Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(A)

6 Then ^(B)He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. ² And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were ^(C)astonished, saying, ^(D)“Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! ³ Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and ^(E)brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they ^(F)were offended at Him.

⁴ But Jesus said to them, ^(G)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ^5 (H)Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(I)He marveled because of their unbelief. ^(J)Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

Sending Out the Twelve^(K)

^7 (L)And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out ^(M)two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. ⁸ He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— ⁹ but ^(N)to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

^10 (O)Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. ^11 (P)And ^[a]whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, ^(Q)shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. ^[b]Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”

¹² So they went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ And they cast out many demons, ^(R)and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(S)

^14 (T)Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore ^(U)these powers are at work in him.”

^15 (V)Others said, “It is Elijah.”

And others said, “It is ^[c]the Prophet, ^(W)or like one of the prophets.”

^16 (X)But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” ¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. ¹⁸ Because John had said to Herod, ^(Y)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ Therefore Herodias ^[d]held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; ²⁰ for Herod ^(Z)feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he ^[e]did many things, and heard him gladly.

^21 (AA)Then an opportune day came when Herod ^(AB)on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. ²² And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ He also swore to her, ^(AC)“Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask?”

And she said, “The head of John the Baptist!”

²⁵ Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

^26 (AD)And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison, ²⁸ brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and ^(AE)took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

Absalom’s Treason

15 After this ^(A)it happened that Absalom ^(B)provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ² Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a ^(C)lawsuit^[a] came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe of Israel.” ³ Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your ^[b]case is good and right; but there is no ^[c]deputy of the king to hear you.” ⁴ Moreover Absalom would say, ^(D)“Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” ⁵ And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and ^(E)kiss him. ⁶ In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. ^(F)So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

⁷ Now it came to pass ^(G)after ^[d]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please, let me go to ^(H)Hebron and pay the vow which I made to the Lord. ^8 (I)For your servant ^(J)took a vow ^(K)while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”

⁹ And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron.

¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom ^(L)reigns in Hebron!’ ” ¹¹ And with Absalom went two hundred men ^(M)invited from Jerusalem, and they ^(N)went along innocently and did not know anything. ¹² Then Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, ^(O)David’s counselor, from his city—from ^(P)Giloh—while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom ^(Q)continually increased in number.

David Escapes from Jerusalem

¹³ Now a messenger came to David, saying, ^(R)“The hearts of the men of Israel are ^[e]with Absalom.”

¹⁴ So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us ^(S)flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

¹⁵ And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands.” ¹⁶ Then ^(T)the king went out with all his household after him. But the king left ^(U)ten women, concubines, to keep the house. ¹⁷ And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. ¹⁸ Then all his servants passed ^[f]before him; ^(V)and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, ^(W)six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king.

¹⁹ Then the king said to ^(X)Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. ²⁰ In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go ^(Y)I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”

²¹ But Ittai answered the king and said, ^(Z)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

²² So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. ²³ And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the ^(AA)wilderness.

²⁴ There was ^(AB)Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ^(AC)ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and ^(AD)Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He ^(AE)will bring me back and show me both it and ^(AF)His dwelling place. ²⁶ But if He says thus: ‘I have no ^(AG)delight in you,’ here I am, ^(AH)let Him do to me as seems good to Him.” ²⁷ The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a ^(AI)seer?^[g] Return to the city in peace, and ^(AJ)your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸ See, ^(AK)I will wait in the plains of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” ²⁹ Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem. And they remained there.

³⁰ So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he ^(AL)had his head covered and went ^(AM)barefoot. And all the people who were with him ^(AN)covered their heads and went up, ^(AO)weeping as they went up. ³¹ Then someone told David, saying, ^(AP)“Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, ^(AQ)turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

³² Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the ^(AR)Archite coming to meet him ^(AS)with his robe torn and dust on his head. ³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become ^(AT)a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ^(AU)‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. ³⁵ And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to ^(AV)Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶ Indeed they have there ^(AW)with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.”

³⁷ So Hushai, ^(AX)David’s friend, went into the city. ^(AY)And Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Daniel’s Prayer for the People

9 In the first year ^(A)of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through ^(B)Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

^3 (C)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^(D)Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ^5 (E)we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ^6 (F)Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, ^(G)righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ^9 (H)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, ^(I)all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the ^(J)Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has ^(K)confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; ^(L)for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

^13 (M)“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; ^(N)yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has ^(O)kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for ^(P)the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, ^(Q)who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ^(R)a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(S)according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, ^(T)Your holy mountain; because for our sins, ^(U)and for the iniquities of our fathers, ^(V)Jerusalem and Your people ^(W)are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, ^(X)and ^(Y)for the Lord’s sake ^[a]cause Your face to shine on ^[b]Your sanctuary, ^(Z)which is desolate. ^18 (AA)O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes ^(AB)and see our desolations, and the city ^(AC)which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

²⁰ Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(AD)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, ^[c]being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications the ^[d]command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ^(AE)beloved; therefore ^(AF)consider the matter, and understand the vision: