Zephaniah 3

New King James Version

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

3 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted,
To the oppressing city!
²She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.

³^(A)Her princes in her midst are roaring lions;
Her judges are ^(B)evening wolves
That leave not a bone till morning.
⁴Her ^(C)prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have ^[a]polluted the sanctuary,
They have done ^(D)violence to the law.
⁵The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
^[b]Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But ^(E)the unjust knows no shame.

⁶“I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
⁷^(F)I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me,
You will receive instruction’—
So that her dwelling would not be cut off,
Despite everything for which I punished her.
But ^[c]they rose early and ^(G)corrupted all their deeds.

A Faithful Remnant^(H)

⁸“Therefore ^(I)wait for Me,” says the Lord,
“Until the day I rise up ^[d]for plunder;
My determination is to ^(J)gather the nations
To My assembly of kingdoms,
To pour on them My indignation,
All My fierce anger;
All the earth ^(K)shall be devoured
With the fire of My jealousy.

⁹“For then I will restore to the peoples ^(L)a pure ^[e]language,
That they all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord.
¹⁰^(M)From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
My worshipers,
The daughter of My dispersed ones,
Shall bring My offering.
¹¹In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds
In which you transgress against Me;
For then I will take away from your midst
Those who ^(N)rejoice in your pride,
And you shall no longer be haughty
In My holy mountain.
¹²I will leave in your midst
^(O)A meek and humble people,
And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
¹³^(P)The remnant of Israel ^(Q)shall do no unrighteousness
^(R)And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For ^(S)they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
And no one shall make them afraid.”

Joy in God’s Faithfulness

¹⁴^(T)Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
^(U)The King of Israel, the Lord, ^(V)is in your midst;
You shall ^[f]see disaster no more.

¹⁶In that day ^(W)it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, ^(X)let not your hands be weak.
¹⁷The Lord your God ^(Y)in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
^(Z)He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

¹⁸“I will gather those who ^(AA)sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
¹⁹Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the ^(AB)lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
²⁰At that time ^(AC)I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you ^[g]fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

Zephaniah 3:4 Or profaned
Zephaniah 3:5 Lit. Morning by morning
Zephaniah 3:7 They were eager
Zephaniah 3:8 LXX, Syr. for witness; Tg. for the day of My revelation for judgment; Vg. for the day of My resurrection that is to come
Zephaniah 3:9 Lit. lip
Zephaniah 3:15 So with Heb. mss., LXX, Bg.; MT, Vg. fear
Zephaniah 3:20 Lit. a name

Matthew 13:44-58

New King James Version

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and ^(A)sells all that he has and ^(B)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶who, when he had found ^(C)one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and ^(D)gathered some of every kind, ⁴⁸which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, ^(E)separate the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

⁵¹^[a]Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, ^[b]Lord.”

⁵²Then He said to them, “Therefore every ^[c]scribe instructed ^[d]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure ^(F)things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(G)

⁵³Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ⁵⁴^(H)When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵^(I)Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And ^(J)His brothers ^(K)James, ^[e]Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷So they ^(L)were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, ^(M)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸Now ^(N)He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

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Footnotes

Matthew 13:51 NU omits Jesus said to them
Matthew 13:51 NU omits Lord
Matthew 13:52 A scholar of the Old Testament
Matthew 13:52 Or for
Matthew 13:55 NU Joseph

Nahum 1

New King James Version

God’s Mercy and Judgment

1 The ^[a]burden ^(A)against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

God’s Wrath on His Enemies

²God is ^(B)jealous, and the Lord avenges;
The Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
³The Lord is ^(C)slow to anger and ^(D)great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.

^(E)The Lord has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
⁴^(F)He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
And dries up all the rivers.
^(G)Bashan and Carmel wither,
And the flower of Lebanon wilts.
⁵The mountains quake before Him,
The hills melt,
And the earth ^[b]heaves at His presence,
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

⁶Who can stand before His indignation?
And ^(H)who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.

⁷^(I)The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And ^(J)He knows those who trust in Him.
⁸But with an overflowing flood
He will make an utter end of its place,
And darkness will pursue His enemies.

⁹^(K)What do you ^[c]conspire against the Lord?
^(L)He will make an utter end of it.
Affliction will not rise up a second time.
¹⁰For while tangled ^(M)like thorns,
^(N)And while drunken like drunkards,
^(O)They shall be devoured like stubble fully dried.
¹¹From you comes forth one
Who plots evil against the Lord,
A ^[d]wicked counselor.

¹²Thus says the Lord:

“Though they are ^[e]safe, and likewise many,
Yet in this manner they will be ^(P)cut down
When he passes through.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more;
¹³For now I will break off his yoke from you,
And burst your bonds apart.”

¹⁴The Lord has given a command concerning you:
^[f]“Your name shall be perpetuated no longer.
Out of the house of your gods
I will cut off the carved image and the molded image.
I will dig your ^(Q)grave,
For you are ^(R)vile.”^[g]

¹⁵Behold, on the mountains
The ^(S)feet of him who brings good tidings,
Who proclaims peace!
O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,
Perform your vows.
For the ^[h]wicked one shall no more pass through you;
He is ^(T)utterly cut off.

Footnotes

Nahum 1:1 oracle, prophecy
Nahum 1:5 Tg. burns
Nahum 1:9 Or devise
Nahum 1:11 Lit. counselor of Belial
Nahum 1:12 Or at peace or complete
Nahum 1:14 Lit. No more of your name shall be fruitful
Nahum 1:14 Or contemptible
Nahum 1:15 Lit. one of Belial

1 Corinthians 4:1-17

New King James Version

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

4 Let a man so consider us, as ^(A)servants of Christ ^(B)and stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human ^[a]court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. ⁵^(C)Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to ^(D)light the hidden things of darkness and ^(E)reveal the ^[b]counsels of the hearts. ^(F)Then each one’s praise will come from God.

Fools for Christ’s Sake

⁶Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be ^[c]puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷For who ^[d]makes you differ from another? And ^(G)what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already full! ^(H)You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! ⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a ^(I)spectacle ^[e]to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰We are ^(J)fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! ^(K)We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. ¹²^(L)And we labor, working with our own hands. ^(M)Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³being defamed, we ^[f]entreat. ^(N)We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

Paul’s Paternal Care

¹⁴I do not write these things to shame you, but ^(O)as my beloved children I warn you. ¹⁵For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for ^(P)in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you, ^(Q)imitate me. ¹⁷For this reason I have sent ^(R)Timothy to you, ^(S)who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will ^(T)remind you of my ways in Christ, as I ^(U)teach everywhere ^(V)in every church.