Ezra Reads the Law

8 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before ^(A)the Water Gate. And they told ^(B)Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. ² So Ezra the priest ^(C)brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, ^(D)on the first day of the seventh month. ^3 (E)And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. ⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ^(A)“Amen, Amen,” ^(B)lifting up their hands. ^(C)And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁸ They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly,^[a] and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

This Day Is Holy

⁹ And Nehemiah, who was ^(A)the governor, and Ezra ^(B)the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ^(C)“This day is holy to the Lord your God; ^(D)do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and ^(E)send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

One Body with Many Members

¹² For just as ^(A)the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^(B)so it is with Christ. ¹³ For ^(C)in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(D)Jews or Greeks, slaves^[a] or free—and ^(E)all were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, ^(F)God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^(G)as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[b] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^(H)all rejoice together.

²⁷ Now ^(I)you are the body of Christ and individually ^(J)members of it. ²⁸ And ^(K)God has appointed in the church first ^(L)apostles, second ^(M)prophets, third teachers, then ^(N)miracles, then ^(O)gifts of healing, ^(P)helping, ^(Q)administrating, and ^(R)various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But ^(S)earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

^16 (A)And he came to ^(B)Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And ^(C)as was his custom, ^(D)he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up ^(E)to read. ¹⁷ And ^(F)the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and ^(N)sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were ^(O)fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today ^(P)this Scripture ^(Q)has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² And all spoke well of him and marveled at ^(R)the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^(S)“Is not this ^(T)Joseph's son?” ²³ And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ^(U)‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did ^(V)at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^(W)no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when ^(X)the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, ²⁶ and Elijah was sent to none of them ^(Y)but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And ^(Z)there were many lepers^[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, ^(AA)but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. ²⁹ And they rose up and ^(AB)drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But ^(AC)passing through their midst, he went away.