Malachi 3:6-12

English Standard Version

Robbing God

⁶“For ^(A)I the Lord do not change; ^(B)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ⁷^(C)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^(D)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^(E)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^(F)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^(G)In your tithes and contributions. ⁹^(H)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ¹⁰^(I)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^(J)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^(K)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹I will rebuke ^(L)the devourer^[a] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹²Then ^(M)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^(N)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

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Footnotes

Malachi 3:11 Probably a name for some crop-destroying pest or pests

Psalm 96

English Standard Version

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

96 ^(A)Oh sing to the Lord ^(B)a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth!
²Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
    ^(C)tell of his salvation from day to day.
³Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
⁴For ^(D)great is the Lord, and ^(E)greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above ^(F)all gods.
⁵For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord ^(G)made the heavens.
⁶Splendor and majesty are before him;
    ^(H)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O ^(I)families of the peoples,
    ^(J)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
⁸Ascribe to the Lord ^(K)the glory due his name;
    bring ^(L)an offering, and ^(M)come into his courts!
⁹Worship the Lord in ^(N)the splendor of holiness;^[a]
    ^(O)tremble before him, all the earth!

¹⁰Say among the nations, ^(P)“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will ^(Q)judge the peoples with equity.”

¹¹Let ^(R)the heavens be glad, and let ^(S)the earth rejoice;
    let ^(T)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
¹²    let ^(U)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all ^(V)the trees of the forest sing for joy
¹³    before the Lord, for he comes,
    for he comes ^(W)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Footnotes

Psalm 96:9 Or in holy attire

1 Thessalonians 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^(B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

^(C)Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

²^(D)We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly^[a] ^(E)mentioning you in our prayers, ³remembering before ^(F)our God and Father ^(G)your work of faith and labor of ^(H)love and ^(I)steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, ^(J)brothers^[b] loved by God, ^(K)that he has chosen you, ⁵because ^(L)our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and ^(M)in the Holy Spirit and with full ^(N)conviction. You know ^(O)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶And ^(P)you became imitators of us ^(Q)and of the Lord, for ^(R)you received the word in much affliction, ^(S)with the ^(T)joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For not only has the word of the Lord ^(U)sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth ^(V)everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹For they themselves report concerning us the kind of ^(W)reception we had among you, and how ^(X)you turned to God ^(Y)from idols to serve the living and ^(Z)true God, ¹⁰and ^(AA)to wait for his Son ^(AB)from heaven, ^(AC)whom he raised from the dead, Jesus ^(AD)who delivers us from ^(AE)the wrath to come.

Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 1:2 Or without ceasing
1 Thessalonians 1:4 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

Matthew 22:15-22

English Standard Version

Paying Taxes to Caesar

¹⁵^(A)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how ^(B)to entangle him in his words. ¹⁶And they sent ^(C)their disciples to him, along with ^(D)the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, ^(E)we know that you are true and teach ^(F)the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for ^(G)you are not swayed by appearances.^[a] ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay ^(H)taxes to ^(I)Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why ^(J)put me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.^[b] ²⁰And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, ^(K)“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” ²²When they heard it, they marveled. And they ^(L)left him and went away.