Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth^(A) the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel,^(B) close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

³ But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance^(C) of my ancestors.”

⁴ So Ahab went home, sullen and angry^(D) because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused^(E) to eat.

⁵ His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

⁶ He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

⁷ Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard^(F) of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸ So she wrote letters^(G) in Ahab’s name, placed his seal^(H) on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. ⁹ In those letters she wrote:

¹¹ So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast^(K) and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. ¹³ Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.^{(L) 14} Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard^(M) of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ¹⁸ “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. ¹⁹ Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’^(N) Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood,^(O) dogs^(P) will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”^(Q)

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold^(R) yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. ²¹ He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male^(S) in Israel—slave or free.^{[a](T) 22} I will make your house^(U) like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’^(V)

²³ “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs^(W) will devour Jezebel by the wall of^[b] Jezreel.’

²⁴ “Dogs^(X) will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds^(Y) will feed on those who die in the country.”

²⁵ (There was never^(Z) anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. ²⁶ He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites^(AA) the Lord drove out before Israel.)

²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth^(AB) and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.^(AC)

²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ²⁹ “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled^(AD) himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day,^(AE) but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”^(AF)

Freedom in Christ

5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.^(A) Stand firm,^(B) then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.^(C)

² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,^(D) Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.^{(E) 4} You who are trying to be justified by the law^(F) have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.^{(G) 5} For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.^{(H) 6} For in Christ Jesus^(I) neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.^(J) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.^(K)

⁷ You were running a good race.^(L) Who cut in on you^(M) to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸ That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.^{(N) 9} “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”^{(O) 10} I am confident^(P) in the Lord that you will take no other view.^(Q) The one who is throwing you into confusion,^(R) whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?^(S) In that case the offense^(T) of the cross has been abolished. ¹² As for those agitators,^(U) I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Life by the Spirit

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.^(V) But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a];^(W) rather, serve one another^(X) humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b](Y) 15} If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit,^(Z) and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.^{(AA) 17} For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.^(AB) They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want.^{(AC) 18} But if you are led by the Spirit,^(AD) you are not under the law.^(AE)

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,^(AF) impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.^(AG) I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.^(AH)

²² But the fruit^(AI) of the Spirit is love,^(AJ) joy, peace,^(AK) forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.^(AL) Against such things there is no law.^{(AM) 24} Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh^(AN) with its passions and desires.^{(AO) 25} Since we live by the Spirit,^(AP) let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited,^(AQ) provoking and envying each other.

The Rooms for the Priests

42 Then the man led me northward into the outer court and brought me to the rooms^(A) opposite the temple courtyard^(B) and opposite the outer wall on the north side.^{(C) 2} The building whose door faced north was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide.^{[a] 3} Both in the section twenty cubits^[b] from the inner court and in the section opposite the pavement of the outer court, gallery^(D) faced gallery at the three levels.^{(E) 4} In front of the rooms was an inner passageway ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits^[c] long.^[d] Their doors were on the north.^{(F) 5} Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building. ⁶ The rooms on the top floor had no pillars, as the courts had; so they were smaller in floor space than those on the lower and middle floors. ⁷ There was an outer wall parallel to the rooms and the outer court; it extended in front of the rooms for fifty cubits. ⁸ While the row of rooms on the side next to the outer court was fifty cubits long, the row on the side nearest the sanctuary was a hundred cubits long. ⁹ The lower rooms had an entrance^(G) on the east side as one enters them from the outer court.

¹⁰ On the south side^[e] along the length of the wall of the outer court, adjoining the temple courtyard^(H) and opposite the outer wall, were rooms^{(I) 11} with a passageway in front of them. These were like the rooms on the north; they had the same length and width, with similar exits and dimensions. Similar to the doorways on the north ¹² were the doorways of the rooms on the south. There was a doorway at the beginning of the passageway that was parallel to the corresponding wall extending eastward, by which one enters the rooms.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north^(J) and south rooms^(K) facing the temple courtyard^(L) are the priests’ rooms, where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings,^(M) the sin offerings^[f](N) and the guilt offerings^(O)—for the place is holy.^{(P) 14} Once the priests enter the holy precincts, they are not to go into the outer court until they leave behind the garments^(Q) in which they minister, for these are holy. They are to put on other clothes before they go near the places that are for the people.^(R)”

¹⁵ When he had finished measuring what was inside the temple area, he led me out by the east gate^(S) and measured the area all around: ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was five hundred cubits.^{[g][h] 17} He measured the north side; it was five hundred cubits^[i] by the measuring rod. ¹⁸ He measured the south side; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was five hundred cubits by the measuring rod. ²⁰ So he measured^(T) the area^(U) on all four sides. It had a wall around it,^(V) five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide,^(W) to separate the holy from the common.^(X)

Psalm 102^[a]

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.