Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic^(A)

9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, ^(B)and came to His own city. ^2 (C)Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. ^(D)When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

³ And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

⁴ But Jesus, ^(E)knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ⁷ And he arose and departed to his house.

⁸ Now when the multitudes saw it, they ^(F)marveled^[a] and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Matthew the Tax Collector^(G)

^9 (H)As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

^10 (I)Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with ^(J)tax collectors and ^(K)sinners?”

¹² When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ^(L)‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, ^(M)but sinners, ^[b]to repentance.”

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting^(N)

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, ^(O)“Why do we and the Pharisees fast ^[c]often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Can ^(P)the ^[d]friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and ^(Q)then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for ^[e]the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins ^[f]break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed^(R)

^18 (S)While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” ¹⁹ So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His ^(T)disciples.

^20 (U)And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and ^(V)touched the hem of His garment. ²¹ For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” ²² But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; ^(W)your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

^23 (X)When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw ^(Y)the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, ²⁴ He said to them, ^(Z)“Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. ²⁵ But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and ^(AA)took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the ^(AB)report of this went out into all that land.

Two Blind Men Healed

²⁷ When Jesus departed from there, ^(AC)two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ^(AD)“Son of David, have mercy on us!”

²⁸ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

²⁹ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, ^(AE)“See that no one knows it.” ^31 (AF)But when they had departed, they ^[g]spread the news about Him in all that ^[h]country.

A Mute Man Speaks

^32 (AG)As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. ³³ And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, ^(AH)“He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

The Compassion of Jesus^(AI)

³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, ^(AJ)teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease ^[i]among the people. ^36 (AK)But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were ^[j]weary and scattered, ^(AL)like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, ^(AM)“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ^38 (AN)Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

My Son, Be Wise

Worship and the Lord’s Supper

11 Imitate^(A) me, just as I also imitate Christ.

Head Coverings

² Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. ³ But I want you to know that ^(B)the head of every man is Christ, ^(C)the head of woman is man, and ^(D)the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man praying or ^(E)prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. ⁵ But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were ^(F)shaved. ⁶ For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is ^(G)shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. ⁷ For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since ^(H)he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. ⁸ For man is not from woman, but woman ^(I)from man. ⁹ Nor was man created for the woman, but woman ^(J)for the man. ¹⁰ For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. ¹¹ Nevertheless, ^(K)neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. ¹² For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.

¹³ Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? ¹⁵ But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given ^[a]to her for a covering. ¹⁶ But ^(L)if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, ^(M)nor do the churches of God.

Conduct at the Lord’s Supper

¹⁷ Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For first of all, when you come together as a church, ^(N)I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. ¹⁹ For ^(O)there must also be factions among you, ^(P)that those who are approved may be ^[b]recognized among you. ²⁰ Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and ^(Q)another is drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise ^(R)the church of God and ^(S)shame ^[c]those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

Institution of the Lord’s Supper^(T)

²³ For ^(U)I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: ^(V)that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ^[d]“Take, eat; this is My body which is ^[e]broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death ^(W)till He comes.

Examine Yourself

²⁷ Therefore whoever eats ^(X)this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and ^[f]blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But ^(Y)let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For he who eats and drinks ^[g]in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the ^[h]Lord’s body. ³⁰ For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many ^[i]sleep. ³¹ For ^(Z)if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, ^(AA)we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

³³ Therefore, my brethren, when you ^(AB)come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴ But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

5 Come now, you ^(A)rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! ² Your ^(B)riches ^[a]are corrupted, and ^(C)your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(D)You have heaped up treasure in the last days. ⁴ Indeed ^(E)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and ^(F)the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of ^[b]Sabaoth. ⁵ You have lived on the earth in pleasure and ^[c]luxury; you have ^[d]fattened your hearts ^[e]as in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸ You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^[f]is at hand.

⁹ Do not ^[g]grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be ^[h]condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! ^10 (G)My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and ^(H)patience. ¹¹ Indeed ^(I)we count them blessed who ^(J)endure. You have heard of ^(K)the perseverance of Job and seen ^(L)the end intended by the Lord—that ^(M)the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

¹² But above all, my brethren, ^(N)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into ^[i]judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs^(O)

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him ^(P)pray. Is anyone cheerful? ^(Q)Let him sing psalms. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ^(R)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. ^(S)And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ^16 [j]Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. ^(T)The effective, ^[k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man ^(U)with a nature like ours, and ^(V)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed ^(W)again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

¹⁹ Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone ^(X)turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way ^(Y)will save ^[l]a soul from death and ^(Z)cover a multitude of sins.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was ^(A)old and ^(B)his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

² Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I ^(C)do not know the day of my death. ^3 (D)Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ And make me ^[a]savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul ^(E)may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. ⁶ So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and make ^[b]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, ^(F)obey my voice according to what I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make ^(G)savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he ^(H)may bless you before his death.”

¹¹ And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, ^(I)Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. ¹² Perhaps my father will ^(J)feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring ^(K)a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

¹³ But his mother said to him, ^(L)“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” ¹⁴ And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother ^(M)made ^[c]savory food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took ^(N)the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, ^(O)that your soul may bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”

And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I ^(P)may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him, because ^(Q)his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

²⁴ Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

He said, “I am.”

²⁵ He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so ^(R)that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he came near and ^(S)kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

Esau’s Lost Hope^(AB)

³⁰ Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also had made ^[d]savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and ^(AC)eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

³² And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

³³ Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—^(AD)and indeed he shall be blessed.”

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, ^(AE)he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

³⁶ And Esau said, ^(AF)“Is he not rightly named ^[e]Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, ^(AG)“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with ^(AH)grain and wine I have ^[f]sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

³⁸ And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice ^(AI)and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

Jacob Escapes from Esau

⁴¹ So Esau ^(AM)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, ^(AN)“The days of mourning for my father ^[h]are at hand; ^(AO)then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau ^(AP)comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban ^(AQ)in Haran. ⁴⁴ And stay with him a ^(AR)few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, ⁴⁵ until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ And Rebekah said to Isaac, ^(AS)“I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; ^(AT)if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

The Altar of Burnt Offering^(A)

27 “You shall make ^(B)an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide—the altar shall be square—and its height shall be three cubits. ² You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. ³ Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the network you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. ⁵ You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be midway up the altar. ⁶ And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it. ⁸ You shall make it hollow with boards; ^(C)as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.

The Court of the Tabernacle^(D)

^9 (E)“You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side. ¹⁰ And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be silver. ¹¹ Likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver.

¹² “And along the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. ¹³ The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴ The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. ¹⁵ And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

¹⁶ “For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets. ¹⁷ All the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their ^(F)hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze. ¹⁸ The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze. ¹⁹ All the utensils of the tabernacle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

The Care of the Lampstand^(G)

²⁰ “And ^(H)you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to ^[a]burn continually. ²¹ In the tabernacle of meeting, ^(I)outside the veil which is before the Testimony, ^(J)Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. ^(K)It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.