David's Charge to Israel

28 ^(A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the ^(B)officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the ^(C)commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the ^(D)stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the ^(E)mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. ² Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. ^(F)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the ^(G)footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. ³ But God said to me, ^(H)‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ ⁴ Yet the Lord God of Israel ^(I)chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel ^(J)forever. ^(K)For he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's ^(L)house, and among my father's sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And of ^(M)all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he ^(N)has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶ He said to me, ‘It is ^(O)Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom ^(P)forever ^(Q)if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.’ ⁸ Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

David's Charge to Solomon

⁹ “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a ^(R)whole heart and with a willing mind, ^(S)for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. ^(T)If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. ¹⁰ Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; ^(U)be strong and do it.”

¹¹ Then David gave Solomon his son the ^(V)plan of the ^(W)vestibule of the temple,^[a] and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the ^(X)mercy seat; ¹² and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, ^(Y)the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; ¹³ for the ^(Z)divisions of the priests and of the ^(AA)Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, ¹⁴ the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, ¹⁵ the weight of the golden ^(AB)lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, ¹⁶ the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, ¹⁷ and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; ¹⁸ for the ^(AC)altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the ^(AD)cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹ “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, ^(AE)all the work to be done according to the plan.”

²⁰ Then David said to Solomon his son, ^(AF)“Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. ²¹ And behold the ^(AG)divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be ^(AH)every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.”

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 ^(A)The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(B)the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^(C)twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^(D)the son of Azzur, and ^(E)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And he said to me, ^(F)“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; ^3 (G)who say, ^(H)‘The time is not near^[a] to build houses. ^(I)This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

⁵ And ^(J)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^(K)For I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (L)You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(M)Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^(N)they are the meat, and ^(O)this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. ^8 (P)You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^(Q)give you into the hands of foreigners, and ^(R)execute judgments upon you. ^10 (S)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^(T)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (U)This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹² and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^(V)but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

¹³ And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^(W)that ^(X)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^(Y)Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^(Z)“Ah, Lord God! ^(AA)Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^15 (AB)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[b] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^(AC)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^(AD)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[c] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AE)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^(AF)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, ^(AG)they will remove from it all its ^(AH)detestable things and all its abominations. ^19 (AI)And I will give them one heart, and ^(AJ)a new spirit I will put within them. ^(AK)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^(AL)and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (AM)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^(AN)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^21 (AO)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^(AP)I will^[d] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

^22 (AQ)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^(AR)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(AS)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ^24 (AT)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^(AU)in the vision by the Spirit of God ^(AV)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

9 ^(A)And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, ^2 (B)and he sent them out to ^(C)proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. ^3 (D)And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, ^(E)no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.^{[a] 4} And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town ^(F)shake off the dust from your feet ^(G)as a testimony ^(H)against them.” ^6 (I)And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

^7 (J)Now ^(K)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(L)John had been raised from the dead, ^8 (M)by some that Elijah had appeared, and ^(N)by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And ^(O)he sought to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ On their return ^(P)the apostles told him all that they had done. ^(Q)And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he ^(R)welcomed them and ^(S)spoke to them of the kingdom of God and ^(T)cured those who had need of healing. ¹² Now ^(U)the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, ^(V)“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” ¹³ But he said to them, ^(W)“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than ^(X)five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(Y)he looked up to heaven and ^(Z)said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^18 (AA)Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered, ^(AB)“John the Baptist. But others say, ^(AC)Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^(AD)“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (AE)And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, ^22 (AF)saying, ^(AG)“The Son of Man must ^(AH)suffer many things and ^(AI)be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(AJ)the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(AK)deny himself and ^(AL)take up his cross ^(AM)daily and follow me. ²⁴ For ^(AN)whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ^25 (AO)For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For ^(AP)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^(AQ)when he comes in ^(AR)his glory and the glory of the Father and of ^(AS)the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^(AT)taste death ^(AU)until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (AV)Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^(AW)Peter and John and James and ^(AX)went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^(AY)altered, and ^(AZ)his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,^[b] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him ^(BA)were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^(BB)they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(BC)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^(BD)not knowing what he said. ³⁴ As he was saying these things, ^(BE)a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And ^(BF)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, ^(BG)my Chosen One;^{[c] (BH)}listen to him!” ³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. ^(BI)And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

^37 (BJ)On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for ^(BK)he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. ⁴⁰ And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but ^(BL)they could not.” ⁴¹ Jesus answered, “O ^(BM)faithless and twisted generation, ^(BN)how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus ^(BO)rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and ^(BP)gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And all were astonished at ^(BQ)the majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

^(BR)But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus^[d] said ^(BS)to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears: ^(BT)The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” ^45 (BU)But they did not understand this saying, and ^(BV)it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?

^46 (BW)An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(BX)“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and ^(BY)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ^(BZ)he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

^49 (CA)John answered, “Master, we saw someone ^(CB)casting out demons in your name, and ^(CC)we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ^(CD)for the one who is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for ^(CE)him to be taken up, ^(CF)he set his face ^(CG)to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And ^(CH)he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ^(CI)the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But ^(CJ)the people did not receive him, because ^(CK)his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^(CL)fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[e] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[f] 56} And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going ^(CM)along the road, ^(CN)someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus^[g] said to him, “Leave ^(CO)the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^(CP)proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^(CQ)but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, ^(CR)“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”