The Righteous Branch

23 ^(A)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning ^(B)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. ^(C)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. ^3 (D)Then I will gather the remnant of my flock ^(E)out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, ^(F)and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ^4 (G)I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

^5 (H)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous ^(I)Branch, and ^(J)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and ^(K)Israel will ^(L)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ^(M)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

^7 (N)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ ⁸ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he^[a] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

Lying Prophets

⁹ Concerning the prophets:

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, ^(AL)filling you with vain hopes. ^(AM)They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷ They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ^(AN)‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who ^(AO)stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ^(AP)‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

^23 (BA)“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? ^24 (BB)Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. ^(BC)Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. ²⁵ I have heard what the prophets have said ^(BD)who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ^(BE)‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ ²⁶ How long shall there be lies in the heart of ^(BF)the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, ²⁷ who think to make my people forget my name ^(BG)by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their ^(BH)fathers forgot my name for Baal? ^28 (BI)Let the prophet who has a dream ^(BJ)tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. ^(BK)What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. ^29 (BL)Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and ^(BM)like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? ^30 (BN)Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. ³¹ Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ ³² Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and ^(BO)lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when ^(BP)I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.

^33 (BQ)“When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,^[b] and ^(BR)I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ ³⁴ And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ ^(BS)I will punish that man and his household. ³⁵ Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶ But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and ^(BT)you pervert the words of ^(BU)the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. ³⁷ Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸ But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’” ³⁹ therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up^[c] and ^(BV)cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. ^40 (BW)And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and ^(BX)perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

The Supremacy of God's Son

1 Long ago, at many times and ^(A)in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but ^(B)in these last days ^(C)he has spoken to us by ^(D)his Son, whom he appointed ^(E)the heir of all things, ^(F)through whom also he created ^(G)the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and ^(H)the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. ^(I)After making purification for sins, ^(J)he sat down ^(K)at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name ^(L)he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

Or again,

⁶ And again, when he brings ^(O)the firstborn into the world, he says,

⁷ Of the angels he says,

⁸ But of the Son he says,

¹⁰ And,

¹³ And to which of the angels has he ever said,

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits ^(Y)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^(Z)inherit salvation?

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ² For since ^(AA)the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and ^(AB)every transgression or disobedience received a just ^(AC)retribution, ^3 (AD)how shall we escape if we ^(AE)neglect such a great salvation? It was ^(AF)declared at first by the Lord, and it was ^(AG)attested to us ^(AH)by those who heard, ^4 (AI)while God also bore witness ^(AJ)by signs and wonders and various miracles and by ^(AK)gifts of the Holy Spirit ^(AL)distributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

⁵ For it was not to angels that God subjected the world ^(AM)to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶ It has been testified somewhere,

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, ^(AO)we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹ But we see him ^(AP)who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, ^(AQ)crowned with glory and honor ^(AR)because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might ^(AS)taste death ^(AT)for everyone.

¹⁰ For it ^(AU)was fitting that he, ^(AV)for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons ^(AW)to glory, should make the ^(AX)founder of their salvation ^(AY)perfect through suffering. ¹¹ For ^(AZ)he who sanctifies and ^(BA)those who are sanctified ^(BB)all have one source.^[c] That is why he is not ashamed to call them ^(BC)brothers,^{[d] 12} saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise ^(BI)partook of the same things, that ^(BJ)through death he might ^(BK)destroy ^(BL)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who ^(BM)through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he ^(BN)helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had ^(BO)to be made like his brothers in every respect, ^(BP)so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest ^(BQ)in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered ^(BR)when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers,^[e] you who share in ^(BS)a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, ^(BT)the apostle and high priest of our confession, ² who was faithful to him who appointed him, ^(BU)just as Moses also was faithful in all God's^[f] house. ³ For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴ (For every house is built by someone, but ^(BV)the builder of all things is God.) ^5 (BW)Now Moses was faithful in all God's house ^(BX)as a servant, ^(BY)to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶ but Christ is faithful over God's house as ^(BZ)a son. And ^(CA)we are his house, if indeed we ^(CB)hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.^[g]

A Rest for the People of God

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from ^(CF)the living God. ¹³ But ^(CG)exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by ^(CH)the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, ^(CI)if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵ As it is said,

¹⁶ For ^(CK)who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not ^(CL)all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷ And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, ^(CM)whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did he swear that ^(CN)they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹ So we see that ^(CO)they were unable to enter because of unbelief.