‘Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are important among the rulers of Judah. Yes, a ruler will come from you, and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.’”

“Then the king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.’

“The king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.’

The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me. I will always accept them.

Peter said, “No! You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, you are not one of my people.”

I have seen my people suffer much in Egypt. I have heard my people crying and have come down to save them. Come now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’

Then the rest of the world will look for the Lord God— all those of other nations who are my people too. The Lord said this. And he is the one who does all these things.’

I am with you, and no one will be able to hurt you. Many of my people are in this city.”

“I was away from Jerusalem for many years. I went back there to take money to help my people. I also had some gifts to offer at the Temple. I was doing this when some Jews saw me there. I had finished the cleansing ceremony. I had not made any trouble, and no one was gathering around me.

But the Jews there did not want that. So I had to ask to come to Rome to have my trial before Caesar. That doesn’t mean I am accusing my people of doing anything wrong.

As the Scriptures say in the book of Hosea, “The people who are not mine— I will say they are my people. And the people I did not love— I will say they are the people I love.”

And, “Where God said in the past, ‘You are not my people’— there they will be called children of the living God.”

God’s temple cannot have anything to do with idols, and we are the temple of the living God. As God said, “I will live with them and walk with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

This is the new agreement I will give the people of Israel. I will give this agreement in the future, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write my laws on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

“This is the agreement I will make with my people in the future, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts. I will write my laws in their minds.”

But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel do what she wants. She says that she is a prophet, but she is leading my people away with her teaching. Jezebel leads my people to commit sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols.

Then I heard another voice from heaven say, “Come out of that city, my people, so that you will not share in her sins. Then you will not suffer any of the terrible punishment she will get.