A Call to Return to the Lord

1 In the eighth month, ^(A)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(B)Zechariah, the son of ^(C)Berechiah, son of ^(D)Iddo, saying, ^2 (E)“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: ^(F)Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and ^(G)I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^4 (H)Do not be like your fathers, ^(I)to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(J)Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But ^(K)they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. ⁵ Your fathers, where are they? And ^(L)the prophets, do they live forever? ^6 (M)But my words and my statutes, which I commanded ^(N)my servants the prophets, did they not ^(O)overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ^(P)‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for ^(Q)our ways and ^(R)deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

A Vision of a Horseman

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(S)Zechariah, the son of ^(T)Berechiah, son of ^(U)Iddo, saying, ⁸ “I saw in the night, and behold, ^(V)a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were ^(W)red, sorrel, and white horses. ⁹ Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ ^(X)The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ ¹⁰ So ^(Y)the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ^(Z)‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to ^(AA)patrol the earth.’ ¹¹ And they answered ^(AB)the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ^(AC)‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth ^(AD)remains at rest.’ ¹² Then ^(AE)the angel of the Lord said, ^(AF)‘O Lord of hosts, ^(AG)how long will you ^(AH)have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these ^(AI)seventy years?’ ¹³ And the Lord answered ^(AJ)gracious and comforting words to ^(AK)the angel who talked with me. ¹⁴ So ^(AL)the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AM)I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. ^15 (AN)And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are ^(AO)at ease; ^(AP)for while I was angry but a little, ^(AQ)they furthered the disaster. ¹⁶ Therefore, thus says the Lord, ^(AR)I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; ^(AS)my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(AT)the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(AU)My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, ^(AV)and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again ^(AW)choose Jerusalem.’”

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

^18 [a] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(AX)four horns! ¹⁹ And I said to ^(AY)the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, ^(AZ)“These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. ²¹ And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, ^(BA)“These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come ^(BB)to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations ^(BC)who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

A Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line

2 ^[b] And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(BD)a man with a measuring line in his hand! ² Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, ^(BE)“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” ³ And behold, ^(BF)the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him ⁴ and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ^(BG)‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited ^(BH)as villages without walls, because of ^(BI)the multitude of people and livestock in it. ⁵ And I will be to her ^(BJ)a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

⁶ Up! Up! ^(BK)Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have ^(BL)spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. ^7 (BM)Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. ⁸ For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me^[c] to the nations who plundered you, ^(BN)for he who touches you touches ^(BO)the apple of his eye: ⁹ “Behold, ^(BP)I will shake my hand over them, ^(BQ)and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then ^(BR)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. ^10 (BS)Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for ^(BT)behold, I come ^(BU)and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. ^11 (BV)And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. ^(BW)And I will dwell in your midst, and ^(BX)you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ^12 (BY)And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again ^(BZ)choose Jerusalem.”

¹³ Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

A Vision of Joshua the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(CA)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^(CB)Satan^[d] standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, ^(CC)“The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has ^(CD)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this ^(CE)a brand^[e] plucked from the fire?” ³ Now ^(CF)Joshua was standing before the angel, ^(CG)clothed with filthy garments. ⁴ And the angel said to ^(CH)those who were standing before him, ^(CI)“Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, ^(CJ)I have taken your iniquity away from you, and ^(CK)I will clothe you with pure vestments.” ⁵ And I said, ^(CL)“Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured ^(CM)Joshua, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and ^(CN)keep my charge, then you shall ^(CO)rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among ^(CP)those who are standing here. ⁸ Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for ^(CQ)they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring ^(CR)my servant ^(CS)the Branch. ⁹ For behold, on ^(CT)the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with ^(CU)seven eyes,^[f] I will ^(CV)engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and ^(CW)I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. ¹⁰ In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come ^(CX)under his vine and under his fig tree.”

The Lord's Prayer

11 Now Jesus^[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, ^(A)as John taught his disciples.” ² And he said to them, ^(B)“When you pray, say:

⁵ And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷ and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything ^(K)because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence^[c] he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹ And I tell you, ^(L)ask, and ^(M)it will be given to you; ^(N)seek, and you will find; ^(O)knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for^[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, ^(P)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(Q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14 (R)Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^(S)by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶ while others, ^(T)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17 (U)But he, ^(V)knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^(W)by whom do ^(X)your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if it is by ^(Y)the finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^(Z)the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22 (AA)but when one stronger than he attacks him and ^(AB)overcomes him, he takes away his ^(AC)armor in which he trusted and ^(AD)divides his spoil. ^23 (AE)Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24 (AF)“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^(AG)waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^(AH)the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷ As he said these things, ^(AI)a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^(AJ)“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸ But he said, ^(AK)“Blessed rather are those ^(AL)who hear the word of God and ^(AM)keep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29 (AN)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(AO)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(AP)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as ^(AQ)Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31 (AR)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^(AS)condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(AT)something greater than Solomon is here. ^32 (AU)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(AV)condemn it, for ^(AW)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(AX)something greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33 (AY)“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is ^(AZ)the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^(BA)bad, your body is full of darkness. ^35 (BB)Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^(BC)as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷ While Jesus^[e] was speaking, ^(BD)a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸ The Pharisee was astonished to see ^(BE)that he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹ And the Lord said to him, ^(BF)“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^(BG)greed and wickedness. ^40 (BH)You fools! ^(BI)Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But ^(BJ)give as alms those things that are within, and behold, ^(BK)everything is clean for you.

^42 (BL)“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BM)you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^(BN)justice and ^(BO)the love of God. ^(BP)These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! For ^(BQ)you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! ^(BR)For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵ One of ^(BS)the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶ And he said, “Woe to you ^(BT)lawyers also! For ^(BU)you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47 (BV)Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48 (BW)So you are witnesses and you ^(BX)consent to the deeds of ^(BY)your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Therefore also ^(BZ)the Wisdom of God said, ^(CA)‘I will send them ^(CB)prophets and apostles, ^(CC)some of whom they will ^(CD)kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ so that ^(CE)the blood of all the prophets, shed ^(CF)from the foundation of the world, may be ^(CG)charged against this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of ^(CH)Abel to the blood of ^(CI)Zechariah, who perished between ^(CJ)the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^(CK)required of this generation. ⁵² Woe to you ^(CL)lawyers! ^(CM)For you have taken away the key of ^(CN)knowledge. You ^(CO)did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³ As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54 (CP)lying in wait for him, ^(CQ)to catch him in something he might say.