Obey Rulers

8 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom ^(A)illumines ^[a]him and causes his ^(B)stern face to ^[b]beam.

² I say, “Keep the ^[c]command of the king because of the ^(C)oath ^[d]before God. ³ Do not be in a hurry ^[e](D)to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” ⁴ Since the word of the king is authoritative, ^(E)who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ He who ^(F)keeps a royal command ^(G)experiences no ^[f]trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. ⁶ For ^(H)there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. ⁷ If no one ^(I)knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? ^8 (J)No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and ^(K)evil will not deliver ^[g]those who practice it. ⁹ All this I have seen and applied my ^[h]mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised ^(L)authority over another man to his hurt.

¹⁰ So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are ^(M)soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. ¹¹ Because the ^(N)sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore ^(O)the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. ¹² Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may ^(P)lengthen his life, still I know that it will be ^(Q)well for those who fear God, who fear ^[i]Him openly. ¹³ But it will ^(R)not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a ^(S)shadow, because he does not fear God.

¹⁴ There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are ^(T)righteous men to whom it ^[j]happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are ^(U)evil men to whom it ^[k]happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. ¹⁵ So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for ^(V)a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his ^[l]toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I ^(W)gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should ^[m](X)never sleep day or night), ¹⁷ and I saw every work of God, I concluded that ^(Y)man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and ^(Z)though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.

Preaching of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^(A)the Son of God.

^2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

⁴ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness ^[b](E)preaching a baptism of repentance for the ^(F)forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore ^(G)a leather belt around his waist, and ^[c]his diet was locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was ^[d]preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. ⁸ I baptized you ^[e]with water; but He will baptize you ^[f]with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^9 (H)In those days Jesus ^(I)came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^[g]opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; ¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: “^(J)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

^12 (K)Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by ^(L)Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

^14 (M)Now after John had been ^[h]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, ^[i](N)preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “^(O)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^[j]is at hand; ^(P)repent and ^[k]believe in the gospel.”

^16 (Q)As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ Going on a little farther, He saw ^[l]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away ^[m]to follow Him.

^21 (R)They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath ^(S)He entered the synagogue and began to teach. ^22 (T)They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “^(U)What ^[n]business do we have with each other, Jesus ^[o]of ^(V)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—^(W)the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. ²⁷ They were all ^(X)amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Crowds Healed

^29 (Y)And immediately after they came ^(Z)out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^[p]James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to ^[q]Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she ^[r]waited on them.

^32 (AA)When evening came, ^(AB)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(AC)demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole ^(AD)city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He ^(AE)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

^35 (AF)In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and ^(AG)was praying there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched for Him; ³⁷ they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may ^[s]preach there also; for that is what I came for.” ^39 (AH)And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, ^[t]preaching and casting out the demons.

^40 (AI)And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and ^(AJ)falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “^(AK)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(AL)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(AM)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to ^(AN)proclaim it freely and to ^(AO)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^[u]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^[v]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and ^(AP)they were coming to Him from everywhere.