⁸ But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel^(A) like that rebellious people;^(B) open your mouth and eat^(C) what I give you.”

⁹ Then I looked, and I saw a hand^(D) stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,^{(E) 10} which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.^(F)

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

³ Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate^(G) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey^(H) in my mouth.

⁴ He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.^{(I) 5} You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,^(J) but to the people of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.^{(K) 7} But the people of Israel are not willing to listen^(L) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.^{(M) 8} But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.^{(N) 9} I will make your forehead^(O) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.^(P) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^(Q)”

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart^(R) all the words I speak to you. ¹¹ Go^(S) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’^(T) whether they listen or fail to listen.^(U)”

⁷ But to each one of us^(A) grace^(B) has been given^(C) as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it^[a] says:

⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions^[c]? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended^(F) higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)^{(G) 11} So Christ himself gave^(H) the apostles,^(I) the prophets,^(J) the evangelists,^(K) the pastors and teachers,^{(L) 12} to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ^(M) may be built up^{(N) 13} until we all reach unity^(O) in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God^(P) and become mature,^(Q) attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.^(R)

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants,^(S) tossed back and forth by the waves,^(T) and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.^{(U) 15} Instead, speaking the truth in love,^(V) we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,^(W) that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows^(X) and builds itself up^(Y) in love,^(Z) as each part does its work.

The Calling of Matthew^(A)

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(B) he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(C)

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a](D) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(E)