5 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public ^(A)adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall ^(B)bear his iniquity; ² or ^(C)if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; ³ or if he touches ^(D)human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt; ⁴ or if anyone utters with his lips a ^(E)rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people ^(F)swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; ⁵ when he realizes his guilt in any of these and ^(G)confesses the sin he has committed, ⁶ he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation^[a] for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

⁷ “But ^(H)if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two ^(I)turtledoves or two pigeons,^[b] one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. ⁸ He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall ^(J)wring its head from its neck ^(K)but shall not sever it completely, ⁹ and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while ^(L)the rest of the blood shall be drained out ^(M)at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. ¹⁰ Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. ^(N)And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.

¹¹ “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a ^(O)tenth of an ephah^[c] of fine flour for a sin offering. He ^(P)shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. ¹² And he shall bring it to ^(Q)the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and ^(R)burn this on the altar, on the Lord's food offerings; it is a sin offering. ¹³ Thus ^(S)the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder^[d] shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering.”

Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. ² And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ^(A)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, ^(B)who said of me that I should be king over this people. ^3 (C)Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”

⁴ Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to ^(D)Shiloh and came to the house of ^(E)Ahijah. Now ^(F)Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. ⁵ And the Lord said to ^(G)Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman. ⁶ But when ^(H)Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(I)“Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel ⁸ and ^(J)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been ^(K)like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, ⁹ but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and ^(L)made for yourself other gods and ^(M)metal images, provoking me to anger, and ^(N)have cast me behind your back, ¹⁰ therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and ^(O)will cut off from Jeroboam every male, ^(P)both bond and free in Israel, and ^(Q)will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. ^11 (R)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ ¹² Arise therefore, go to your house. ^(S)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. ¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him ^(T)there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. ^14 (U)Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, ¹⁵ the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and ^(V)root up Israel out of ^(W)this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them ^(X)beyond the Euphrates,^[a] because they have made their ^(Y)Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to ^(Z)Tirzah. And ^(AA)as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. ¹⁸ And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, ^(AB)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

^31 (A)And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed^{[a] (B)}Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ³² And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of ^(C)the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, ³⁴ and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.

How Lonely Sits the City

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days ^(A)a decree went out from ^(B)Caesar Augustus that all the world should be ^(C)registered. ² This was the first ^(D)registration when^[a] Quirinius ^(E)was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up ^(F)from Galilee, from the town of ^(G)Nazareth, to Judea, to ^(H)the city of David, which is called ^(I)Bethlehem, ^(J)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[b] who was with child. ⁶ And ^(K)while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^(L)wrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^(M)laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^(N)the inn.^[c]

The Unmarried and the Widowed

²⁵ Now concerning^[a] the betrothed,^{[b] (A)}I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as ^(B)one who by the Lord's mercy is ^(C)trustworthy. ²⁶ I think that in view of the present^[c] distress ^(D)it is good for a person to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸ But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman^[d] marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. ²⁹ This is what I mean, brothers: ^(E)the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, ³⁰ and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy ^(F)as though they had no goods, ³¹ and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For ^(G)the present form of this world is passing away.

³² I want you to be ^(H)free from anxieties. ^(I)The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.