Isaiah 44:23-28

New International Version

²³Sing for joy,^(A) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
    shout aloud, you earth^(B) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,^(C)
    you forests and all your trees,^(D)
for the Lord has redeemed^(E) Jacob,
    he displays his glory^(F) in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

²⁴“This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,^(G) who formed^(H) you in the womb:^(I)

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,^(J)
    who spreads out the earth^(K) by myself,
²⁵who foils^(L) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,^(M)
who overthrows the learning of the wise^(N)
    and turns it into nonsense,^(O)
²⁶who carries out the words^(P) of his servants
    and fulfills^(Q) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,^(R) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,^(S) ‘I will restore them,’^(T)
²⁷who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up^(U) your streams,’
²⁸who says of Cyrus,^(V) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,^(W) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,^(X) “Let its foundations^(Y) be laid.”’

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Luke 5:27-39

New International Version

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners^(A)

²⁷After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,”^(B) Jesus said to him, ²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.^(C)

²⁹Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors^(D) and others were eating with them. ³⁰But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect^(E) complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”^(F)

³¹Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³²I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”^(G)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting^(H)

³³They said to him, “John’s disciples^(I) often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

³⁴Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom^(J) fast while he is with them? ³⁵But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them;^(K) in those days they will fast.”

³⁶He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

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1 Corinthians 4:14-21

New International Version

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

¹⁴I am writing this not to shame you^(A) but to warn you as my dear children.^(B) ¹⁵Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father^(C) through the gospel.^(D) ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.^(E) ¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you^(F) Timothy,^(G) my son^(H) whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.^(I)

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant,^(J) as if I were not coming to you.^(K) ¹⁹But I will come to you very soon,^(L) if the Lord is willing,^(M) and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of^(N) talk but of power.^(O) ²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline,^(P) or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?