is healed, so that everyone will have proof that you are well again."


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But as the man went on his way he began to shout the good news that he was healed; as a result, such throngs soon surrounded Jesus that he couldn't publicly enter a city anywhere, but had to stay out in the barren wastelands. And people from everywhere came to him there.


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Several days later he returned to Capernaum, and the news of his arrival spread quickly through the city.


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Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there wasn't room for a single person more, not even outside the door. And he preached the Word to them.


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They couldn't get to Jesus through the crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above his head and lowered the sick man on his stretcher, right down in front of Jesus.


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When Jesus saw how strongly they believed that he would help, Jesus said to the sick man, "Son, your sins are forgiven!"


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Then, turning to the paralyzed man, he commanded, "Pick up your stretcher and go on home, for you are healed!"


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The man jumped up, took the stretcher, and pushed his way through the stunned onlookers! Then how they praised God. "We've never seen anything like this before!" they all exclaimed.


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As he was walking up the beach he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax collection booth. "Come with me," Jesus told him. "Come be my disciple." And Levi jumped to his feet and went along.


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That night Levi invited his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners to be his dinner guests so that they could meet Jesus and his disciples. (There were many men of this type among the crowds that followed him.)


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But when some of the Jewish religious leaders saw him eating with these men of ill repute, they said to his disciples, "How can he stand it, to eat with such scum?"


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When Jesus heard what they were saying, he told them, "Sick people need the doctor, not healthy ones! I haven't come to tell good people to repent, but the bad ones."


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John's disciples and the Jewish leaders sometimes fasted, that is, went without food as part of their religion. One day some people came to Jesus and asked why his disciples didn't do this too.


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Jesus replied, "Do friends of the bridegroom refuse to eat at the wedding feast? Should they be sad while he is with them?


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 Besides, going without food is part of the old way of doing things. It is like patching an old garment with unshrunk cloth! What happens? The patch pulls away and leaves the hole worse than before.


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You know better than to put new wine into old wineskins. They would burst. The wine would be spilled out and the wineskins ruined. New wine needs fresh wineskins."


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Another time, on a Sabbath day as Jesus and his disciples were walking through the fields, the disciples were breaking off heads of wheat and eating the grain.


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Some of the Jewish religious leaders said to Jesus, "They shouldn't be doing that! It's against our laws to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath."


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and he went into the house of God--Abiathar was High Priest then--and they ate the special bread only priests were allowed to eat? That was against the law too.


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While in Capernaum Jesus went over to the synagogue again, and noticed a man there with a deformed hand.


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Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. Would he heal the man's hand? If he did, they planned to arrest him!


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Then turning to his enemies he asked, "Is it all right to do kind deeds on Sabbath days? Or is this a day for doing harm? Is it a day to save lives or to destroy them?" But they wouldn't answer him.


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Looking around at them angrily, for he was deeply disturbed by their indifference to human need, he said to the man, "Reach out your hand." He did, and instantly his hand was healed!


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from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from beyond the Jordan River, and even from as far away as Tyre and Sidon. For the news about his miracles had spread far and wide and vast numbers came to see him for themselves.


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He instructed his disciples to bring around a boat and to have it standing ready to rescue him in case he was crowded off the beach.


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For there had been many healings that day and as a result great numbers of sick people were crowding around him, trying to touch him.


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And whenever those possessed by demons caught sight of him they would fall down before him shrieking, "You are the Son of God!"


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Afterwards he went up into the hills and summoned certain ones he chose, inviting them to come and join him there; and they did.


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Andrew,  Philip,  Bartholomew,  Matthew,  Thomas,  James (the son of Alphaeus),  Thaddaeus,  Simon (a member of a political party advocating violent overthrow of the Roman government),


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When he returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon it was so full of visitors that he couldn't even find time to eat.


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When his friends heard what was happening they came to try to take him home with them. "He's out of his mind," they said.


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But the Jewish teachers of religion who had arrived from Jerusalem said, "His trouble is that he's possessed by Satan, king of demons. That's why demons obey him."


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Jesus summoned these men and asked them (using proverbs they all understood), "How can Satan cast out Satan?


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 Satan must be bound before his demons are cast out, just as a strong man must be tied up before his house can be ransacked and his property robbed.


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He told them this because they were saying he did his miracles by Satan's power  instead of acknowledging it was by the Holy Spirit's power.


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Now his mother and brothers arrived at the crowded house where he was teaching, and they sent word for him to come out and talk with them.


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Once again an immense crowd gathered around him on the beach as he was teaching, so he got into a boat and sat down and talked from there.


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but soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil.


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Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and crowded the young plants so that they produced no grain.


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But some of the seeds fell into good soil and yielded thirty times as much as he had planted--some of it even sixty or a hundred times as much!


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Afterwards, when he was alone with the twelve and with his other disciples, they asked him, "What does your story mean?"


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He replied, "You are permitted to know some truths about the Kingdom of God that are hidden to those outside the Kingdom:


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But if you can't understand this simple illustration, what will you do about all the others I am going to tell?


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"The farmer I talked about is anyone who brings God's message to others, trying to plant good seed within their lives.


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The hard pathway, where some of the seed fell, represents the hard hearts of some of those who hear God's message; Satan comes at once to try to make them forget it.


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but, like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep, and though at first they get along fine, as soon as persecution begins, they wilt.


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but all too quickly the attractions of this world and the delights of wealth, and the search for success and lure of nice things come in and crowd out God's message from their hearts, so that no crop is produced.


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"But the good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God's message and produce a plentiful harvest for God--thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as was planted in their hearts."


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Then he asked them, "When someone lights a lamp, does he put a box over it to shut out the light? Of course not! The light couldn't be seen or used. A lamp is placed on a stand to shine and be useful.


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And be sure to put into practice what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand what I tell you.


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For the soil made the seeds grow. First a leaf-blade pushed through, and later the wheat-heads formed and finally the grain ripened,


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yet it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can build their nests and be sheltered."


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In fact, he taught only by illustrations in his public teaching, but afterwards, when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain his meaning to them.


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So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed).


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But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink.


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Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, "Teacher, don't you even care that we are all about to drown?"


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Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Quiet down!" And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!


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And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, "Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?"


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This man lived among the gravestones and had such strength that whenever he was put into handcuffs and shackles--as he often was--


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he snapped the handcuffs from his wrists and smashed the shackles and walked away. No one was strong enough to control him.


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All day long and through the night he would wander among the tombs and in the wild hills, screaming and cutting himself with sharp pieces of stone.


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When Jesus was still far out on the water, the man had seen him and had run to meet him, and fell down before him.


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Then Jesus spoke to the demon within the man and said, "Come out, you evil spirit." It gave a terrible scream, shrieking, "What are you going to do to me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God's sake, don't torture me!"


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"What is your name?" Jesus asked, and the demon replied, "Legion, for there are many of us here within this man."


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And Jesus gave them permission. Then the evil spirits came out of the man and entered the hogs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.


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The herdsmen fled to the nearby towns and countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves.


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And a large crowd soon gathered where Jesus was; but as they saw the man sitting there, fully clothed and perfectly sane, they were frightened.


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So he got back into the boat. The man who had been possessed by the demons begged Jesus to let him go along.


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But Jesus said no. "Go home to your friends," he told him, "and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you; and how merciful he has been."


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So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and they were awestruck by his story.


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When Jesus had gone across by boat to the other side of the lake, a vast crowd gathered around him on the shore.


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pleading with him to heal his little daughter. "She is at the point of death," he said in desperation. "Please come and place your hands on her and make her live."


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She had suffered much from many doctors through the years and had become poor from paying them, and was no better but, in fact, was worse.


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She had heard all about the wonderful miracles Jesus did, and that is why she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his clothes.


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Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"


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Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done.


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While he was still talking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus' home with the news that it was too late--his daughter was dead and there was no point in Jesus' coming now.


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Then Jesus halted the crowd and wouldn't let anyone go on with him to Jairus' home except Peter and James and John.


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When they arrived, Jesus saw that all was in great confusion, with unrestrained weeping and wailing.


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He went inside and spoke to the people. "Why all this weeping and commotion?" he asked. "The child isn't dead; she is only asleep!"


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They laughed at him in bitter derision, but he told them all to leave, and taking the little girl's father and mother and his three disciples, he went into the room where she was lying.


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(She was twelve years old.) And she jumped up and walked around! Her parents just couldn't get over it.


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Jesus instructed them very earnestly not to tell what had happened and told them to give her something to eat.


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Soon afterwards he left that section of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown.


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The next Sabbath he went to the synagogue to teach, and the people were astonished at his wisdom and his miracles because he was just a local man like themselves. "He's no better than we are," they said.


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"He's just a carpenter, Mary's boy, and a brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us." And they were offended!


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Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and among his relatives and by his own family."


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And because of their unbelief he couldn't do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.


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And he could hardly accept the fact that they wouldn't believe in him. Then he went out among the villages, teaching.


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And he called his twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two, with power to cast out demons.


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"Stay at one home in each village--don't shift around from house to house while you are there," he said.


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"And whenever a village won't accept you or listen to you, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave; it is a sign that you have abandoned it to its fate."


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King Herod soon heard about Jesus, for his miracles were talked about everywhere. The king thought Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life again. So the people were saying, "No wonder he can do such miracles."


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Others thought Jesus was Elijah the ancient prophet, now returned to life again; still others claimed he was a new prophet like the great ones of the past.


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And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, and so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so he liked to listen to him.


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Herodias' chance finally came. It was Herod's birthday and he gave a stag party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee.


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"Ask me for anything you like," the king vowed, "even half of my kingdom, and I will give it to you!"


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So she hurried back to the king and told him, "I want the head of John the Baptist--right now--on a tray!"


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So he sent one of his bodyguards to the prison to cut off John's head and bring it to him. The soldier killed John in the prison,


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The apostles now returned to Jesus from their tour and told him all they had done and what they had said to the people they visited.


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Then Jesus suggested, "Let's get away from the crowds for a while and rest." For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat.


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So the usual vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat; and he had pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he taught them many things they needed to know.


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"Tell the people to go away to the nearby villages and farms and buy themselves some food, for there is nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late."


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But Jesus said, "You feed them." "With what?" they asked. "It would take a fortune to buy food for all this crowd!"


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"How much food do we have?" he asked. "Go and find out." They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and two fish.


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He took the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, gave thanks for the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple to place before the people.


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There were about 5,000 men there for that meal, and afterwards twelve basketfuls of scraps were picked up off the grass!


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Immediately after this Jesus instructed his disciples to get back into the boat and strike out across the lake to Bethsaida, where he would join them later. He himself would stay and tell the crowds good-bye and get them started home.


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During the night, as the disciples in their boat were out in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land,


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he saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o'clock in the morning he walked out to them on the water. He started past them,


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but when they saw something walking along beside them they screamed in terror, thinking it was a ghost,


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for they all saw him. But he spoke to them at once. "It's all right," he said. "It is I! Don't be afraid."


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For they still didn't realize who he was, even after the miracle the evening before! For they didn't want to believe!


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and ran throughout the whole area to spread the news of his arrival, and began carrying sick folks to him on mats and stretchers.


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Wherever he went--in villages and cities, and out on the farms--they laid the sick in the market plazas and streets, and begged him to let them at least touch the fringes of his clothes; and as many as touched him were healed.


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(For the Jews, especially the Pharisees, will never eat until they have sprinkled their arms to the elbows, as required by their ancient traditions.


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So when they come home from the market they must always sprinkle themselves in this way before touching any food. This is but one of many examples of laws and regulations they have clung to for centuries, and still follow, such as their ceremony of cleansing for pots, pans and dishes.)


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So the religious leaders asked him, "Why don't your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the washing ceremony."


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Jesus replied, "You bunch of hypocrites! Isaiah the prophet described you very well when he said, 'These people speak very prettily about the Lord but they have no love for him at all.


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Their worship is a farce, for they claim that God commands the people to obey their petty rules.' How right Isaiah was!


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For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: 'Honor your father and mother.' And he said that anyone who speaks against his father or mother must die.


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But you say it is perfectly all right for a man to disregard his needy parents, telling them, 'Sorry, I can't help you! For I have given to God what I could have given to you.'


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Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand.


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Then he went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had just made.


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For food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the digestive system." (By saying this he showed that every kind of food is kosher.)


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wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly.


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Then he left Galilee and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, and tried to keep it a secret that he was there, but couldn't. For as usual the news of his arrival spread fast.


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Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by a demon. She had heard about Jesus and now she came and fell at his feet,


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and pled with him to release her child from the demon's control. (But she was Syrophoenician--a "despised Gentile!")


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Jesus told her, "First I should help my own family--the Jews. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."


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She replied, "That's true, sir, but even the puppies under the table are given some scraps from the children's plates."


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"Good!" he said. "You have answered well--so well that I have healed your little girl. Go on home, for the demon has left her!"


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A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and everyone begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man and heal him.


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Jesus led him away from the crowd and put his fingers into the man's ears, then spat and touched the man's tongue with the spittle.


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Jesus told the crowd not to spread the news, but the more he forbade them, the more they made it known,


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for they were overcome with utter amazement. Again and again they said, "Everything he does is wonderful; he even corrects deafness and stammering!"


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One day about this time as another great crowd gathered, the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples to discuss the situation.


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And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road! For some of them have come a long distance."


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So he told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces and passed them to his disciples; and the disciples placed them before the people.


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There were about 4,000 people in the crowd that day and when the scraps were picked up after the meal, there were seven very large basketfuls left over!


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When the local Jewish leaders learned of his arrival, they came to argue with him. "Do a miracle for us," they said. "Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you."


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He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, "Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?"


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But the disciples had forgotten to stock up on food before they left and had only one loaf of bread in the boat.


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As they were crossing, Jesus said to them very solemnly, "Beware of the yeast of King Herod and of the Pharisees."


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"What does he mean?" the disciples asked each other. They finally decided that he must be talking about their forgetting to bring bread.


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Jesus realized what they were discussing and said, "No, that isn't it at all! Can't you understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?


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'Your eyes are to see with--why don't you look? Why don't you open your ears and listen?' Don't you remember anything at all?


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"What about the 5,000 men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many basketfuls of scraps did you pick up afterwards?" "Twelve," they said.


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When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch and heal him.


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Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and spat upon his eyes, and laid his hands over them. "Can you see anything now?" Jesus asked him.


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The man looked around. "Yes!" he said, "I see men! But I can't see them very clearly; they look like tree trunks walking around!"


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Then Jesus placed his hands over the man's eyes again and as the man stared intently, his sight was completely restored, and he saw everything clearly, drinking in the sights around him.


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Jesus and his disciples now left Galilee and went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along he asked them, "Who do the people think I am? What are they saying about me?"


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"Some of them think you are John the Baptist," the disciples replied, "and others say you are Elijah or some other ancient prophet come back to life again."


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Then he began to tell them about the terrible things he would suffer, and that he would be rejected by the elders and the Chief Priests and the other Jewish leaders--and be killed, and that he would rise again three days afterwards.


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He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took him aside and chided him. "You shouldn't say things like that," he told Jesus.


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Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, "Satan, get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God's."


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Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. "If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely.


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If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.


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And anyone who is ashamed of me and my message in these days of unbelief and sin, I, the Messiah, will be ashamed of him when I return in the glory of my Father, with the holy angels."


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Jesus went on to say to his disciples, "Some of you who are standing here right now will live to see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!"


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Six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain. No one else was there. Suddenly his face began to shine with glory,


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and his clothing became dazzling white, far more glorious than any earthly process could ever make it!


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"Teacher, this is wonderful!" Peter exclaimed. "We will make three shelters here, one for each of you. . . . "


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He said this just to be talking, for he didn't know what else to say and they were all terribly frightened.


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But while he was still speaking these words, a cloud covered them, blotting out the sun, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."


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As they descended the mountainside he told them never to mention what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead.


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So they kept it to themselves, but often talked about it, and wondered what he meant by "rising from the dead."


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Now they began asking him about something the Jewish religious leaders often spoke of, that Elijah must return  before the Messiah could come.


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Jesus agreed that Elijah must come first and prepare the way--and that he had, in fact, already come! And that he had been terribly mistreated, just as the prophets had predicted.


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Then Jesus asked them what the prophets could have been talking about when they predicted that the Messiah would suffer and be treated with utter contempt.


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At the bottom of the mountain they found a great crowd surrounding the other nine disciples, as some Jewish leaders argued with them.


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One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, "Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal--he can't talk because he is possessed by a demon.


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And whenever the demon is in control of him it dashes him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid. So I begged your disciples to cast out the demon, but they couldn't do it."


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Jesus said  to his disciples, "Oh, what tiny faith you have; how much longer must I be with you until you believe? How much longer must I be patient with you? Bring the boy to me."


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So they brought the boy, but when he saw Jesus the demon convulsed the child horribly, and he fell to the ground writhing and foaming at the mouth.


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and the demon often makes him fall into the fire or into water to kill him. Oh, have mercy on us and do something if you can."


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When Jesus saw the crowd was growing he rebuked the demon. "O demon of deafness and dumbness," he said, "I command you to come out of this child and enter him no more!"


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Then the demon screamed terribly and convulsed the boy again and left him; and the boy lay there limp and motionless, to all appearance dead. A murmur ran through the crowd--"He is dead."


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Afterwards, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, "Why couldn't we cast that demon out?"


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in order to spend more time with his disciples, teaching them. He would say to them, "I, the Messiah, am going to be betrayed and killed and three days later I will return to life again."


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And so they arrived at Capernaum. When they were settled in the house where they were to stay he asked them, "What were you discussing out on the road?"


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He sat down and called them around him and said, "Anyone wanting to be the greatest must be the least--the servant of all!"


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"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming my Father who sent me!"


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One of his disciples, John, told him one day, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to cast out demons; but we told him not to, for he isn't one of our group."


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If anyone so much as gives you a cup of water because you are Christ's--I say this solemnly--he won't lose his reward.


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But if someone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to lose faith--it would be better for that man if a huge millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.


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"If your hand does wrong, cut it off. Better live forever with one hand than be thrown into the unquenchable fires of hell with two!


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If your foot carries you toward evil, cut it off! Better be lame and live forever than have two feet that carry you to hell.


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"And if your eye is sinful, gouge it out. Better enter the Kingdom of God half blind than have two eyes and see the fires of hell,


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"Good salt is worthless if it loses its saltiness; it can't season anything. So don't lose your flavor! Live in peace with each other."


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Then he left Capernaum and went southward to the Judean borders and into the area east of the Jordan River. And as always there were the crowds; and as usual he taught them.


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"He said it was all right," they replied. "He said that all a man has to do is write his wife a letter of dismissal."


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"And why did he say that?" Jesus asked. "I'll tell you why--it was a concession to your hardhearted wickedness.


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But it certainly isn't God's way. For from the very first he made man and woman to be joined together permanently in marriage;


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Once when some mothers were bringing their children to Jesus to bless them, the disciples shooed them away, telling them not to bother him.


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But when Jesus saw what was happening he was very much displeased with his disciples and said to them, "Let the children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. Don't send them away!


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I tell you as seriously as I know how that anyone who refuses to come to God as a little child will never be allowed into his Kingdom."


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As he was starting out on a trip, a man came running to him and knelt down and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to get to heaven?"


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But as for your question--you know the commandments: don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, respect your father and mother."


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Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. "You lack only one thing," he told him; "go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor--and you shall have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me."


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Jesus watched him go, then turned around and said to his disciples, "It's almost impossible for the rich to get into the Kingdom of God!"


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This amazed them. So Jesus said it again: "Dear children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God.


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It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."


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The disciples were incredulous! "Then who in the world can be saved, if not a rich man?" they asked.


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Jesus looked at them intently, then said, "Without God, it is utterly impossible. But with God everything is possible."


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Then Peter began to mention all that he and the other disciples had left behind. "We've given up everything to follow you," he said.


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And Jesus replied, "Let me assure you that no one has ever given up anything--home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or property--for love of me and to tell others the Good News,


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who won't be given back, a hundred times over, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land--with persecutions! "All these will be his here on earth, and in the world to come he shall have eternal life.


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But many people who seem to be important now will be the least important then; and many who are considered least here shall be greatest there."


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Now they were on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking along ahead; and as the disciples were following they were filled with terror and dread. Taking them aside, Jesus once more began describing all that was going to happen to him when they arrived at Jerusalem.


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"When we get there," he told them, "I, the Messiah, will be arrested and taken before the chief priests and the Jewish leaders, who will sentence me to die and hand me over to the Romans to be killed.


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They will mock me and spit on me and flog me with their whips and kill me; but after three days I will come back to life again."


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Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him in a low voice. "Master," they said, "we want you to do us a favor."


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"We want to sit on the thrones next to yours in your Kingdom," they said, "one at your right and the other at your left!"


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But Jesus answered, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I must drink from? Or to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?"


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"Oh, yes," they said, "we are!" And Jesus said, "You shall indeed drink from my cup and be baptized with my baptism,


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but I do not have the right to place you on thrones next to mine. Those appointments have already been made."


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So Jesus called them to him and said, "As you know, the kings and great men of the earth lord it over the people;


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For even I, the Messiah, am not here to be served, but to help others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."


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And so they reached Jericho. Later, as they left town, a great crowd was following. Now it happened that a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by.


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When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was near, he began to shout out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"


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"Shut up!" some of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted the louder, again and again, "O Son of David, have mercy on me!"


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When Jesus heard him, he stopped there in the road and said, "Tell him to come here." So they called the blind man. "You lucky fellow," they said, "come on, he's calling you!"


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And Jesus said to him, "All right, it's done. Your faith has healed you." And instantly the blind man could see and followed Jesus down the road!


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As they neared Bethphage and Bethany on the outskirts of Jerusalem and came to the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead.


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"Go into that village over there," he told them, "and just as you enter you will see a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie him and bring him here.


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And if anyone asks you what you are doing, just say, 'Our Master needs him and will return him soon.' "


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Off went the two men and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside a house. As they were untying it,


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So the colt was brought to Jesus, and the disciples threw their cloaks across its back for him to ride on.


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Then many in the crowd spread out their coats along the road before him, while others threw down leafy branches from the fields.


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He was in the center of the procession with crowds ahead and behind, and all of them shouting, "Hail to the King!" "Praise God for him who comes in the name of the Lord!" . . .


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And so he entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked around carefully at everything and then left--for now it was late in the afternoon--and went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.


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A little way off he noticed a fig tree in full leaf, so he went over to see if he could find any figs on it. But no, there were only leaves, for it was too early in the season for fruit.


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Then Jesus said to the tree, "You shall never bear fruit again!" And the disciples heard him say it.


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When they arrived back to Jerusalem he went to the Temple and began to drive out the merchants and their customers, and knocked over the tables of the moneychangers and the stalls of those selling doves,


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He told them, "It is written in the Scriptures, 'My Temple is to be a place of prayer for all nations,' but you have turned it into a den of robbers."


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When the chief priests and other Jewish leaders heard what he had done, they began planning how best to get rid of him. Their problem was their fear of riots because the people were so enthusiastic about Jesus' teaching.


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Next morning, as the disciples passed the fig tree he had cursed, they saw that it was withered from the roots!


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Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, "Look, Teacher! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"


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this is the absolute truth--you can say to this Mount of Olives, 'Rise up and fall into the Mediterranean,' and your command will be obeyed. All that's required is that you really believe and have no doubt!


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But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive you your sins too. "


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By this time they had arrived in Jerusalem again, and as he was walking through the Temple area, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders came up to him demanding,


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They talked it over among themselves. "If we reply that God sent him, then he will say, 'All right, why didn't you accept him?'


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But if we say God didn't send him, then the people will start a riot." (For the people all believed strongly that John was a prophet.)


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So they said, "We can't answer. We don't know." To which Jesus replied, "Then I won't answer your question either!"


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Here are some of the story-illustrations Jesus gave to the people at that time: "A man planted a vineyard and built a wall around it and dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a watchman's tower. Then he leased the farm to tenant farmers and moved to another country.


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"The owner then sent another of his men, who received the same treatment, only worse, for his head was seriously injured.


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there was only one left--his only son. He finally sent him, thinking they would surely give him their full respect.


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"But when the farmers saw him coming they said, 'He will own the farm when his father dies. Come on, let's kill him--and then the farm will be ours!'


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"What do you suppose the owner will do when he hears what happened? He will come and kill them all, and lease the vineyard to others.


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Don't you remember reading this verse in the Scriptures? 'The Rock the builders threw away became the cornerstone, the most honored stone in the building!


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The Jewish leaders wanted to arrest him then and there for using this illustration, for they knew he was pointing at them--they were the wicked farmers in his story. But they were afraid to touch him for fear of a mob. So they left him and went away.


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But they sent other religious and political leaders to talk with him and try to trap him into saying something he could be arrested for.


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"Teacher," these spies said, "we know you tell the truth no matter what! You aren't influenced by the opinions and desires of men, but sincerely teach the ways of God. Now tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Rome, or not?"


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When they handed it to him he asked, "Whose picture and title is this on the coin?" They replied, "The emperor's."


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"All right," he said, "if it is his, give it to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God!" And they scratched their heads in bafflement at his reply.


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Then the Sadducees stepped forward--a group of men who say there is no resurrection. Here was their question:


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"Teacher, Moses gave us a law that when a man dies without children, the man's brother should marry his widow and have children in his brother's name.


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So the second brother married the widow, but soon he died too and left no children. Then the next brother married her and died without children,


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and so on until all were dead, and still there were no children; and last of all, the woman died too.


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"What we want to know is this: In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, for she had been the wife of each of them?"


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For when these seven brothers and the woman rise from the dead, they won't be married--they will be like the angels.


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"But now as to whether there will be a resurrection--have you never read in the book of Exodus about Moses and the burning bush? God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, and I am the God of Isaac, and I am the God of Jacob.'


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"God was telling Moses that these men, though dead for hundreds of years, were still very much alive, for he would not have said, 'I am the God' of those who don't exist! You have made a serious error."


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One of the teachers of religion who was standing there listening to the discussion realized that Jesus had answered well. So he asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"


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"The second is: 'You must love others as much as yourself.' No other commandments are greater than these."


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The teacher of religion replied, "Sir, you have spoken a true word in saying that there is only one God and no other.


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And I know it is far more important to love him with all my heart and understanding and strength, and to love others as myself, than to offer all kinds of sacrifices on the altar of the Temple."


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Realizing this man's understanding, Jesus said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared ask him any more questions.


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Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple area, he asked them this question: "Why do your religious teachers claim that the Messiah must be a descendant of King David?


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For David himself said--and the Holy Spirit was speaking through him when he said it--'God said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.'


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Since David called him his Lord, how can he be his son?" (This sort of reasoning delighted the crowd and they listened to him with great interest.)


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Here are some of the other things he taught them at this time: "Beware of the teachers of religion! For they love to wear the robes of the rich and scholarly, and to have everyone bow to them as they walk through the markets.


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but they shamelessly cheat widows out of their homes and then, to cover up the kind of men they really are, they pretend to be pious by praying long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater."


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Then he went over to the collection boxes in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Some who were rich put in large amounts.


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He called his disciples to him and remarked, "That poor widow has given more than all those rich men put together!


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As he was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, "Teacher, what beautiful buildings these are! Look at the decorated stonework on the walls."


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And as he sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives across the valley from Jerusalem, Peter, James, John, and Andrew got alone with him and asked him,


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"For nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be earthquakes in many lands, and famines. These herald only the early stages of the anguish ahead.


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But when these things begin to happen, watch out! For you will be in great danger. You will be dragged before the courts, and beaten in the synagogues, and accused before governors and kings of being my followers. This is your opportunity to tell them the Good News.


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But when you are arrested and stand trial, don't worry about what to say in your defense. Just say what God tells you to. Then you will not be speaking, but the Holy Spirit will.


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"Brothers will betray each other to death, fathers will betray their own children, and children will betray their parents to be killed.


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And everyone will hate you because you are mine. But all who endure to the end without renouncing me shall be saved.


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"When you see the horrible thing standing in the Temple --reader, pay attention!--flee, if you can, to the Judean hills.


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For those will be days of such horror as have never been since the beginning of God's creation, nor will ever be again.


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And unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a soul in all the earth will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he will limit those days.


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For there will be many false Messiahs and false prophets who will do wonderful miracles that would deceive, if possible, even God's own children.


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And I will send out the angels to gather together my chosen ones from all over the world--from the farthest bounds of earth and heaven.


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"Now, here is a lesson from a fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that spring has come.


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And when you see these things happening that I've described, you can be sure that my return is very near, that I am right at the door.


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"However, no one, not even the angels in heaven, nor I myself, knows the day or hour when these things will happen; only the Father knows.


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"My coming can be compared with that of a man who went on a trip to another country. He laid out his employees' work for them to do while he was gone and told the gatekeeper to watch for his return.


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"Keep a sharp lookout! For you do not know when I will come, at evening, at midnight, early dawn or late daybreak.


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The Passover observance began two days later--an annual Jewish holiday when no bread made with yeast was eaten. The chief priests and other Jewish leaders were still looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.


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Meanwhile Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper; during supper a woman came in with a beautiful flask of expensive perfume. Then, breaking the seal, she poured it over his head.


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"Why, she could have sold that perfume for a fortune and given the money to the poor!" they snarled.


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You always have the poor among you, and they badly need your help, and you can aid them whenever you want to; but I won't be here much longer.


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And I tell you this in solemn truth, that wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be remembered and praised."


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Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, went to the chief priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them.


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When the chief priests heard why he had come, they were excited and happy and promised him a reward. So he began looking for the right time and place to betray Jesus.


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On the first day of the Passover, the day the lambs were sacrificed, his disciples asked him where he wanted to go to eat the traditional Passover supper.


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He sent two of them into Jerusalem to make the arrangements. "As you are walking along," he told them, "you will see a man coming toward you carrying a pot of water. Follow him.


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At the house he enters, tell the man in charge, 'Our Master sent us to see the room you have ready for us, where we will eat the Passover supper this evening!'


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So the two disciples went on ahead into the city and found everything as Jesus had said, and prepared the Passover.


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and as they were sitting around the table eating, Jesus said, "I solemnly declare that one of you will betray me, one of you who is here eating with me."


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I must die, as the prophets declared long ago; but, oh, the misery ahead for the man by whom I am betrayed. Oh, that he had never been born!"


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As they were eating, Jesus took bread and asked God's blessing on it and broke it in pieces and gave it to them and said, "Eat it--this is my body."


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Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it and gave it to them; and they all drank from it.


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And he said to them, "This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the new agreement between God and man.


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I solemnly declare that I shall never again taste wine until the day I drink a different kind in the Kingdom of God."


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"All of you will desert me," Jesus told them, "for God has declared through the prophets, 'I will kill the Shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.'


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"Peter," Jesus said, "before the cock crows a second time tomorrow morning you will deny me three times."


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"No!" Peter exploded. "Not even if I have to die with you! I'll never deny you!" And all the others vowed the same.


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And now they came to an olive grove called the Garden of Gethsemane, and he instructed his disciples, "Sit here, while I go and pray."


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And he said to them, "My soul is crushed by sorrow to the point of death; stay here and watch with me."


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He went on a little further and fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the awful hour awaiting him might never come.


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"Father, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take away this cup from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."


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Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep. "Simon!" he said. "Asleep? Couldn't you watch with me even one hour?


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Watch with me and pray lest the Tempter overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak."


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Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they were very tired. And they didn't know what to say.


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The third time when he returned to them he said, "Sleep on; get your rest! But no! The time for sleep has ended! Look! I am betrayed into the hands of wicked men.


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And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas (one of his disciples) arrived with a mob equipped with swords and clubs, sent out by the chief priests and other Jewish leaders.


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Judas had told them, "You will know which one to arrest when I go over and greet him. Then you can take him easily."


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So as soon as they arrived he walked up to Jesus. "Master!" he exclaimed, and embraced him with a great show of friendliness.


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Jesus asked them, "Am I some dangerous robber, that you come like this, armed to the teeth to capture me?


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Why didn't you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill the prophecies about me."


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There was, however, a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt. When the mob tried to grab him,


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Jesus was led to the High Priest's home where all of the chief priests and other Jewish leaders soon gathered.


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Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the High Priest's residence and crouched beside a fire among the servants.


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Inside, the chief priests and the whole Jewish Supreme Court were trying to find something against Jesus that would be sufficient to condemn him to death. But their efforts were in vain.


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"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple made with human hands and in three days I will build another, made without human hands!' "


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Then the High Priest stood up before the Court and asked Jesus, "Do you refuse to answer this charge? What do you have to say for yourself?"


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Jesus said, "I am, and you will see me sitting at the right hand of God, and returning to earth in the clouds of heaven."


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"You have heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?" And the vote for the death sentence was unanimous.


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Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and began to hammer his face with their fists. "Who hit you that time, you prophet?" they jeered. And even the bailiffs were using their fists on him as they led him away.


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Meanwhile Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the maids who worked for the High Priest noticed Peter warming himself at the fire.


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Peter denied it. "I don't know what you're talking about!" he said, and walked over to the edge of the courtyard. Just then, a rooster crowed.


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The maid saw him standing there and began telling the others, "There he is! There's that disciple of Jesus!"


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Peter denied it again. A little later others standing around the fire began saying to Peter, "You are, too, one of them, for you are from Galilee!"


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And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he began to cry.


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Early in the morning the chief priests, elders and teachers of religion--the entire Supreme Court--met to discuss their next steps. Their decision was to send Jesus under armed guard to Pilate, the Roman governor.


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Now, it was Pilate's custom to release one Jewish prisoner each year at Passover time--any prisoner the people requested.


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One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, convicted along with others for murder during an insurrection.


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(For he realized by now that this was a frameup, backed by the chief priests because they envied Jesus' popularity.)


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But at this point the chief priests whipped up the mob to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus.


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Then Pilate, afraid of a riot and anxious to please the people, released Barabbas to them. And he ordered Jesus flogged with a leaded whip, and handed him over to be crucified.


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Then the Roman soldiers took him into the barracks of the palace, called out the entire palace guard,


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And they beat him on the head with a cane, and spat on him, and went down on their knees to "worship" him.


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When they finally tired of their sport, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again, and led him away to be crucified.


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Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country just then, was pressed into service to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus.)


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A signboard was fastened to the cross above his head, announcing his crime. It read, "The King of the Jews."


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The people jeered at him as they walked by, and wagged their heads in mockery. "Ha! Look at you now!" they yelled at him. "Sure, you can destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days!"


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The chief priests and religious leaders were also standing around joking about Jesus. "He's quite clever at 'saving' others," they said, "but he can't save himself!"


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"Hey there, Messiah!" they yelled at him. "You 'King of Israel'! Come on down from the cross and we'll believe you!" And even the two robbers dying with him, cursed him.


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Then Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" ("My God, my God, why have you deserted me?")


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So one man ran and got a sponge and filled it with sour wine and held it up to him on a stick. "Let's see if Elijah will come and take him down!" he said.


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When the Roman officer standing beside his cross saw how he dismissed his spirit, he exclaimed, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"


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Some women were there watching from a distance--Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the Younger and of Joses), Salome, and others.


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They and many other Galilean women who were his followers had ministered to him when he was up in Galilee, and had come with him to Jerusalem.


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Joseph from Arimathea, an honored member of the Jewish Supreme Court (who personally was eagerly expecting the arrival of God's Kingdom), gathered his courage and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.


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Pilate couldn't believe that Jesus was already dead so he called for the Roman officer in charge and asked him.


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Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth and, taking Jesus' body down from the cross, wound it in the cloth and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb, and rolled a stone in front of the entrance.


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The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene and Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased embalming spices.


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But when they arrived they looked up and saw that the stone--a very heavy one--was already moved away and the entrance was open!


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So they entered the tomb--and there on the right sat a young man clothed in white. The women were startled,


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but the angel said, "Don't be so surprised. Aren't you looking for Jesus, the Nazarene who was crucified? He isn't here! He has come back to life! Look, that's where his body was lying.


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Now go and give this message to his disciples including Peter: 'Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!' "


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It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus came back to life, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene--the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.


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Later that dayhe appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn't recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance.


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When they finally realized who he was, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others, but no one believed them.


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Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief--their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him alive from the dead.


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And then he told them, "You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.


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Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who refuse to believe will be condemned.


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"And those who believe shall use my authority to cast out demons, and they shall speak new languages.


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They will be able even to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them; and they will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them."


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When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at God's right hand.


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And the disciples went everywhere preaching, and the Lord was with them and confirmed what they said by the miracles that followed their messages.


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Dear friend who loves God: Several biographies of Christ have already been written using as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses.


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However, it occurred to me that it would be well to recheck all these accounts from first to last and after thorough investigation to pass this summary on to you,


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My story begins with a Jewish priest, Zacharias, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zacharias was a member of the Abijah division of the Temple service corps. (His wife, Elizabeth, was, like himself, a member of the priest tribe of the Jews, a descendant of Aaron.)


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Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God's laws in spirit as well as in letter.


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One day as Zacharias was going about his work in the Temple--for his division was on duty that week--


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Meanwhile, a great crowd stood outside in the Temple court, praying as they always did during that part of the service when the incense was being burned.


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Zacharias was in the sanctuary when suddenly an angel appeared, standing to the right of the altar of incense!


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But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias! For I have come to tell you that God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John.


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For he will be one of the Lord's great men. He must never touch wine or hard liquor--and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from before his birth!


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He will be a man of rugged spirit and power like Elijah, the prophet of old; and he will precede the coming of the Messiah, preparing the people for his arrival. He will soften adult hearts to become like little children's, and will change disobedient minds to the wisdom of faith."


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Zacharias said to the angel, "But this is impossible! I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years."


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Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news!


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And now, because you haven't believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time."


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Meanwhile the crowds outside were waiting for Zacharias to appear and wondered why he was taking so long.


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When he finally came out, he couldn't speak to them, and they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple.


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He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David.


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The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy--the Son of God.


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Furthermore, six months ago your Aunt Elizabeth--'the barren one,' they called her--became pregnant in her old age!


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Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true." And then the angel disappeared.


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At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.


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She gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, "You are favored by God above all other women, and your child is destined for God's mightiest praise.


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For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation forever shall call me blest of God.


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By now Elizabeth's waiting was over, for the time had come for the baby to be born--and it was a boy.


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The word spread quickly to her neighbors and relatives of how kind the Lord had been to her, and everyone rejoiced.


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When the baby was eight days old, all the relatives and friends came for the circumcision ceremony. They all assumed the baby's name would be Zacharias, after his father.


