Hebrews 7

English Standard Version

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 For this ^(A)Melchizedek, king of ^(B)Salem, priest of ^(C)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³He is without father or mother ^(D)or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

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

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

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

¹⁵This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is witnessed of him,

^(M)“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside ^(N)because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for ^(O)the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, ^(P)a better hope is introduced, through which ^(Q)we draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

^(R)“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²This makes Jesus the guarantor of ^(S)a better covenant.

²³The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues ^(T)forever. ²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost^[b] ^(U)those who draw near to God ^(V)through him, since he always lives ^(W)to make intercession for them.

²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, ^(X)holy, innocent, unstained, ^(Y)separated from sinners, and ^(Z)exalted above the heavens. ²⁷He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, ^(AA)first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this ^(AB)once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men ^(AC)in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made ^(AD)perfect forever.

Footnotes

Hebrews 7:5 Or brothers and sisters
Hebrews 7:25 That is, completely; or at all times

Proverbs 17

English Standard Version

17 ^(A)Better is a dry morsel with quiet
    than a house full of feasting^[a] with strife.
²A servant who deals wisely will rule over ^(B)a son who acts shamefully
    and ^(C)will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
³^(D)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    ^(E)and the Lord tests hearts.
⁴An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
    and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
⁵Whoever mocks the poor ^(F)insults his Maker;
    he who is ^(G)glad at calamity will not go ^(H)unpunished.
⁶^(I)Grandchildren are ^(J)the crown of the aged,
    and the glory of children is their fathers.
⁷Fine speech is not ^(K)becoming to a fool;
    still less is ^(L)false speech to a prince.
⁸^(M)A bribe is like a magic^[b] stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
    wherever he turns he prospers.
⁹Whoever ^(N)covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter ^(O)separates close friends.
¹⁰A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
    than a hundred blows into a fool.
¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion,
    and ^(P)a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
¹²Let a man meet ^(Q)a she-bear robbed of her cubs
    ^(R)rather than a fool in his folly.
¹³If anyone ^(S)returns evil for good,
    ^(T)evil will not depart from his house.
¹⁴The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
    so ^(U)quit before the quarrel breaks out.
¹⁵He who ^(V)justifies the wicked and he who ^(W)condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
¹⁶Why should a fool have money in his hand ^(X)to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
¹⁷^(Y)A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
¹⁸One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
¹⁹Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who ^(Z)makes his door high seeks destruction.
²⁰^(AA)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
²¹He who ^(AB)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
²²^(AC)A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit ^(AD)dries up the bones.
²³The wicked accepts ^(AE)a bribe in secret^[c]
    to ^(AF)pervert the ways of justice.
²⁴^(AG)The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
²⁵^(AH)A foolish son is a grief to his father
    ^(AI)and bitterness to ^(AJ)her who bore him.
²⁶^(AK)To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
    nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
²⁷Whoever ^(AL)restrains his words has knowledge,
    and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
²⁸Even a fool ^(AM)who keeps silent is considered wise;
    when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Footnotes

Proverbs 17:1 Hebrew sacrifices
Proverbs 17:8 Or precious
Proverbs 17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom

Joshua 24

English Standard Version

The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel ^(A)to Shechem and ^(B)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And ^(C)they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, ^(D)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,^[a] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and ^(E)they served other gods. ³^(F)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River^[b] and ^(G)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. ^(H)I gave him Isaac. ⁴And to Isaac I gave ^(I)Jacob and Esau. ^(J)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, ^(K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵^(L)And I sent Moses and Aaron, ^(M)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and ^(N)afterward I brought you out.

⁶“‘Then ^(O)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ^(P)you came to the sea. ^(Q)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ⁷^(R)And when they cried to the Lord, ^(S)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians ^(T)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; ^(U)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. ^(V)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. ^(W)They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ⁹^(X)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. ^(Y)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰^(Z)but I would not listen to Balaam. ^(AA)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹^(AB)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, ^(AC)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also ^(AD)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. ¹²And I sent ^(AE)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was ^(AF)not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³I gave you a land on which you had not labored ^(AG)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

¹⁴^(AH)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(AI)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵^(AJ)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(AK)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(AL)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(AM)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(AN)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is ^(AO)a holy God. He is ^(AP)a jealous God; ^(AQ)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰^(AR)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(AS)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” ²²Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^(AT)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³He said, “Then ^(AU)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵So Joshua ^(AV)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(AW)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. ²⁶And Joshua ^(AX)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^(AY)he took a large stone and set it up there ^(AZ)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^(BA)this stone shall be a witness against us, for ^(BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” ²⁸So Joshua ^(BC)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua's Death and Burial

²⁹^(BD)After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. ³⁰And they buried him in his own inheritance at ^(BE)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

³¹^(BF)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua ^(BG)and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

³²^(BH)As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land ^(BI)that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.^[c] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

³³And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of ^(BJ)Phinehas his son, which had been given him in ^(BK)the hill country of Ephraim.

Footnotes

Joshua 24:2 Hebrew the River
Joshua 24:3 That is, the Euphrates; also verses 14, 15
Joshua 24:32 Hebrew for a hundred qesitah; a unit of money of unknown value

Obadiah

English Standard Version

¹The vision of Obadiah.

Edom Will Be Humbled

Thus says the Lord God ^(A)concerning Edom:
^(B)We have heard a report from the Lord,
    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
²Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
    you shall be utterly despised.^[a]
³^(C)The pride of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rock,^[b]
    in your lofty dwelling,
^(D)who say in your heart,
    “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
⁴Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
    though your nest is set among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.

⁵If ^(E)thieves came to you,
    if plunderers came by night—
    how you have been destroyed!—
    would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If ^(F)grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
⁶^(G)How Esau has been pillaged,
    his treasures sought out!
⁷All your allies have driven you to your border;
    those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
    ^(H)those who eat your bread^[c] have set a trap beneath you—
    ^(I)you have^[d] no understanding.

⁸^(J)Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
    destroy the wise men out of Edom,
    and understanding out of ^(K)Mount Esau?
⁹And your mighty men shall be dismayed, ^(L)O Teman,
    so that every man from ^(M)Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

Edom's Violence Against Jacob

¹⁰^(N)Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
    shame shall cover you,
    ^(O)and you shall be cut off forever.
¹¹^(P)On the day that you stood aloof,
    ^(Q)on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    ^(R)and cast lots for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.
¹²^(S)But do not gloat over the day of your brother
    in the day of his misfortune;
^(T)do not rejoice over the people of Judah
    in the day of their ruin;
^(U)do not boast^[e]
    in the day of distress.
¹³^(V)Do not enter the gate of my people
    in the day of their calamity;
^(W)do not gloat over his disaster
    in the day of his calamity;
^(X)do not loot his wealth
    in the day of his calamity.
¹⁴^(Y)Do not stand at the crossroads
    to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
    in the day of distress.

The Day of the Lord Is Near

¹⁵For ^(Z)the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
^(AA)As you have done, it shall be done to you;
    your deeds shall return on your own head.
¹⁶^(AB)For as you have drunk on ^(AC)my holy mountain,
    so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
    and shall be as though they had never been.
¹⁷^(AD)But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
    and it shall be holy,
^(AE)and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
¹⁸^(AF)The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
    and the house of Joseph a flame,
    and the house of Esau ^(AG)stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
    ^(AH)and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.

The Kingdom of the Lord

¹⁹Those of ^(AI)the Negeb ^(AJ)shall possess ^(AK)Mount Esau,
    and those of the Shephelah shall possess ^(AL)the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of ^(AM)Samaria,
    and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
²⁰The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
    shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as ^(AN)Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
²¹^(AO)Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
    to rule ^(AP)Mount Esau,
    and ^(AQ)the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

Footnotes

Obadiah 1:2 Or Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised
Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
Obadiah 1:7 Hebrew lacks those who eat
Obadiah 1:7 Hebrew he has
Obadiah 1:12 Hebrew do not enlarge your mouth

Zechariah 1

English Standard Version

A Call to Return to the Lord

1 In the eighth month, ^(A)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(B)Zechariah, the son of ^(C)Berechiah, son of ^(D)Iddo, saying, ²^(E)“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. ³Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: ^(F)Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and ^(G)I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ⁴^(H)Do not be like your fathers, ^(I)to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(J)Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But ^(K)they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. ⁵Your fathers, where are they? And ^(L)the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶^(M)But my words and my statutes, which I commanded ^(N)my servants the prophets, did they not ^(O)overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ^(P)‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for ^(Q)our ways and ^(R)deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

A Vision of a Horseman

⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(S)Zechariah, the son of ^(T)Berechiah, son of ^(U)Iddo, saying, ⁸“I saw in the night, and behold, ^(V)a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were ^(W)red, sorrel, and white horses. ⁹Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ ^(X)The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ ¹⁰So ^(Y)the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ^(Z)‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to ^(AA)patrol the earth.’ ¹¹And they answered ^(AB)the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ^(AC)‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth ^(AD)remains at rest.’ ¹²Then ^(AE)the angel of the Lord said, ^(AF)‘O Lord of hosts, ^(AG)how long will you ^(AH)have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these ^(AI)seventy years?’ ¹³And the Lord answered ^(AJ)gracious and comforting words to ^(AK)the angel who talked with me. ¹⁴So ^(AL)the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AM)I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. ¹⁵^(AN)And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are ^(AO)at ease; ^(AP)for while I was angry but a little, ^(AQ)they furthered the disaster. ¹⁶Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^(AR)I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^(AS)my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(AT)the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. ¹⁷Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AU)My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, ^(AV)and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again ^(AW)choose Jerusalem.’”

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

¹⁸^[a] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(AX)four horns! ¹⁹And I said to ^(AY)the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, ^(AZ)“These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. ²¹And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, ^(BA)“These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come ^(BB)to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations ^(BC)who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”