Abram and Lot Separate

13 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, ^(A)into the Negeb.

^2 (B)Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. ³ And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to ^(C)the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. ⁵ And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶ so that ^(D)the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, ^7 (E)and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time ^(F)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

⁸ Then Abram said to Lot, ^(G)“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, ^(H)for we are kinsmen.^{[a] 9 (I)}Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the ^(J)Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like ^(K)the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of ^(L)Zoar. (This was before the Lord ^(M)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom ^(N)were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^(O)northward and southward and eastward and westward, ¹⁵ for all the land that you see I will give ^(P)to you and ^(Q)to your offspring forever. ^16 (R)I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. ¹⁷ Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram moved his tent and came and ^(S)settled by the ^(T)oaks^[b] of Mamre, which ^(U)are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^(A)and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, ^(B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And ^(C)he told them many things in parables, saying: ^(D)“A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but ^(E)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^(F)they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among ^(G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^(H)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (I)He who has ears,^[a] let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, ^(J)“To you it has been given to know ^(K)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (L)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^(M)even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^(N)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^(O)nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

¹⁶ But ^(U)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ^17 (V)For truly, I say to you, ^(W)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^18 (X)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(Y)the kingdom and ^(Z)does not understand it, ^(AA)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^(AB)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(AC)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(AD)he falls away.^{[b] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(AE)the cares of ^(AF)the world and ^(AG)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^(AH)understands it. He indeed ^(AI)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(AJ)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(AK)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds^[c] among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants^[d] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, ^(AL)‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^(AM)“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(AN)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(AO)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable. ^(AP)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(AQ)three measures of flour, till it was ^(AR)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

^34 (AS)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:^[e]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into ^(AW)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(AX)“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is ^(AY)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(AZ)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(BA)The harvest is ^(BB)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds ^(BC)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(BD)the end of the age. ^41 (BE)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^(BF)causes of sin and ^(BG)all law-breakers, ^42 (BH)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(BI)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then ^(BJ)the righteous will shine like the sun ^(BK)in the kingdom of their Father. ^(BL)He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven ^(BM)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(BN)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(BO)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding ^(BP)one pearl of great value, ^(BQ)went and sold all that he had and ^(BR)bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^(BS)like a net that was thrown into the sea and ^(BT)gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸ When it was full, ^(BU)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(BV)the end of the age. The angels will come out and ^(BW)separate the evil from the righteous ^50 (BX)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(BY)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

^51 (BZ)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every ^(CA)scribe ^(CB)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^(CC)brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ^54 (CD)and coming to ^(CE)his hometown ^(CF)he taught them in their synagogue, so that ^(CG)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ^55 (CH)Is not this ^(CI)the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^(CJ)his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And ^(CK)they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ^(CL)“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, ^(CM)because of their unbelief.

Rebuilding the Wall

3 Then ^(A)Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built ^(B)the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and ^(C)set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the ^(D)Tower of Hananel. ² And next to him ^(E)the men of Jericho built. And next to them^[a] Zaccur the son of Imri built.

³ The sons of Hassenaah built ^(F)the Fish Gate. ^(G)They laid its beams and ^(H)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ And next to them ^(I)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them ^(J)Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. ⁵ And next to them ^(K)the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.^[b]

⁶ Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah ^(L)repaired the Gate of Yeshanah.^{[c] (M)}They laid its beams and ^(N)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of ^(O)the governor of the province Beyond the River. ⁸ Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as ^(P)the Broad Wall. ⁹ Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ^(Q)ruler of half the district of^[d] Jerusalem, repaired. ¹⁰ Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. ¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and ^(R)the Tower of the Ovens. ¹² Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ^(S)ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters.

¹³ Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired ^(T)the Valley Gate. They rebuilt it and ^(U)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and repaired a thousand cubits^[e] of the wall, as far as ^(V)the Dung Gate.

¹⁴ Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of ^(W)Beth-haccherem, repaired ^(X)the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and ^(Y)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars.

¹⁵ And Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired ^(Z)the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and ^(AA)set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of ^(AB)the Pool of Shelah of ^(AC)the king's garden, as far as ^(AD)the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, repaired to a point opposite ^(AE)the tombs of David, as far as ^(AF)the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men. ¹⁷ After him the Levites repaired: Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. ¹⁸ After him their brothers repaired: Bavvai the son of Henadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁹ Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at ^(AG)the buttress.^{[f] 20} After him Baruch the son of Zabbai repaired^[g] another section from the buttress to the door of the house of ^(AH)Eliashib the high priest. ²¹ After him ^(AI)Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²² After him the priests, the men of ^(AJ)the surrounding area, repaired. ²³ After them Benjamin and Hasshub repaired opposite their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah repaired beside his own house. ²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah to the buttress and to ^(AK)the corner. ²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai repaired opposite the buttress and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at ^(AL)the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh ^26 (AM)and the temple servants living on ^(AN)Ophel repaired to a point opposite ^(AO)the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him ^(AP)the Tekoites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.

²⁸ Above ^(AQ)the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. ³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him ^(AR)Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite ^(AS)his chamber. ³¹ After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate,^[h] and to the upper chamber of the corner. ³² And between the upper chamber of the corner and ^(AT)the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired.

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^(A)prophets and ^(B)teachers, ^(C)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,^[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^(D)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^(E)the Holy Spirit said, ^(F)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^(G)for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and ^(H)praying they laid their hands on them and ^(I)sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out ^(J)by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^(K)in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^(L)John to ^(M)assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^(N)magician, ^(O)a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with ^(P)the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(Q)magician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^(R)opposed them, seeking to turn ^(S)the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^(T)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You ^(U)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^(V)villainy, will you not stop ^(W)making crooked ^(X)the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, ^(Y)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^(Z)people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^(AA)the teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

¹³ Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^(AB)John left them and returned ^(AC)to Jerusalem, ¹⁴ but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^(AD)on the Sabbath day ^(AE)they went into the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵ After ^(AF)the reading from ^(AG)the Law and the Prophets, ^(AH)the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^(AI)word of encouragement for the people, say it.” ¹⁶ So Paul stood up, and ^(AJ)motioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^(AK)you who fear God, listen. ^17 (AL)The God of this people Israel ^(AM)chose our fathers and ^(AN)made the people great ^(AO)during their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^(AP)with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for about ^(AQ)forty years ^(AR)he put up with^[b] them in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And ^(AS)after destroying ^(AT)seven nations in the land of Canaan, ^(AU)he gave them their land as an inheritance. ²⁰ All this took about 450 years. And after that ^(AV)he gave them judges until ^(AW)Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then ^(AX)they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^(AY)the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And ^(AZ)when he had removed him, ^(BA)he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^(BB)‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ^(BC)a man after my heart, ^(BD)who will do all my will.’ ^23 (BE)Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel ^(BF)a Savior, Jesus, ^(BG)as he promised. ²⁴ Before his coming, ^(BH)John had proclaimed ^(BI)a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, ^(BJ)he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

²⁶ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^(BK)who fear God, to us has been sent ^(BL)the message of ^(BM)this salvation. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^(BN)they did not recognize him nor understand ^(BO)the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^(BP)fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸ And ^(BQ)though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^(BR)they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ And when ^(BS)they had carried out all that was written of him, ^(BT)they took him down from ^(BU)the tree and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But ^(BV)God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days ^(BW)he appeared to those ^(BX)who had come up with him ^(BY)from Galilee to Jerusalem, ^(BZ)who are now ^(CA)his witnesses to the people. ³² And we bring you the good news ^(CB)that what God promised to the fathers, ^33 (CC)this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

³⁴ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^(CE)(CF)no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

³⁵ Therefore he says also in another psalm,

³⁶ For David, after he had ^(CI)served the purpose of God in his own generation, ^(CJ)fell asleep and ^(CK)was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, ³⁷ but he whom ^(CL)God raised up did not see corruption. ³⁸ Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, ^(CM)that through this man ^(CN)forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹ and by him ^(CO)everyone who believes is freed^[c] from everything ^(CP)from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:

⁴² As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and ^(CR)devout ^(CS)converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them ^(CT)to continue in ^(CU)the grace of God.

⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ^45 (CV)But ^(CW)when the Jews^[d] saw the crowds, they were filled with ^(CX)jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, ^(CY)reviling him. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God ^(CZ)be spoken first to you. ^(DA)Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves ^(DB)unworthy of eternal life, behold, we ^(DC)are turning to the Gentiles. ^47 (DD)For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and ^(DH)glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. ^50 (DI)But the Jews incited the devout ^(DJ)women of high standing and the leading men of the city, ^(DK)stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and ^(DL)drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ But they ^(DM)shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled ^(DN)with joy and ^(DO)with the Holy Spirit.

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Who Is like the Lord Our God?