16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, (A)filling you with vain hopes. (B)They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, (C)‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who (D)stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, (E)‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

18 For (F)who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
    to see and to hear his word,
    or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
19 (G)Behold, the storm of the Lord!
    Wrath has gone forth,
(H)a whirling tempest;
    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
20 (I)The anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he has executed and (J)accomplished
    the intents of his heart.
(K)In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

21 (L)“I did not send the prophets,
    yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they prophesied.
22 (M)But if they had stood in my council,
    then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
(N)and they would have turned them from their evil way,
    and (O)from the evil of their deeds.

23 (P)“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 (Q)Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. (R)Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said (S)who prophesy lies in my name, saying, (T)‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of (U)the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name (V)by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their (W)fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 (X)Let the prophet who has a dream (Y)tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. (Z)What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 (AA)Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and (AB)like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 (AC)Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and (AD)lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when (AE)I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.

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16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen(A) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(B) from their own minds,
    not from the mouth(C) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(D) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(E)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(F) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm(G) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(H) of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(I) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(J) swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(K) of the Lord will not turn back(L)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(M) these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,(N)
    they would have proclaimed(O) my words to my people
and would have turned(P) them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.(Q)

23 “Am I only a God nearby,(R)
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(S) in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(T)
declares the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(U) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(V) I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions(W) of their own minds?(X) 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget(Y) my name, just as their ancestors forgot(Z) my name through Baal worship.(AA) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream(AB) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word(AC) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”(AD) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer(AE) that breaks a rock in pieces?

30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against(AF) the prophets(AG) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’(AH) 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(AI)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(AJ) with their reckless lies,(AK) yet I did not send(AL) or appoint them. They do not benefit(AM) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

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19 For (A)though I am free from all, (B)I have made myself a servant to all, that I might (C)win more of them. 20 (D)To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To (E)those outside the law I became (F)as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but (G)under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 (H)To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. (I)I have become all things to all people, that (J)by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, (K)that I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives (L)the prize? So (M)run that you may obtain it. 25 Every (N)athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we (O)an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I (P)do not box as one (Q)beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and (R)keep it under control,[a] lest after preaching to others (S)I myself should be (T)disqualified.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 9:27 Greek I pummel my body and make it a slave

Paul’s Use of His Freedom

19 Though I am free(A) and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone,(B) to win as many as possible.(C) 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.(D) To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law),(E) so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law(F) (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law),(G) so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.(H) I have become all things to all people(I) so that by all possible means I might save some.(J) 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

The Need for Self-Discipline

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?(K) Run(L) in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown(M) that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.(N) 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly;(O) I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.(P) 27 No, I strike a blow to my body(Q) and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.(R)

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Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 (A)And he began to teach them that (B)the Son of Man must (C)suffer many things and (D)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and (E)after three days rise again. 32 And he said this (F)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, (G)“Get behind me, Satan! For you (H)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him (I)deny himself and (J)take up his cross and follow me. 35 For (K)whoever would save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake (L)and the gospel's will save it. 36 (M)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For (N)what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For (O)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this (P)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed (Q)when he comes in the glory of his Father with (R)the holy angels.”

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not (S)taste death (T)until they see the kingdom of God after it has come (U)with power.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 8:35 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37

Jesus Predicts His Death(A)

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man(B) must suffer many things(C) and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,(D) and that he must be killed(E) and after three days(F) rise again.(G) 32 He spoke plainly(H) about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!”(I) he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

The Way of the Cross

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.(J) 35 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.(K) 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man(L) will be ashamed of them(M) when he comes(N) in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come(O) with power.”(P)

Footnotes

  1. Mark 8:35 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verses 36 and 37.