Gate for the Prince

44 Then He brought me back by way of the ^(A)outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. ² And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the ^(B)Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. ³ As for the ^(C)prince, he shall sit in it as prince to ^(D)eat bread before the Lord; he shall ^(E)enter by way of the ^(F)porch of the gate and shall go out ^[a]by the same way.”

⁴ Then He brought me by way of the ^(G)north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the ^(H)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I ^(I)fell on my face. ⁵ And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, ^[b](J)pay attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears everything that I say to you concerning all the ^(K)statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and ^[c]pay attention to the entrance of the house, with all the exits of the sanctuary. ⁶ You shall say to the ^[d](L)rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord ^[e]God says: “^(M)Enough of all your abominations, house of Israel, ⁷ when you brought in ^(N)foreigners, ^(O)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to profane it, My house, when you ^(P)offered My food, the fat, and the blood and they ^(Q)broke My covenant—this in addition to all your abominations. ⁸ And you have not ^[f](R)taken responsibility for My holy things yourselves, but you have appointed foreigners ^[g]to take responsibility for My sanctuary.”

⁹ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^(S)No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary. ¹⁰ But the Levites who went far from Me when Israel went astray, who ^(T)went astray from Me ^[h]following their idols, shall ^(U)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ^(V)ministers in My sanctuary, having ^(W)oversight at the gates of the house and ^(X)ministering in the house; they shall ^(Y)slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall ^(Z)stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Since they ministered to them ^(AA)before their idols and became a ^(AB)stumbling block of wrongdoing to the house of Israel, for that reason I have ^[i](AC)sworn against them,” declares the Lord God, “that they shall ^(AD)suffer the punishment for their wrongdoing. ¹³ And they shall ^(AE)not approach Me to serve as priests for Me, nor approach any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will ^(AF)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. ¹⁴ Nevertheless I will ^[j]appoint them ^[k]to ^(AG)take responsibility for the house, of all its service and of everything that shall be done in it.

Ordinances for the Levites

¹⁵ “But the ^(AH)Levitical priests, the sons of ^(AI)Zadok, who ^[l](AJ)took responsibility for My sanctuary when the sons of Israel ^(AK)went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to serve Me; and they shall ^(AL)stand before Me to offer Me the ^(AM)fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall ^(AN)enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My ^(AO)table to serve Me and ^[m]assume the responsibility I give them. ¹⁷ And it shall be that when they enter at the gates of the inner courtyard, they shall be clothed with ^(AP)linen garments; and wool shall not ^[n]be worn by them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner courtyard or in the house. ¹⁸ Linen ^(AQ)turbans shall be on their heads and ^(AR)linen undergarments shall be around their waists; they shall not put on anything that makes them sweat. ¹⁹ And when they go out into the outer courtyard, into the outer courtyard to the people, they shall ^(AS)take off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments, so that they will ^(AT)not transfer holiness to the people with their garments. ²⁰ Also they shall ^(AU)not shave their heads, yet they shall not ^(AV)let their locks ^[o]grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads. ^21 (AW)Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard. ²² And they shall not ^[p]marry a widow or a ^(AX)divorced woman, but shall ^(AY)take virgins from the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. ²³ Moreover, they shall teach My people the ^(AZ)difference between the holy and the ^[q]common, and teach them to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. ²⁴ In a dispute ^(BA)they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My ^(BB)appointed feasts, and ^(BC)sanctify My Sabbaths. ^25 [r](BD)They shall not go to a dead person to defile themselves; however, for father, for mother, for son, for daughter, for brother, or for a sister who has not had a husband, they may defile themselves. ²⁶ And after he is ^(BE)cleansed, seven days ^[s]shall elapse for him. ²⁷ On the day that he goes into the sanctuary, to the ^(BF)inner courtyard to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his ^(BG)sin offering,” declares the Lord God.

²⁸ “And it shall be regarding an inheritance for them, that ^(BH)I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no property in Israel—I am their property. ²⁹ They shall ^(BI)eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; and everything ^(BJ)banned from secular use in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ And the first of all the ^(BK)first fruits of every kind and every ^[t]contribution of every kind, from all your ^[u]contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the ^(BL)first of your ^[v]dough, to make a ^(BM)blessing rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat any bird or animal that has ^(BN)died a natural death or has been torn to pieces by animals.

Women Support Jesus

8 Soon afterward, ^[a]Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, ^(A)proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ² and also ^(B)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: ^(C)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, ^(D)Herod’s ^(E)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Parable of the Sower

^4 (F)Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “^(G)The one who has ears to hear, ^[b]let him hear.”

^9 (H)Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable ^[c]meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “^(I)To you it has been granted to know the ^[d]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that ^[e](J)while seeing they may not see, and ^[f]while hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now this is the parable: ^(K)the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; ^[g]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they ^[h]fall away. ¹⁴ And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word ^[i]with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with ^[j]perseverance.

Parable of the Lamp

¹⁶ “Now ^(L)no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light. ^17 (M)For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So take care how you listen; ^(N)for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[k]thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

^19 (O)Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these ^(P)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Stills the Sea

^22 (Q)Now on one of those days ^[l]Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of ^(R)the lake.” So they launched out. ²³ But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on ^(S)the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. ²⁴ They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “^(T)Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and ^(U)rebuked the wind and the surging ^[m]waves, and they stopped, and ^[n]it became calm. ²⁵ And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

^26 (V)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “^[o](W)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of ^(X)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(Y)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into ^(Z)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter ^[p]the pigs. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(AA)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. ³⁵ And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(AB)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been ^(AC)demon-possessed had been ^[q]made well. ³⁷ And all the ^[r]people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (AD)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[s]accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles of Healing

^40 (AE)And as Jesus was returning, the ^[t]people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ^41 (AF)And a man named Jairus came, and he was an ^[u](AG)official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[v]cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^(AH)Master, the ^[w]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that ^(AI)power had left Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^(AJ)your faith has ^[x]made you well; ^(AK)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^(AL)the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “^(AM)Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[y]made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and ^(AN)mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but ^(AO)is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and spoke ^[z]forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He ^(AP)instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.