Ezekiel's Call

2 And he said to me, ^(A)“Son of man,^{[a] (B)}stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as he spoke to me, ^(C)the Spirit entered into me and ^(D)set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to ^(E)nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. ^(F)They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴ The descendants also are ^(G)impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵ And ^(H)whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ^(I)a rebellious house) ^(J)they will know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And you, son of man, ^(K)be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, ^(L)though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on ^(M)scorpions.^[b] Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ And you shall speak my words to them, ^(N)whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

² I know a man ^(A)in Christ who fourteen years ago was ^(B)caught up to ^(C)the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^(D)God knows. ³ And I know that this man was caught up into ^(E)paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^(F)God knows— ⁴ and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵ On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, ^(G)except of my weaknesses— ⁶ though if I should wish to boast, ^(H)I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷ So ^(I)to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,^{[a] (J)}a thorn was given me in the flesh, ^(K)a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ^8 (L)Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹ But he said to me, ^(M)“My grace is sufficient for you, for ^(N)my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that ^(O)the power of Christ may rest upon me. ^10 (P)For the sake of Christ, then, ^(Q)I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For ^(R)when I am weak, then I am strong.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.