Zephaniah 1

English Standard Version

1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, ^(A)in the days of ^(B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Coming Judgment on Judah

²^(C)“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
³“I will sweep away ^(D)man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and ^(E)the fish of the sea,
and ^(F)the rubble^[a] with the wicked.
    I will ^(G)cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
⁴“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
^(H)and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
⁵^(I)those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
^(J)those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by ^(K)Milcom,^[b]
⁶^(L)those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    ^(M)who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

The Day of the Lord Is Near

⁷^(N)Be silent before the Lord God!
    For ^(O)the day of the Lord is near;
^(P)the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and ^(Q)consecrated his guests.
⁸And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
^(R)“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and ^(S)all who array themselves in foreign attire.
⁹On that day I will punish
    everyone ^(T)who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's^[c] house
    with violence and fraud.

¹⁰“On that day,” declares the Lord,
    “a cry will be heard from ^(U)the Fish Gate,
^(V)a wail from ^(W)the Second Quarter,
    a loud crash from the hills.
¹¹^(X)Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
    For all the traders^[d] are no more;
    all who weigh out silver are cut off.
¹²At that time ^(Y)I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
    and I will punish the men
^(Z)who are complacent,^[e]
    ^(AA)those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
    nor will he do ill.’
¹³Their goods shall be ^(AB)plundered,
    and their houses laid waste.
^(AC)Though they build houses,
    they shall not inhabit them;
^(AD)though they plant vineyards,
    they shall not drink wine from them.”

¹⁴^(AE)The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    ^(AF)the mighty man cries aloud there.
¹⁵^(AG)A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ^(AH)ruin and devastation,
    ^(AI)a day of darkness and gloom,
^(AJ)a day of clouds and thick darkness,
¹⁶    ^(AK)a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
^(AL)against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.

¹⁷^(AM)I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk ^(AN)like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the Lord;
^(AO)their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh ^(AP)like dung.
¹⁸^(AQ)Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
^(AR)In the fire of his jealousy,
    ^(AS)all the earth shall be consumed;
^(AT)for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Footnotes

Zephaniah 1:3 Or stumbling blocks (that is, idols)
Zephaniah 1:5 Or their king
Zephaniah 1:9 Or their Lord's
Zephaniah 1:11 Or all the people of Canaan
Zephaniah 1:12 Hebrew are thickening on the dregs [of their wine]

Matthew 13:24-43

English Standard Version

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴He put another parable before them, saying, ^(A)“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds^[a] among the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷And the servants^[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he said, ^(B)‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^(C)“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹He put another parable before them, saying, ^(D)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(E)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable. ^(F)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(G)three measures of flour, till it was ^(H)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

³⁴^(I)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:^[c]

^(J)“I will open my mouth in parables;
^(K)I will utter what has been hidden ^(L)since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into ^(M)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(N)“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed is ^(O)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(P)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(Q)The harvest is ^(R)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds ^(S)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(T)the end of the age. ⁴¹^(U)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^(V)causes of sin and ^(W)all law-breakers, ⁴²^(X)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(Y)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then ^(Z)the righteous will shine like the sun ^(AA)in the kingdom of their Father. ^(AB)He who has ears, let him hear.

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Footnotes

Matthew 13:25 Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
Matthew 13:27 Or bondservants; also verse 28
Matthew 13:35 Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet

Zephaniah 2

English Standard Version

Judgment on Judah's Enemies

2 Gather together, yes, gather,
    O ^(A)shameless nation,
²^(B)before the decree takes effect^[a]
    —before the day passes away ^(C)like chaff—
^(D)before there comes upon you
    the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the anger of the Lord.
³^(E)Seek the Lord, ^(F)all you humble of the land,
    who do his just commands;^[b]
^(G)seek righteousness; seek humility;
    ^(H)perhaps ^(I)you may be hidden
    on the day of the anger of the Lord.
⁴^(J)For Gaza shall be deserted,
    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
    and Ekron shall be uprooted.

⁵Woe to ^(K)you inhabitants of the seacoast,
    you nation of ^(L)the Cherethites!
^(M)The word of the Lord is against you,
    ^(N)O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
    and I will destroy you ^(O)until no inhabitant is left.
⁶^(P)And you, O seacoast, ^(Q)shall be pastures,
    with meadows^[c] for shepherds
    and folds for flocks.
⁷^(R)The seacoast shall become the possession
    of ^(S)the remnant of the house of Judah,
    ^(T)on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
    they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God ^(U)will be mindful of them
    and ^(V)restore their fortunes.

⁸“I have heard ^(W)the taunts of Moab
    and ^(X)the revilings of the Ammonites,
how they have taunted my people
    and made boasts ^(Y)against their territory.
⁹Therefore, ^(Z)as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel,
“Moab shall become ^(AA)like Sodom,
    and the Ammonites ^(AB)like Gomorrah,
a land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
    and a waste forever.
The remnant of my people shall plunder them,
    and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
¹⁰This shall be their lot in return ^(AC)for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
¹¹The Lord will be awesome against them;
    ^(AD)for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and ^(AE)to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all ^(AF)the lands of the nations.

¹²^(AG)You also, O Cushites,
shall be slain by my sword.

¹³And he will stretch out his hand against the north
    ^(AH)and destroy Assyria,
and he ^(AI)will make Nineveh a desolation,
    a dry waste like the desert.
¹⁴^(AJ)Herds shall lie down in her midst,
    all kinds of beasts;^[d]
^(AK)even the owl and the hedgehog^[e]
    shall lodge in her capitals;
a voice shall hoot in the window;
    devastation will be on the threshold;
    for ^(AL)her cedar work will be laid bare.
¹⁵This is the exultant city
    ^(AM)that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
    “I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
    ^(AN)a lair for wild beasts!
^(AO)Everyone who passes by her
    hisses and ^(AP)shakes his fist.

Footnotes

Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth
Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment
Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves
Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation
Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain

1 Corinthians 3

English Standard Version

Divisions in the Church

3 But I, brothers,^[a] could not address you as ^(A)spiritual people, but as ^(B)people of the flesh, as ^(C)infants in Christ. ²^(D)I fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^(E)you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^(F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴For ^(G)when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^(H)are you not being merely human?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ^(I)Servants through whom you believed, ^(J)as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶^(K)I planted, ^(L)Apollos watered, ^(M)but God gave the growth. ⁷So ^(N)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^(O)will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹For we are ^(P)God's fellow workers. You are God's field, ^(Q)God's building.

¹⁰^(R)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled^[b] master builder I laid a ^(S)foundation, and ^(T)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹For no one can lay a ^(U)foundation other ^(V)than that which is laid, ^(W)which is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³^(X)each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^(Y)by fire, and ^(Z)the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^(AA)he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^(AB)but only as through fire.

¹⁶^(AC)Do you not know that you^[c] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For ^(AD)God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸^(AE)Let no one deceive himself. ^(AF)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For ^(AG)the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^(AH)“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” ²⁰and again, ^(AI)“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹So ^(AJ)let no one boast in men. For ^(AK)all things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³and ^(AL)you are Christ's, and ^(AM)Christ is God's.