Ezekiel's Call

2 And he said to me, ^(A)“Son of man,^{[a] (B)}stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as he spoke to me, ^(C)the Spirit entered into me and ^(D)set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to ^(E)nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^(F)They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The descendants also are ^(G)impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And ^(H)whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ^(I)a rebellious house) ^(J)they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, ^(K)be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, ^(L)though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on ^(M)scorpions.^[b] Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, ^(N)whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(A)my child, ^(B)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and ^(C)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(D)entrust to faithful men,^{[a] (E)}who will be able to teach others also. ^3 (F)Share in suffering as ^(G)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier ^(H)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ^5 (I)An athlete is not ^(J)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is ^(K)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, ^(L)risen from the dead, the ^(M)offspring of David, ^(N)as preached in my gospel, ^9 (O)for which I am suffering, ^(P)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(Q)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰ Therefore ^(R)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(S)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(T)eternal glory. ¹¹ The saying is ^(U)trustworthy, for:

for ^(AB)he cannot deny himself.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.