So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, "Two men were in a certain city; one [was] rich and the other [was] poor. The rich [man] had very many flocks and herds, read more. but the poor [man] had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him. And a visitor came to the rich man, but he {was reluctant} to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then {the anger of David was kindled} against the man, and he said to Nathan, "{As Yahweh lives}, the man who has done this {deserves to die}! He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this thing, and because he had no pity." Then Nathan said to him, "You [are] the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you the household of your master and the women of your master into your lap. I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah; if [that had been too] little, I would have added to you {much more}. Why have you despised the word of Yahweh by doing evil in his eyes? Uriah the Hittite you have struck down with the sword, and his wife you have taken to yourself as wife! You have killed him with the sword of the {Ammonites}! So then, a sword will not turn away from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife!' Thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I [am] going to raise up evil against you from [within] your house, and I will take your women before your eyes, and I will give them to your neighbor, and he shall sleep with your wives {in broad daylight}. Though you did this in secret, I will do this thing before all of Israel {in broad daylight}!'" Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh!" Nathan said to David, "Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die. But because you have {utterly scorned} Yahweh in this matter, the son born for you {will certainly die}."

"The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, {some seed} fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. And other [seed] fell on the rock, and [when it] came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture. read more. And other [seed] fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with [it] [and] choked it. And other [seed] fell on the good soil, and [when it] came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain." [As he] said these [things], he called out, "The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!" And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. And he said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest [they are] in parables, so that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' Now the parable means this: the seed is the word of God, and those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe [and] be saved. And those on the rock [are those] who receive the word with joy when they hear [it], and these do not have [enough] root, who believe for a time and in a time of testing fall away. And the [seed] that fell into the thorn plants--these are the ones who hear and [as they] go along are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and they do not bear fruit to maturity. But the [seed] on the good soil--these are the ones who, [after] hearing the word, hold fast to [it] with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

which [things] are spoken allegorically, for these [women] are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing [children] for slavery, who is Hagar.

So Yahweh sent Nathan to David, and he came to him and said, "Two men were in a certain city; one [was] rich and the other [was] poor. The rich [man] had very many flocks and herds, read more. but the poor [man] had nothing except for one small ewe lamb which he had bought. He had nurtured her, and she grew up with him and with his children together. She used to eat from his morsel and drink from his cup, and she used to lie in his lap and became like a daughter for him. And a visitor came to the rich man, but he {was reluctant} to take from his flocks or from his herds to prepare a meal for the traveler when he came to him. So he took the ewe lamb of the poor man and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars darken and the clouds return after the rain. When the guards of the house tremble, and the men of strength are bent; the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows see dimly. read more. When the doors on the street are shut, when the sound of the grinding mill is low; one rises up to the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low. They are afraid of heights, and terrors [are] on the road. The almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets. Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; and the jar at the foundation is broken, and the wheel at the cistern is broken.

which [things] are spoken allegorically, for these [women] are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing [children] for slavery, who is Hagar.

which [things] are spoken allegorically, for these [women] are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing [children] for slavery, who is Hagar.

which [things] are spoken allegorically, for these [women] are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing [children] for slavery, who is Hagar.

which [things] are spoken allegorically, for these [women] are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bearing [children] for slavery, who is Hagar.

Judah [is] a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness. Who shall rouse him?

Your people {will volunteer} in the day of your power. In holy splendor, from [the] womb of [the] dawn, you will have the dew of your youth.

Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars darken and the clouds return after the rain. When the guards of the house tremble, and the men of strength are bent; the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows see dimly. read more. When the doors on the street are shut, when the sound of the grinding mill is low; one rises up to the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low. They are afraid of heights, and terrors [are] on the road. The almond tree blossoms, and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets. Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; and the jar at the foundation is broken, and the wheel at the cistern is broken.

Is it all day [that] the plowman plows, opens to sow seed, harrows his ground? When he has leveled its {surface}, does he not scatter dill, and sow cumin seed, and {plant} wheat [in] planted rows, and barley [in] an appointed place, and spelt grain [as] its border? read more. And his God instructs him about the prescription; he teaches him. For dill is not threshed with threshing sledge, nor is a wheel of a utility cart {rolled} over cumin, but dill is beaten out with stick, and cumin with rod. Grain is crushed fine, but certainly one does not thresh it forever; and one drives the wheel of his cart, but his horses do not crush it. This also comes forth from Yahweh of hosts. He is wonderful [in] advice; he makes great wisdom.