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Judgment on Israel

Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[a]
because they sell the righteous for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals—(A)
they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
    and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same young woman,
    so that my holy name is profaned;(B)
they lay themselves down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink
    wine bought with fines they imposed.(C)

Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
    whose height was like the height of cedars
    and who was as strong as oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
    and his roots beneath.(D)
10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt
    and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    to possess the land of the Amorite.(E)
11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets
    and some of your youths to be nazirites.
    Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?
            says the Lord.(F)

12 But you made the nazirites drink wine
    and commanded the prophets,
    saying, “You shall not prophesy.”(G)

13 So, I will press you down in your place,
    just as a cart presses down
    when it is full of sheaves.[b](H)
14 Flight shall perish from the swift,
    and the strong shall not retain their strength,
    nor shall the mighty save their lives;(I)
15 those who handle the bow shall not stand,
    and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,
    nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;(J)
16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked on that day,
            says the Lord.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 2.6 Heb cause it to return
  2. 2.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Salutation

Simeon[a] Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith as equally honorable as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

The Christian’s Call and Election

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by[b] his own glory and excellence.(A) Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust and may become participants of the divine nature.(B) For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with excellence, and excellence with knowledge,(C) and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.(D) For anyone who lacks these things is blind, suffering from eye disease, forgetful of the cleansing of past sins.(E) 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

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Footnotes

  1. 1.1 Other ancient authorities read Simon
  2. 1.3 Other ancient authorities read through

Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.”[a] This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:

“Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”(A)

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd[b] spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.(B) The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”(C)

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 21.3 Or ‘The Lord needs them and will send them back immediately.’
  2. 21.8 Or Most of the crowd