Laws About Slaves

21 “Now these are the ^(A)rules that you shall set before them. ^2 (B)When you buy a Hebrew slave,^[a] he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. ³ If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. ⁵ But ^(C)if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ ⁶ then his master shall bring him to ^(D)God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.

⁷ “When a man ^(E)sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. ⁸ If she does not please her master, who has designated her^[b] for himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her. ⁹ If he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her as with a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or ^(F)her marital rights. ¹¹ And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

Absalom Murders Amnon

²³ After two full years Absalom had ^(A)sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons. ²⁴ And Absalom came to the king and said, “Behold, your servant has sheepshearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.” ²⁵ But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing. ²⁶ Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷ But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. ²⁸ Then Absalom commanded his servants, “Mark when Amnon's ^(B)heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not fear; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.” ²⁹ So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled.

³⁰ While they were on the way, news came to David, “Absalom has struck down all the king's sons, and not one of them is left.” ³¹ Then the king arose and ^(C)tore his garments and ^(D)lay on the earth. And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. ³² But ^(E)Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, “Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar. ³³ Now therefore let not my lord the king so ^(F)take it to heart as to suppose that all the king's sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.”

Absalom Flees to Geshur

^34 (G)But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him^[a] by the side of the mountain. ³⁵ And Jonadab said to the king, “Behold, the king's sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.” ³⁶ And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.

^37 (H)But Absalom fled and went to ^(I)Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of ^(J)Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day. ^38 (K)So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹ And the spirit of the king^[b] longed to go out^[c] to Absalom, because ^(L)he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.

The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah^[a] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ² Thus the Lord said to me: ^(A)“Make yourself straps and ^(B)yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. ³ Send word^[b] to the king of ^(C)Edom, the king of ^(D)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(E)Ammon, the king of ^(F)Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵ “It is I who ^(G)by my great power and my outstretched arm ^(H)have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ^(I)and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. ^6 (J)Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^(K)my servant, ^(L)and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. ^7 (M)All the nations shall serve him and ^(N)his son and ^(O)his grandson, ^(P)until the time of his own land comes. ^(Q)Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

⁸ “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(R)and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^(S)with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. ⁹ So ^(T)do not listen to your ^(U)prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^(V)fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ ^10 (W)For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ^11 (X)But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.”’”

¹² To ^(Y)Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^(Z)“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^(AA)serve him and his people and live. ^13 (AB)Why will you and your people die ^(AC)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(AD)as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ^14 (AE)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^(AF)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ¹⁵ I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^(AG)they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ^(AH)Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^(AI)‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^(AJ)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ^17 (AK)Do not listen to them; ^(AL)serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^(AM)become a desolation? ¹⁸ If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^(AN)let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^(AO)that the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. ^19 (AP)For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ^(AQ)when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^(AR)concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ^22 (AS)They shall be carried to Babylon ^(AT)and remain there ^(AU)until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^(AV)Then I will bring them back ^(AW)and restore them to this place.”

Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. ^(A)A Maskil^[a] of the Sons of Korah.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^(A)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ^2 (B)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(C)“Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^(D)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And ^(E)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And ^(F)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ^(G)seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into ^(H)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^(I)Dalmanutha.^[a]

God's Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, ^(A)the Jews were entrusted with ^(B)the oracles of God. ^3 (C)What if some were unfaithful? ^(D)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! ^(E)Let God be true though ^(F)every one were a liar, as it is written,

⁵ But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^(I)wrath on us? (^(J)I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could ^(K)God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, ^(L)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not ^(M)do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.