Anointing Oil

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Take the following fine spices:^(A) 500 shekels^[a] of liquid myrrh,^(B) half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon,^(C) 250 shekels^[b] of fragrant calamus,^{(D) 24} 500 shekels^(E) of cassia^(F)—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin^[c] of olive oil. ²⁵ Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer.^(G) It will be the sacred anointing oil.^{(H) 26} Then use it to anoint^(I) the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, ²⁷ the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. ²⁹ You shall consecrate them^(J) so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.^(K)

³⁰ “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate^(L) them so they may serve me as priests.^{(M) 31} Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil^(N) for the generations to come.^{(O) 32} Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.^{(P) 33} Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off^(Q) from their people.’”

Incense

³⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices^(R)—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, ³⁵ and make a fragrant blend of incense,^(S) the work of a perfumer.^(T) It is to be salted and pure and sacred. ³⁶ Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet^(U) with you. It shall be most holy^(V) to you. ³⁷ Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy^(W) to the Lord. ³⁸ Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off^(X) from their people.”

Adonijah Sets Himself Up as King

1 When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. ² So his attendants said to him, “Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.”

³ Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag,^(A) a Shunammite,^(B) and brought her to the king. ⁴ The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her.

⁵ Now Adonijah,^(C) whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots^(D) and horses^[a] ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never rebuked^(E) him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)

⁷ Adonijah conferred with Joab^(F) son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar^(G) the priest, and they gave him their support. ⁸ But Zadok^(H) the priest, Benaiah^(I) son of Jehoiada, Nathan^(J) the prophet, Shimei^(K) and Rei and David’s special guard^(L) did not join Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel.^(M) He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons,^(N) and all the royal officials of Judah, ¹⁰ but he did not invite^(O) Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.^(P)

¹¹ Then Nathan asked Bathsheba,^(Q) Solomon’s mother, “Have you not heard that Adonijah,^(R) the son of Haggith, has become king, and our lord David knows nothing about it? ¹² Now then, let me advise^(S) you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go in to King David and say to him, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear^(T) to me your servant: “Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and add my word to what you have said.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag^(U) the Shunammite was attending him. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed down, prostrating herself before the king.

“What is it you want?” the king asked.

¹⁷ She said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore^(V) to me your servant by the Lord your God: ‘Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. ¹⁹ He has sacrificed^(W) great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest^(X) with his ancestors, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.”

²² While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. ²³ And the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground.

²⁴ Nathan said, “Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? ²⁵ Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite.^{(Y) 27} Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

¹⁴ Then King Zedekiah sent^(A) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide^(B) anything from me.”

¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”

¹⁶ But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly^(C) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,^(D) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”^(E)

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender^(F) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.^{(G) 18} But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands^(H) of the Babylonians and they will burn^(I) it down; you yourself will not escape^(J) from them.’”

¹⁹ King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid^(K) of the Jews who have gone over^(L) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”

²⁰ “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey^(M) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well^(N) with you, and your life^(O) will be spared. ²¹ But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: ²² All the women^(P) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:

²³ “All your wives and children^(S) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape^(T) from their hands but will be captured^(U) by the king of Babylon; and this city will^[a] be burned down.”^(V)

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know^(W) about this conversation, or you may die. ²⁵ If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ ²⁶ then tell^(X) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house^(Y) to die there.’”

²⁷ All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.

²⁸ And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard^(Z) until the day Jerusalem was captured.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(AA)

This is how Jerusalem^(AB) was taken:

Psalm 61^[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

The Greatest Commandment^(A)

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law^(B) came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 30} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[b](C) 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c](D) There is no commandment greater than these.”

³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.^{(E) 33} To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”^(F)

³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”^(G) And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.^(H)

Whose Son Is the Messiah?^(I)(J)

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts,^(K) he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David?^{(L) 36} David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit,^(M) declared:

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd^(O) listened to him with delight.

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!^(A) I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham,^(B) from the tribe of Benjamin.^{(C) 2} God did not reject his people,^(D) whom he foreknew.^(E) Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”^[a]?^{(F) 4} And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”^{[b](G) 5} So too, at the present time there is a remnant^(H) chosen by grace.^{(I) 6} And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works;^(J) if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain.^(K) The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,^{(L) 8} as it is written:

⁹ And David says: