Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶ Now ^(A)an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south^[a] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an ^(B)Ethiopian, a ^(C)eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, ^(D)who was in charge of all her treasure. ^(E)He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, ^(F)“How can I, unless someone ^(G)guides me?” And ^(H)he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and ^(K)beginning with this Scripture ^(L)he told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! ^(M)What prevents me from being baptized?”^{[b] 38} And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, ^(N)the Spirit of the Lord ^(O)carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(A)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(B)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (C)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(D)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(E)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(F)not that we have loved God ^(G)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(H)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (I)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(J)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (K)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(L)we have seen and testify that ^(M)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(N)the world. ^15 (O)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(P)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(Q)God is love, and ^(R)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(S)is love perfected with us, so that ^(T)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(U)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(V)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(W)been perfected in love. ^19 (X)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (Y)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(Z)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AA)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(AB)this commandment we have from him: ^(AC)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil^[a] of David.

A Question About Fasting

³³ And they said to him, ^(A)“The disciples of John ^(B)fast often and ^(C)offer prayers, ^(D)and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(E)“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? ^35 (F)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(G)then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶ He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old ^(H)wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”^[a]