²³ Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off?^{(A) 24} Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.^{(B) 25} I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed! I have dreamed!”^{(C) 26} How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? ²⁷ They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.^{(D) 28} Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord.^{(E) 29} Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?^(F)

Jesus the Cause of Division

⁴⁹ “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!^{(A) 51} Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!^{(B) 52} From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³ they will be divided:

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens.^{(D) 55} And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.^{(E) 56} You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?^(F)