Passover Restrictions

⁴³ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:^(A)

“No foreigner^(B) may eat it. ⁴⁴ Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised^(C) him, ⁴⁵ but a temporary resident or a hired worker^(D) may not eat it.

⁴⁶ “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.^{(E) 47} The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.

⁴⁸ “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land.^(F) No uncircumcised^(G) male may eat it. ⁴⁹ The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner^(H) residing among you.”

⁵⁰ All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded^(I) Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt^(J) by their divisions.^(K)

Consecration of the Firstborn

13 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.^(L) The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time.^(A) David grew stronger and stronger,^(B) while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.^(C)

Abner Goes Over to David

⁶ During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner^(J) had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. ⁷ Now Saul had had a concubine^(K) named Rizpah^(L) daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

⁸ Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head^(M)—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! ⁹ May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised^(N) him on oath ¹⁰ and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.”^{(O) 11} Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

¹² Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”

¹³ “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.”^{(P) 14} Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal,^(Q) whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

¹⁵ So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband^(R) Paltiel^(S) son of Laish. ¹⁶ Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim.^(T) Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

¹⁷ Abner conferred with the elders^(U) of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. ¹⁸ Now do it! For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines^(V) and from the hand of all their enemies.^(W)’”

¹⁹ Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin^(X) wanted to do. ²⁰ When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast^(Y) for him and his men. ²¹ Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant^(Z) with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.”^(AA) So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay^(A) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,^(B) Israel. ⁷ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,^(C) torn down and destroyed, ⁸ and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent^(D) and not inflict on it the disaster^(E) I had planned. ⁹ And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built^(F) up and planted, ¹⁰ and if it does evil^(G) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider^(H) the good I had intended to do for it.^(I)

¹¹ “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster^(J) for you and devising a plan^(K) against you. So turn^(L) from your evil ways,^(M) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’^{(N) 12} But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.^(O) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.^(P)’”

¹³ Therefore this is what the Lord says:

Psalm 34^[a][b]

Of David. When he pretended to be insane^(A) before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(A)

³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,^(B) or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

³³ With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.^{(C) 34} He did not say anything to them without using a parable.^(D) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm^(E)

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.^(F) There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”^(G)

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends,^(A) do not believe every spirit,^(B) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.^{(C) 2} This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh^(D) is from God,^{(E) 3} but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,^(F) which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.^(G)

⁴ You, dear children,^(H) are from God and have overcome them,^(I) because the one who is in you^(J) is greater than the one who is in the world.^{(K) 5} They are from the world^(L) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.^(M) This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth^(N) and the spirit of falsehood.^(O)