The Birth of Samson

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines^(A) for forty years.^(B)

² A certain man of Zorah,^(C) named Manoah,^(D) from the clan of the Danites,^(E) had a wife who was childless,^(F) unable to give birth. ³ The angel of the Lord^(G) appeared to her^(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.^{(I) 4} Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink^(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.^{(K) 5} You will become pregnant and have a son^(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor^(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,^(N) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead^(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God^(P) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,^(Q) very awesome.^(R) I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine^(S) or other fermented drink^(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.^(U)’”

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet^(A)

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like^(B) a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants^(C) to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants^(D) and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers^(E) and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners^(F) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,^(G) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend^(H)?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(I)

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”^(J)

Psalm 91

¹⁵ The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.^(A) You must listen to him. ¹⁶ For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”^(B)

¹⁷ The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet^(C) like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words^(D) in his mouth.^(E) He will tell them everything I command him.^(F)

⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die^(A) in the arena. We have been made a spectacle^(B) to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ,^(C) but you are so wise in Christ!^(D) We are weak, but you are strong!^(E) You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹ To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.^{(F) 12} We work hard with our own hands.^(G) When we are cursed, we bless;^(H) when we are persecuted,^(I) we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage^(J) of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

¹⁴ I am writing this not to shame you^(K) but to warn you as my dear children.^{(L) 15} Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father^(M) through the gospel.^(N)

²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.^{(A) 25} Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest,^(B) and the one who rules like the one who serves.^{(C) 27} For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.^{(D) 28} You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom,^(E) just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom^(F) and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.^(G)