The Lord Speaks to Elijah

⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, ^(A)the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He said, “I have been very ^(B)jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^(C)thrown down your altars, and ^(D)killed your prophets with the sword, ^(E)and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹¹ And he said, “Go out and ^(F)stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and ^(G)a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind ^(H)an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.^{[a] 13} And when Elijah heard it, ^(I)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(J)there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ He said, ^(K)“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^(L)thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. ^16 (M)And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and ^(N)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And the one who escapes from ^(O)the sword of Hazael ^(P)shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu ^(Q)shall Elisha put to death. ^18 (R)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not ^(S)kissed him.”

The Message of Salvation to All

⁵ For ^(A)Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that ^(B)the person who does the commandments shall live by them. ⁶ But ^(C)the righteousness based on faith says, ^(D)“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the ^(E)abyss?’” (that is, ^(F)to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? ^(G)“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹ because, if ^(H)you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and ^(I)believe in your heart ^(J)that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, ^(K)“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ^12 (L)For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; ^(M)for the same Lord is Lord of all, ^(N)bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For ^(O)“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him ^(P)of whom they have never heard?^[a] And how are they to hear ^(Q)without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^(R)“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, ^(A)“Hear and understand: ^11 (B)it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” ¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^(C)offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ He answered, ^(D)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(E)will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(F)they are blind guides.^[a] And ^(G)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(H)“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ And he said, ^(I)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that ^(J)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{[b] 18} But ^(K)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(L)evil thoughts, ^(M)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(N)slander. ^20 (O)These are what defile a person. But ^(P)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (Q)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, ^(R)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(S)“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^(T)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, ^(U)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(V)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(W)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(X)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^(Y)great is your faith! ^(Z)Let it be done for you as you desire.” ^(AA)And her daughter was ^(AB)healed instantly.^[c]