The Festival of Weeks^(A)

¹⁵ “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶ Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,^(B) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷ From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah^(C) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits^(D) to the Lord. ¹⁸ Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings^(E)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁹ Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering^[a] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. ²⁰ The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,^(F) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly^(G) and do no regular work.^(H) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

²² “‘When you reap the harvest^(I) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^(J) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.^(K) I am the Lord your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets^(L)

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly^(M) commemorated with trumpet blasts.^{(N) 25} Do no regular work,^(O) but present a food offering to the Lord.^(P)’”

The Day of Atonement^(Q)

²⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month^(R) is the Day of Atonement.^(S) Hold a sacred assembly^(T) and deny yourselves,^[b] and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ Do not do any work^(U) on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹ Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.^{(V) 30} I will destroy from among their people^(W) anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance^(X) for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a day of sabbath rest^(Y) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”^(Z)

Menahem King of Israel

¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. ¹⁸ He did evil^(A) in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

¹⁹ Then Pul^[a](B) king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents^[b] of silver to gain his support and strengthen his own hold on the kingdom. ²⁰ Menahem exacted this money from Israel. Every wealthy person had to contribute fifty shekels^[c] of silver to be given to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew^(C) and stayed in the land no longer.

²¹ As for the other events of Menahem’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ²² Menahem rested with his ancestors. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.

Pekahiah King of Israel

²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. ²⁴ Pekahiah did evil^(D) in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ One of his chief officers, Pekah^(E) son of Remaliah, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated^(F) Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.

²⁶ The other events of Pekahiah’s reign, and all he did, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.

Pekah King of Israel

²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah^(G) son of Remaliah^(H) became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. ²⁸ He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.

²⁹ In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser^(I) king of Assyria came and took Ijon,^(J) Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh and Hazor. He took Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali,^(K) and deported^(L) the people to Assyria. ³⁰ Then Hoshea^(M) son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated^(N) him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

³¹ As for the other events of Pekah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals^(O) of the kings of Israel?

Jotham King of Judah^(P)

³² In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham^(Q) son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ He did what was right^(R) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ The high places,^(S) however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate^(T) of the temple of the Lord.

³⁶ As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ³⁷ (In those days the Lord began to send Rezin^(U) king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.) ³⁸ Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.

The One Who Sins Will Die

18 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

³ “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb^(B) in Israel. ⁴ For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins^(C) is the one who will die.^(D)

¹⁰ “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood^(R) or does any of these other things^{[a] 11} (though the father has done none of them):

Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.^(X)

¹⁴ “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:^(Y)

The Cost of Following Jesus^(A)

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road,^(B) a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(C) has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”^(D)

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”^(E)

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”^(F)

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

The Collection for the Lord’s People

8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian^(A) churches. ² In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.^{(B) 3} For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,^(C) and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴ they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing^(D) in this service^(E) to the Lord’s people.^{(F) 5} And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. ⁶ So we urged^(G) Titus,^(H) just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion^(I) this act of grace on your part. ⁷ But since you excel in everything^(J)—in faith, in speech, in knowledge,^(K) in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you^[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

⁸ I am not commanding you,^(L) but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹ For you know the grace^(M) of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(N) that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,^(O) so that you through his poverty might become rich.^(P)

¹⁰ And here is my judgment^(Q) about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.^{(R) 11} Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness^(S) to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹² For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has,^(T) not according to what one does not have.

¹³ Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴ At the present time your plenty will supply what they need,^(U) so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵ as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”^[b](V)