Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(A)

^37 (B)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets ^(C)and stones those who are sent to her! How often ^(D)I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks ^(E)under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸ See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹ for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ^(F)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias

⁵ There was ^(A)in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, ^(B)of the division of ^(C)Abijah. His ^(D)wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

⁸ So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, ^[a]his lot fell ^(E)to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ^10 (F)And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of ^(G)the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, ^(H)he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(I)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and ^(J)many will rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be ^(K)great in the sight of the Lord, and ^(L)shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(M)even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ^17 (N)He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ And Zacharias said to the angel, ^(O)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

¹⁹ And the angel answered and said to him, “I am ^(P)Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you ^[b]these glad ^(Q)tidings. ²⁰ But behold, ^(R)you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

²¹ And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

²³ So it was, as soon as ^(S)the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. ²⁴ Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to ^(T)take away my reproach among people.”

Sending Out the Twelve^(A)

9 Then ^(B)He called His twelve disciples together and ^(C)gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ^2 (D)He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ^3 (E)And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

^4 (F)“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ^5 (G)And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, ^(H)shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

^6 (I)So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

²² After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them ^(A)and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near ^(B)Salim, because there was much water there. ^(C)And they came and were baptized. ²⁴ For ^(D)John had not yet been thrown into prison.

²⁵ Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, ^(E)to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all ^(F)are coming to Him!”

²⁷ John answered and said, ^(G)“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(H)‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ^(I)‘I have been sent before Him.’ ^29 (J)He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but ^(K)the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ^30 (L)He must increase, but I must decrease. ^31 (M)He who comes from above ^(N)is above all; ^(O)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. ^(P)He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² And ^(Q)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. ³³ He who has received His testimony ^(R)has certified that God is true. ^34 (S)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit ^(T)by measure. ^35 (U)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. ^36 (V)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the ^(W)wrath of God abides on him.”

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

^6 (A)“I have ^[a]manifested Your name to the men ^(B)whom You have given Me out of the world. ^(C)They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷ Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. ⁸ For I have given to them the words ^(D)which You have given Me; and they have received them, ^(E)and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that ^(F)You sent Me.

⁹ “I pray for them. ^(G)I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and ^(H)Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ^11 (I)Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, ^(J)keep^[b] through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one ^(K)as We are. ¹² While I was with them ^[c]in the world, ^(L)I kept them in ^[d]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and ^(M)none of them is ^[e]lost ^(N)except the son of ^[f]perdition, ^(O)that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them Your word; ^(P)and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, ^(Q)just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but ^(R)that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ^17 (S)Sanctify^[g] them by Your truth. ^(T)Your word is truth. ^18 (U)As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And ^(V)for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Preaching to Cornelius’ Household

³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ^(A)“In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. ³⁵ But ^(B)in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is ^(C)accepted by Him. ³⁶ The word which God sent to the ^[a]children of Israel, ^(D)preaching peace through Jesus Christ—^(E)He is Lord of all— ³⁷ that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and ^(F)began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: ³⁸ how ^(G)God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who ^(H)went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, ^(I)for God was with Him. ³⁹ And we are ^(J)witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom ^[b]they ^(K)killed by hanging on a tree. ⁴⁰ Him ^(L)God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, ^41 (M)not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us ^(N)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And ^(O)He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify ^(P)that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge ^(Q)of the living and the dead. ^43 (R)To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, ^(S)whoever believes in Him will receive ^(T)remission^[c] of sins.”

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, ^(U)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. ^45 (V)And ^[d]those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, ^(W)because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then Peter answered, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit ^(X)just as we have?” ^48 (Y)And he commanded them to be baptized ^(Z)in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Paul’s Ministry at Rome

¹⁷ And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, ^(A)though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet ^(B)I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, ¹⁸ who, ^(C)when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. ¹⁹ But when the ^[a]Jews spoke against it, ^(D)I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. ²⁰ For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because ^(E)for the hope of Israel I am bound with ^(F)this chain.”

²¹ Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that ^(G)it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³ So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, ^(H)to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus ^(I)from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. ²⁴ And ^(J)some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. ²⁵ So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to ^[b]our fathers, ²⁶ saying,

²⁸ “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent ^(L)to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” ^29 [c]And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.

³⁰ Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, ^31 (M)preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

Triumph in Christ

¹² Furthermore, ^(A)when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and ^(B)a ^[a]door was opened to me by the Lord, ^13 (C)I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us ^[b]diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ ^(D)among those who are being saved and ^(E)among those who are perishing. ^16 (F)To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And ^(G)who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, as ^[c]so many, ^(H)peddling^[d] the word of God; but as ^(I)of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.