I Will Walk with Integrity

A Psalm of David.

Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^15 (A)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[a] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^(B)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^(C)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[b] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(D)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^(E)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, ^(F)they will remove from it all its ^(G)detestable things and all its abominations. ^19 (H)And I will give them one heart, and ^(I)a new spirit I will put within them. ^(J)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^(K)and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (L)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^(M)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^21 (N)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^(O)I will^[c] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

^22 (P)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^(Q)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(R)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ^24 (S)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^(T)in the vision by the Spirit of God ^(U)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 For this ^(A)Melchizedek, king of ^(B)Salem, priest of ^(C)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³ He is without father or mother ^(D)or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

⁴ See how great this man was to whom Abraham ^(E)the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵ And ^(F)those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,^[a] though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But this man ^(G)who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed ^(H)him who had the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one ^(I)of whom it is testified that ^(J)he lives. ⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

^11 (K)Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended ^(L)from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵ This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is witnessed of him,

The Return of the Seventy-Two

^17 (A)The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, ^(B)even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, ^(C)“I saw Satan ^(D)fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority ^(E)to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of ^(F)the enemy, and ^(G)nothing shall hurt you. ^20 (H)Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(I)your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will

^21 (J)In that same hour ^(K)he rejoiced ^(L)in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, ^(M)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(N)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(O)revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for ^(P)such was your gracious will.^{[a] 22 (Q)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is ^(R)except the Father, or who the Father is ^(S)except the Son and anyone ^(T)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, ^(U)“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you ^(V)that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”