The Sin Offering

4 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally^(A) and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands^(B)—

³ “‘If the anointed priest^(C) sins,^(D) bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull^(E) without defect^(F) as a sin offering^[a](G) for the sin he has committed.^{(H) 4} He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord.^(I) He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the Lord. ⁵ Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood^(J) and carry it into the tent of meeting. ⁶ He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle^(K) some of it seven times before the Lord,^(L) in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.^{(M) 7} The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns^(N) of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar^(O) of burnt offering^(P) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁸ He shall remove all the fat^(Q) from the bull of the sin offering—all the fat that is connected to the internal organs, ⁹ both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys^(R)— ¹⁰ just as the fat is removed from the ox^[b](S) sacrificed as a fellowship offering.^(T) Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.^{(U) 11} But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the internal organs and the intestines^(V)— ¹² that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp^(W) to a place ceremonially clean,^(X) where the ashes^(Y) are thrown, and burn it^(Z) there in a wood fire on the ash heap.^(AA)

¹³ “‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally^(AB) and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt ¹⁴ and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull^(AC) as a sin offering^(AD) and present it before the tent of meeting. ¹⁵ The elders^(AE) of the community are to lay their hands^(AF) on the bull’s head^(AG) before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.^(AH)

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God^(A) came from Judah to Bethel,^(B) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ² By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah^(C) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places^(D) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ That same day the man of God gave a sign:^(E) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵ Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede^(F) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷ The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”^(G)

⁸ But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,^(H) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread^(I) or drink water here. ⁹ For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰ So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

¹¹ Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. ¹² Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. ¹³ So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it ¹⁴ and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

The Fall of Jerusalem^(A)(B)(C)

52 Zedekiah^(D) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.^{(E) 2} He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim^(F) had done. ³ It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah,^(G) and in the end he thrust them from his presence.^(H)

Now Zedekiah rebelled^(I) against the king of Babylon.

⁴ So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth^(J) day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem^(K) with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works^(L) all around it.^{(M) 5} The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

⁶ By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.^{(N) 7} Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled.^(O) They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[a] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{[b] 8} but the Babylonian^[c] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, ⁹ and he was captured.^(P)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah^(Q) in the land of Hamath,^(R) where he pronounced sentence on him. ¹⁰ There at Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons^(S) of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. ¹¹ Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.^(T)

¹² On the tenth day of the fifth^(U) month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan^(V) commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He set fire^(W) to the temple^(X) of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses^(Y) of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise^(A) the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”^(B)

⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶² Then they made signs^(C) to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”^{(D) 64} Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak,^(E) praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea^(F) people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.^(G)

Concerning Married Life

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”^{(A) 2} But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. ³ The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,^(B) and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵ Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time,^(C) so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan^(D) will not tempt you^(E) because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ I say this as a concession, not as a command.^{(F) 7} I wish that all of you were as I am.^(G) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(H)

⁸ Now to the unmarried^[a] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.^{(I) 9} But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,^(J) for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹⁰ To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.^{(K) 11} But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.^(L) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹² To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):^(M) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.^(N)

¹⁵ But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.^{(O) 16} How do you know, wife, whether you will save^(P) your husband?^(Q) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?