⁸ “You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, ^(A)so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it; ⁹ and ^(B)so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their ^[a]descendants, ^(C)a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it ^[b]by your foot like a vegetable garden. ¹¹ But ^(D)the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, ¹² a land for which the Lord your God cares; ^(E)the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it, from the ^[c]beginning even to the end of the year.

¹³ “And it shall come about, ^(F)if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, ^(G)to love the Lord your God and to serve Him ^(H)with all your heart and all your soul, ¹⁴ that ^[d](I)He will provide rain for your land in its season, the ^[e](J)early and ^[f]late rain, so that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil. ^15 [g](K)He will also provide grass in your field for your cattle, and ^(L)you will eat and be satisfied. ^16 [h](M)Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them. ¹⁷ Otherwise, ^(N)the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will ^(O)shut up the sky ^(P)so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; then ^(Q)you will quickly perish from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

¹⁸ “^(R)You shall therefore take these words of mine to ^[i]heart and to soul; and you shall tie them as a sign on your ^[j]hand, and they shall be as ^[k]frontlets ^[l]on your forehead. ^19 (S)You shall also teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. ^20 (T)And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹ so that ^(U)your days and the days of your sons may be increased on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as ^[m](V)long as the heavens are above the earth.

The First Disciples

5 ^(A)Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by ^(B)the lake of Gennesaret; ² and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ And ^(C)He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and ^(D)let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon responded and said, “^(E)Master, ^(F)we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but ^[a]I will do as You say and let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(G)they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and likewise also were ^[b]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “^(H)Do not fear; from now on you will be ^(I)catching people.” ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, ^(J)they left everything and followed Him.

The Prayer of Dedication

²² Then ^(A)Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and he ^(B)spread out his hands toward heaven. ²³ And he said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^(C)there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(D)keeping the covenant and showing faithfulness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, ²⁴ You who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You ^[a]promised him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. ²⁵ Now then, Lord, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have ^[b]promised him, saying, ‘^[c](E)You shall not be deprived of a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful about their way, to walk before Me as you have walked.’ ²⁶ Now then, God of Israel, let Your words, please, be confirmed, ^(F)which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(G)heaven and the ^[d]highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! ²⁸ Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the ^(H)prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, ^29 (I)so that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^(J)the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. ³⁰ And ^(K)listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, ^(L)when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and ^(M)forgive!

³¹ “^(N)If a person sins against his neighbor and is compelled to take an oath of innocence, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, ^(O)condemning the wicked by ^[e]bringing his way on his own head, and acquitting the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

³³ “^(P)When Your people Israel are ^[f]defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, ^(Q)if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your ^[g]favor in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave their fathers.

³⁵ “^(R)When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; ^(S)indeed, teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And ^(T)provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

³⁷ “^(U)If there is a famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is ^[h]blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy harasses them in the land of their ^[i]cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer or plea ^[j]is offered by any person or by all Your people Israel, ^[k]each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his ^[l]hands toward this house; ³⁹ then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to each in accordance with all his ways, ^(V)whose heart You know—for ^(W)You alone know the hearts of all ^[m]mankind— ⁴⁰ so that they will ^[n]fear You all the days that they live on the ^[o]land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Also regarding the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your name ⁴² (for they will hear of Your great name ^(X)and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and act in accordance with all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^(Y)that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to ^[p]fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that ^[q]this house which I have built is called by Your name.

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(A)Come now, ^(B)you rich people, ^(C)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ^2 (D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will ^[a]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(E)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, ^(F)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(G)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(H)the Lord ^[b]of armies. ⁵ You have ^[c](I)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have ^[d]fattened your hearts in ^(J)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^[e](K)put to death ^(L)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(M)brothers and sisters, ^(N)until the coming of the Lord. ^(O)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[f]it gets ^(P)the early and late rains. ^8 (Q)You too be patient; ^(R)strengthen your hearts, for ^(S)the coming of the Lord is ^(T)near. ^9 (U)Do not ^[g]complain, ^(V)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(W)the Judge is standing ^[h](X)right at the ^[i]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(Y)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(Z)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those ^(AA)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(AB)the ^[j]endurance of Job and have seen ^(AC)the ^[k]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(AD)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(AE)my brothers and sisters, ^(AF)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[l]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(AG)suffering? ^(AH)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(AI)sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(AJ)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^[m](AK)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the ^(AL)prayer of faith will ^[n](AM)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(AN)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^[o]they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^(AO)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(AP)healed. ^(AQ)A ^[p]prayer of a righteous person, when it is ^[q]brought about, can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was ^(AR)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(AS)he prayed ^[r]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(AT)three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he ^(AU)prayed again, and ^(AV)the sky ^[s]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.