Psalm 97

¹⁴ Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet^(A) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(B) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book^(C) the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken^(D) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,^[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(E) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ¹⁹ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled^(F) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse^[b](G) and be laid waste^(H)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.^(I) Your eyes^(J) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

Josiah Renews the Covenant^(K)(L)(M)(N)

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read^(O) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,^(P) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. ³ The king stood by the pillar^(Q) and renewed the covenant^(R) in the presence of the Lord—to follow^(S) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

²³ For I received from the Lord^(A) what I also passed on to you:^(B) The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,^(C) which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant^(D) in my blood;^(E) do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.^(F)

²⁷ So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.^{(G) 28} Everyone ought to examine themselves^(H) before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. ³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.^{(I) 31} But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.^{(J) 32} Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined^(K) so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.^(L)

³³ So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. ³⁴ Anyone who is hungry^(M) should eat something at home,^(N) so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

And when I come^(O) I will give further directions.

The Calling of Matthew^(A)

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”^(B) he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”^(C)

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a](D) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^(E)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(F)

¹⁴ Then John’s^(G) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,^(H) but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?^(I) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.^(J)

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”