Bible in 90 Days
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so that fire will devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O juniper,[a] for the cedar has fallen,
for the magnificent trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the impenetrable forest has come down!
3 Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their splendor is ruined!
Listen to the roar of the young lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!
The Two Shepherds
4 Thus says Yahweh my God: “Shepherd the flock[b] doomed to slaughter. 5 The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land,” declares[c] Yahweh. “Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand.”
7 And I shepherded the flock[d] doomed to slaughter, even[e] the afflicted[f] of the flock.[g] I took two staffs, one I called Kindness, and the other I called Unity, and I shepherded the flock.[h] 8 And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for I grew impatient[i] with them, and they also became tired of me.[j] 9 So I said, “I will not shepherd you! The one dying will die, and the one to be destroyed will be destroyed. And the ones remaining, let them devour the flesh of each other.”[k] 10 And I took my staff Kindness and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made[l] with all the peoples. 11 And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted[m] of the flock,[n] the ones who were watching me, knew that it was the word of Yahweh. 12 And I said to them, “If it seems right to you,[o] give me my wages, but if not, keep them.”[p] And they weighed out my wages, thirty silver shekels. 13 And Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter,”[q] this noble price[r] at which I was valued by them!” So I took the thirty silver shekels and I threw them to the potter[s] in the house of Yahweh. 14 Then I broke my second staff Unity to break the family ties between Judah and Israel.
15 And Yahweh said to me, “Take again the implements[t] of a foolish shepherd. 16 For look, I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the ones that are perishing; he will not seek the young man,[u] he will not heal the ones that are crushed and he will not sustain the healthy ones; he will devour the flesh of the fattened ones[v] and tear apart even their hoofs.
17 “Woe, my worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock![w]
May a sword fall on his arm
and on his right eye![x]
May his arm wither completely
and his right eye[y] be utterly blinded!”
The Day of Yahweh
12 An oracle. The word of Yahweh concerning Israel. “Thus declares[z] Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, founds the earth, and forms the spirit of humankind in its midst:[aa] 2 ‘Look, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding nations; it will also be against Judah in the siege against Jerusalem. 3 And then[ab] on that day I will make Jerusalem a stone weight[ac] for all the peoples. All those lifting it up will grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will assemble against it. 4 On that day,’ declares[ad] Yahweh, ‘I will strike every horse with confusion, and the one riding it with madness; but over the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open,[ae] and I will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the clans of Judah will say to themselves,[af] “The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strength to us,[ag] through Yahweh of hosts, their God.”
6 “‘On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a pan of fire among sticks of wood, and like a torch of fire among stalks[ah] of grain, and they will devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 And Yahweh will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants[ai] of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah. 8 On that day Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants[aj] of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh, before them.[ak] 9 And then[al] on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations coming against Jerusalem.
10 “‘I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants[am] of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as one grieves bitterly over a firstborn. 11 On that day the wailing will be great in Jerusalem, like the wailing for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And the land shall mourn, each clan by itself;[an] the clan of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the clan of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the clan of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the clan of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all those clans remaining, each clan by itself,[ao] and their wives by themselves.’”
13 “‘On that day a well will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from impurity.[ap] 2 And then,[aq] on that day,’ declares[ar] Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I will banish from the land. 3 And then,[as] if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of Yahweh!” And his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 And then[at] on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, “I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth.”[au] 6 And someone[av] shall say to him, “What are these wounds between your arms?”[aw] and he will say, “Those I have received[ax] in the house of the ones who love me.”’”
The Sword Shall Strike the Shepherd
7 “O sword, awake against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate,”
declares[ay] Yahweh of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd,
so that the sheep[az] may be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the small ones.
8 And then[ba] in all the land,” declares[bb] Yahweh,
“two thirds[bc] will be cut off and perish,
and one third will be left alive[bd] in it.
9 And I will bring the remaining third into the fire,
and I will refine them like one refines silver,
and I will test them like one tests gold.
They[be] will call my name,
and I will answer them.[bf]
I will say, ‘They[bg] are my people,’
and they[bh] will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
Zechariah’s Apocalyptic Vision
14 Look! A day is coming for Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, like when he fights[bi] on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,[bj] which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives[bk] will be split in half,[bl] from east to west, by a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of my mountains, because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal, and you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.[bm]
6 And then[bn] on that day there will not be light,[bo] the precious things will congeal.[bp] 7 There shall be continuous day—it is known to Yahweh—not day and not night; and at evening time there will be light.
8 And then[bq] on that day, living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea,[br] and the other half to the western sea;[bs] it will happen both in the summer and in the winter. 9 And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; on that day Yahweh will be one and his name one. 10 All the land will be transformed into a desert plateau[bt] from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But it[bu] will rise up high and it will stay[bv] in its place from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, up to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And they[bw] will dwell in it, and there will be no more ban imposed,[bx] and Jerusalem will dwell in security.
12 And this will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their[by] flesh will rot while they[bz] are standing on their[ca] feet; their[cb] eyes will rot in their sockets, and their[cc] tongues[cd] will rot in their mouths.[ce] 13 And then[cf] on that day a great panic from Yahweh will fall[cg] on them, and they will seize one another’s hand,[ch] and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of another.[ci] 14 And Judah also will fight at[cj] Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—gold and silver, and garments in great abundance.[ck] 15 Like this plague[cl] will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and every kind of animal in those camps.
16 And then[cm] every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year[cn] to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths.[co] 17 And then[cp] whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them. 18 And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
20 On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” And the cooking pots in the house[cq] of Yahweh will be holy like the sacrificial basins[cr] before the altar. 21 And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a trader[cs] in the house[ct] of Yahweh of hosts on that day.
1 An oracle.[cu] The word of Yahweh to Israel through[cv] Malachi.[cw]
An Oracle Against Edom
2 “I have loved you,” says Yahweh, but you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares[cx] Yahweh. “I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated. I have made his[cy] mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,” Yahweh of hosts says this: “They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.” 5 Your eyes will see this, and you will say, “Yahweh is great beyond the borders[cz] of Israel.”
An Oracle Against the Temple Priesthood
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master;[da] but if I am a father, where is my honor, and if I am a master,[db] where is my reverence?” says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests, who despise[dc] my name. “But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 You are presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying that the table of Yahweh is despised! 8 When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is that not wrong?[dd] And when you offer the lame and the one who is ill, is that not wrong?[de] Present it, please, to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Will he show you favor?”[df] says Yahweh of hosts. 9 So then, implore the favor of God[dg] so that he will be gracious to us. “This is what you have done.[dh] Will he show favor to any of you?”[di] says Yahweh of hosts. 10 “Who also among you will shut the temple doors so that you will not kindle fire in vain on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I will not accept[dj] an offering from your hand. 11 From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “But you are profaning it by saying the table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit—its food[dk]—is despised! 13 And you say, ‘Look! This is a weariness,’ and you sniff with disdain at it,” says Yahweh of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the one that is sick—this you bring as the offering! Should I accept it[dl] from your hand?” says Yahweh. 14 “Cursed is the one who cheats, who has in his flock a male and vows it, but instead sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord! For I am a great king,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”
2 “And so then, O priests, this command is for you: 2 If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart[dm] to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; moreover I have already cursed them because you are not taking it to heart.[dn] 3 Look! I am going to rebuke your offspring,[do] and I will scatter offal on your faces, the offal of your religious feasts, and you will be carried to it.[dp]
4 “Then you will know that I have sent to you this command, that my covenant with Levi continues,”[dq] says Yahweh of hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he revered[dr] me and stood in awe before[ds] my name. 6 The instruction of truth[dt] was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightness[du] he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.[dv] 7 For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction[dw] from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts. 8 But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction;[dx] you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts. 9 “And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you are not keeping[dy] my way, but are favoring your own instruction.”[dz]
Yahweh Hates Faithlessness
10 Do we not all have[ea] one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful to one another,[eb] profaning the covenant of our ancestors?[ec] 11 Judah has been faithless, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign[ed] god. 12 May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, the one who is awake and who answers, and the one who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts!
13 And this you do as well:[ee] you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because he[ef] no longer regards the offering[eg] or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you ask, “For what reason?”[eh] Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.[ei] 15 Did not one God make them?[ej] But a remnant of the spirit is his.[ek] And what does the one God desire? An offspring of God.[el] You must be attentive to[em] your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,”[en] says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and he who covers his clothing with violence,” says Yahweh of hosts. “You must be attentive to[eo] your spirit and you must not be unfaithful.”
17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so when you say,[ep] “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight[eq] of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?”
Yahweh’s Messenger is Coming
3 “Look! I am going to send my messenger,[er] and he will prepare[es] the way before me.[et] And the Lord whom you are seeking will come suddenly to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you are taking pleasure—look!—he is about to come,” says Yahweh of hosts. 2 And who can endure the day of his coming? And who is the one who can stand when he appears?[eu] For he is like a refiner’s fire, like launderers’ alkali.[ev] 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the children of Levi, and he will refine them like gold and like silver, and they will present to Yahweh offerings[ew] in righteousness. 4 And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh, like in the days of old and like in former years.
5 “Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely,[ex] and against the oppressors of the hired worker with his wages, the widow and the orphan, and the abusers of[ey] the alien,[ez] and yet do not fear me,” says Yahweh of hosts.
An Overflowing Blessing
6 “For I, Yahweh, have not changed,[fa] and you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.[fb] 7 From the days of your ancestors[fc] you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept[fd] them! Return to me and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “but you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 Will a human dare to rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In the tithes and the contributions! 9 You are being cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse,[fe] so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you an overflowing blessing.[ff] 11 I will rebuke the devourer[fg] for you; it will not destroy the fruit of your soil; your vine in the field will not be unfruitful,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “And all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a land in which one takes joy,”[fh] says Yahweh of hosts. 13 “Your words have been harsh[fi] against me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘How have we spoken together against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is useless[fj] to serve God! What is the gain if we keep[fk] his requirements, and if we walk as mourners before[fl] Yahweh of hosts? 15 And now we are calling the arrogant blessed! Not only do those who do wickedness prosper; they also test God and they escape!’”
A Book of Remembrance is Written
16 Then those who revered[fm] Yahweh spoke with one another.[fn] And Yahweh listened attentively[fo] and heard, and a scroll of remembrance was written before him[fp] of those who revere[fq] Yahweh and ponder his name. 17 “They will be mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I am acting, my treasured possession. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. 18 You will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.
4 [fr] “For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every evildoer[fs] will be stubble. The coming day will consume[ft] them,” says Yahweh of hosts. “It will not leave behind for them root or branch. 2 But for you who revere[fu] my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like fattened calves.[fv] 3 You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am going to act,” says Yahweh of hosts.
4 “Remember the instruction[fw] of my servant Moses, which I commanded him at Horeb to all Israel, the rules and regulations. 5 Look! I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh! 6 And he will bring back[fx] the hearts of the fathers to the sons, and the hearts of the sons to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with a ban.”
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez became the father of Hezron, and Hezron became the father of Aram,[fy] 4 and Aram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed became the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse became the father of David the king.
And David became the father of Solomon by the wife[fz] of Uriah, 7 and Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam became the father of Abijah, and Abijah became the father of Asa,[ga] 8 and Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat,[gb] and Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram, and Joram became the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah became the father of Jotham, and Jotham became the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh became the father of Amon,[gc] and Amon became the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,[gd] and Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud, and Abiud became the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim became the father of Azor, 14 and Azor became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Achim, and Achim became the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud became the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar became the father of Matthan, and Matthan became the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary by whom[ge] was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ are fourteen generations.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant[gf] by the Holy Spirit. 19 So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly. 20 But as[gg] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name ‘Jesus,’ because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin will become pregnant[gh] and will give birth to a son,
and they will call his name Emmanuel,”[gi]
which is translated, “God with us.”[gj] 24 And Joseph, when he[gk] woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife 25 and did not have sexual relations with[gl] her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Wise Men Visit Jesus
2 Now after[gm] Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising[gn] and have come to worship him.” 3 And when[go] King Herod heard it,[gp] he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and after[gq] calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you will go out a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”[gr]
7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and[gs] determined precisely from them the time when[gt] the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and[gu] said, “Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and[gv] worship him.” 9 After[gw] they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising[gx] led them until it came and[gy] stood above the place where the child was. 10 Now when they[gz] saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. 11 And when they[ha] came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and[hb] worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Escape to Egypt
13 Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.” 14 So he got up and[hc] took the child and his mother during the night and went away to Egypt. 15 And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Herod Has Innocent Children Murdered
16 Then Herod, when he[hd] saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers[he] and[hf] executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men. 17 Then what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she did not want to be comforted,
because they exist no longer[hg].”[hh]
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus Return to Nazareth
19 Now after[hi] Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead.” 21 So he got up and[hj] took the child and his mother and entered[hk] the land of Israel. 22 But when he[hl] heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee. 23 And he came and[hm] lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled:[hn] “He will be called a Nazarene.”
John the Baptist Begins His Ministry
3 Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” 3 For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’”[ho]
4 Now John himself had his clothing made from camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they[hp] confessed their sins.
7 But when he[hq] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9 And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 10 Already now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent[hr] him, saying, “I need[hs] to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and[ht] said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted him. 16 Now after he[hu] was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens opened[hv] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming[hw] upon him. 17 And behold, there was[hx] a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, 2 and after he[hy] had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry. 3 And the tempter approached and[hz] said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.” 4 But he answered and[ia] said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”[ib]
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city[ic] and placed him on the highest point of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’[id]
and
‘On their hands they will lift you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”[ie]
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”[if]
8 Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and[ig] worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”[ih] 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.
Public Ministry in Galilee
12 Now when he[ii] heard that John had been arrested,[ij] he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, he went and[ik] lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
toward the sea,[il] on the other side of the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles[im]—
16 the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death,
a light has dawned on them.”[in]
17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
18 Now as he[io] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen). 19 And he said to them, “Follow me[ip] and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 And immediately they left their nets and[iq] followed him. 21 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 And immediately they left the boat and their father and[ir] followed him.
Teaching, Preaching, and Healing throughout Galilee
23 And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 And a report about him went out throughout[is] Syria, and they brought to him all those who were sick[it] with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed[iu] and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.
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