Cleansing From Sin

13 “On that day a fountain^(A) will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse^(B) them from sin and impurity.

² “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols^(C) from the land, and they will be remembered no more,”^(D) declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets^(E) and the spirit of impurity from the land. ³ And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies^(F) in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.^(G)

⁴ “On that day every prophet will be ashamed^(H) of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment^(I) of hair^(J) in order to deceive.^{(K) 5} Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.^[a]’^{(L) 6} If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body^[b]?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck, the Sheep Scattered

The Lord Comes and Reigns

14 A day of the Lord^(Y) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions^(Z) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

² I will gather all the nations^(AA) to Jerusalem to fight against it;^(AB) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.^(AC) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.^{(AD) 3} Then the Lord will go out and fight^(AE) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.^{(AF) 4} On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,^(AG) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split^(AH) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. ⁵ You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^[c](AI) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,^(AJ) and all the holy ones with him.^(AK)

⁶ On that day there will be neither sunlight^(AL) nor cold, frosty darkness. ⁷ It will be a unique^(AM) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.^(AN) When evening comes, there will be light.^(AO)

⁸ On that day living water^(AP) will flow^(AQ) out from Jerusalem, half of it east^(AR) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.^(AS)

⁹ The Lord will be king^(AT) over the whole earth.^(AU) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.^(AV)

¹⁰ The whole land, from Geba^(AW) to Rimmon,^(AX) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up^(AY) high from the Benjamin Gate^(AZ) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,^(BA) and from the Tower of Hananel^(BB) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.^{(BC) 11} It will be inhabited;^(BD) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.^(BE)

¹² This is the plague with which the Lord will strike^(BF) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.^{(BG) 13} On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.^(BH) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.^{(BI) 14} Judah^(BJ) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected^(BK)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵ A similar plague^(BL) will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

¹⁶ Then the survivors^(BM) from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship^(BN) the King,^(BO) the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(BP) 17} If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship^(BQ) the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.^{(BR) 18} If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord^[d] will bring on them the plague^(BS) he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(BT) 19} This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.^(BU)

²⁰ On that day holy to the Lord^(BV) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots^(BW) in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls^(BX) in front of the altar. ²¹ Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy^(BY) to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day^(BZ) there will no longer be a Canaanite^[e](CA) in the house^(CB) of the Lord Almighty.^(CC)

Psalm 147

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Now the tax collectors^(B) and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”^(C)

³ Then Jesus told them this parable:^{(D) 4} “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?^{(E) 5} And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’^{(F) 7} I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.^(G)

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’^{(H) 10} In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”^(I)

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.^{(J) 12} The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’^(K) So he divided his property^(L) between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth^(M) in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.^{(N) 16} He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned^(O) against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.^(P)

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.^(Q) I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe^(R) and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger^(S) and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;^(T) he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.^(U)

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry^(V) and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property^(W) with prostitutes^(X) comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”^(Y)