God Will Restore Israel

¹⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁵ Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles,^[a] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “Stay far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.”^{(A) 16} Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while^[b] in the countries where they have gone.^{(B) 17} Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.^{(C) 18} When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.^{(D) 19} I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them;^[c] I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,^{(E) 20} so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.^{(F) 21} But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations,^[d] I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God.^(G)

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.^{(H) 23} And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city and stopped on the mountain east of the city.^{(I) 24} The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 This “Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him,”^{(A) 2} and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness”; next, he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” ³ Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.^(B)

⁴ See how great he is! Even^[a] Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils.^{(C) 5} And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes^[b] from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham.^{(D) 6} But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes^[c] from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.^{(E) 7} It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.^{(F) 9} One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Another Priest, Like Melchizedek

¹¹ Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood—for the people received the law under this priesthood—what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek rather than one according to the order of Aaron?^{(G) 12} For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ Now the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.^(H)

¹⁵ It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent but through the power of an indestructible life.^{(I) 17} For it is attested of him,

The Return of the Seventy-Two

¹⁷ The seventy-two^[a] returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”^{(A) 18} He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.^{(B) 19} Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.^{(C) 20} Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”^(D)

Jesus Rejoices

²¹ At that very hour Jesus^[b] rejoiced in the Holy Spirit^[c] and said, “I thank^[d] you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.^{[e](E) 22} All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”^(F)

²³ Then turning to the disciples, Jesus^[f] said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!^{(G) 24} For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”^(H)