The Tower of Babylon

11 The whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. ² As people migrated from the east,^[a] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.^{(A) 3} They said to each other, “Come, let’s make oven-fired bricks.” (They used brick for stone and asphalt^(B) for mortar.) ⁴ And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.^(C) Let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.”

⁵ Then the Lord came down^(D) to look over the city and the tower that the humans^[b] were building. ⁶ The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth,^(E) and they stopped building the city. ⁹ Therefore it is called Babylon,^[c][d](F) for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.

From Shem to Abram

¹⁰ These are the family records^(G) of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. ¹¹ After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ¹² Arpachshad lived 35 years^[e] and fathered Shelah. ¹³ After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ¹⁴ Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber. ¹⁵ After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ¹⁶ Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg. ¹⁷ After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ¹⁸ Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu. ¹⁹ After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ²⁰ Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug. ²¹ After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ²² Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor. ²³ After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ²⁴ Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah.^{(H) 25} After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters. ²⁶ Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷ These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. ²⁸ Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sarai,^(I) and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah.^(J) She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Sarai was unable to conceive;^(K) she did not have a child.

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans^(L) to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. ³² Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

Rejection at Nazareth

6 He^(A) left there and came to his hometown,^(B) and his disciples^(C) followed him. ² When the Sabbath^(D) came, he began to teach^(E) in the synagogue,^(F) and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom^(G) that has been given to him, and how are these miracles^(H) performed by his hands? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter,^(I) the son of Mary,^(J) and the brother of James,^(K) Joses, Judas,^(L) and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended^(M) by him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet^(N) is not without honor^(O) except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” ⁵ He was not able to do a miracle^(P) there, except that he laid his hands on^(Q) a few sick^(R) people and healed^(S) them. ⁶ And he was amazed^(T) at their unbelief.^(U) He was going around the villages teaching.^(V)

Commissioning the Twelve

⁷ He^(W) summoned^(X) the Twelve^(Y) and began to send^(Z) them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean^(AA) spirits.^{(AB) 8} He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag,^(AC) no money in their belts, ⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt.^{(AD) 10} He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. ¹¹ If any place does not welcome^(AE) you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet^(AF) as a testimony^(AG) against them.”^{[a] 12} So they went out and preached^(AH) that people should repent.^{(AI) 13} They drove out many demons,^(AJ) anointed^(AK) many sick^(AL) people with oil^(AM) and healed them.^(AN)

John the Baptist Beheaded

¹⁴ King^(AO) Herod^(AP) heard about it, because Jesus’s name^(AQ) had become well known. Some^[b] said, “John the Baptist^(AR) has been raised from the dead,^(AS) and that’s why miraculous powers^(AT) are at work^(AU) in him.” ¹⁵ But others said, “He’s Elijah.”^(AV) Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.”^(AW)

¹⁶ When Herod^(AX) heard of it, he said, “John,^(AY) the one I beheaded, has been raised!” ^(AZ)

¹⁷ For^(BA) Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain^(BB) him in prison on account of Herodias,^(BC) his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.^{(BD) 18} John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful^(BE) for you to have your brother’s wife.”^{(BF) 19} So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill^(BG) him. But she could not, ²⁰ because Herod feared^(BH) John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous^(BI) and holy^(BJ) man. When Herod heard him he would be very perplexed,^[c](BK) and yet he liked to listen to him.^(BL)

²¹ An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet^(BM) for his nobles,^(BN) military commanders,^(BO) and the leading men of Galilee.^{(BP) 22} When Herodias’s own daughter^[d] came in and danced,^(BQ) she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ He promised her with an^(BR) oath:^(BS) “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”^(BT)

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

“John the Baptist’s^(BU) head,” she said.

²⁵ At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s^(BV) head on a platter^(BW) immediately.” ²⁶ Although the king was deeply distressed,^(BX) because of his oaths^(BY) and the guests^[e] he did not want to refuse^(BZ) her. ²⁷ The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When John’s disciples^(CA) heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.^(CB)

Feeding of the Five Thousand

³⁰ The^(CC) apostles^(CD) gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

³² So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, ³³ but many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they ran on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.^[f]

³⁴ When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion^(CE) on them, because they were like sheep^(CF) without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.

³⁵ When it grew late, his disciples^(CG) approached him and said, “This place is deserted,^(CH) and it is already late. ³⁶ Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ “You give them something to eat,” he responded.

They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii^[g] worth of bread and give them something to eat?”

³⁸ He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he instructed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² Everyone ate and was satisfied.^{(CI) 43} They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.

Walking on the Water

⁴⁵ Immediately^(CJ) he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida,^(CK) while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain^(CL) to pray.^{(CM) 47} Well into the night, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw them straining^(CN) at the oars,^[h] because the wind was against them. Very early in the morning^[i] he came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them. ⁴⁹ When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost^(CO) and cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified.^(CP) Immediately he spoke with them and said, “Have courage!^(CQ) It is I.^(CR) Don’t be afraid.”^{(CS) 51} Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, ⁵² because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.^(CT)

Miraculous Healings

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to shore at Gennesaret^(CU) and anchored there.

⁵⁴ As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized him. ⁵⁵ They hurried throughout that region and began to carry the sick^(CV) on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ Wherever he went, into villages, towns, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch just the end^(CW) of his robe.^(CX) And everyone who touched it was healed.

Psalm 71

God’s Help in Old Age