This is what the Lord says: "Because Edom has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.

This is what the Lord says: "Because the Ammonites have committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped open Gilead's pregnant women so they could expand their territory.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Moab has committed three crimes -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom's king into lime.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord's law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.

"Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, Israel!

Therefore, because you make the poor pay taxes on their crops and exact a grain tax from them, you will not live in the houses you built with chiseled stone, nor will you drink the wine from the fine vineyards you planted.

Because of Israel's sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: "In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.

You are happy because you conquered Lo-Debar. You say, "Did we not conquer Karnaim by our own power?"

Because of this the earth will quake, and all who live in it will mourn. The whole earth will rise like the River Nile, it will surge upward and then grow calm, like the Nile in Egypt.

"Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever.

"Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention."

Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, "What have you done?" (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.)

Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"

He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea to make the sea quiet down, because I know it's my fault you are in this severe storm."

Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse.

He prayed to the Lord and said, "Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! -- because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment.

So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!"

All this is because of Jacob's rebellion and the sins of the nation of Israel. How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! Where are Judah's pagan worship centers, you ask? They are right in Jerusalem!

Those who devise sinful plans are as good as dead, those who dream about doing evil as they lie in bed. As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans, because they have the power to do so.

Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, because they have done such wicked deeds."

Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the Temple Mount will become a hill overgrown with brush!

I will strike you brutally and destroy you because of your sin.

The earth will become desolate because of what its inhabitants have done.

The Lord has issued a decree against you: "Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave -- because you are accursed!"

"Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute -- a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery --

Because of his success he offers sacrifices to his throw net and burns incense to his dragnet; for because of them he has plenty of food, and more than enough to eat.

Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.

Because you robbed many countries, all who are left among the nations will rob you. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

Your schemes will bring shame to your house. Because you destroyed many nations, you will self-destruct.

For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. You have shed human blood and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

I will rejoice because of the Lord; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me!

"As for those who grieve because they cannot attend the festivals -- I took them away from you; they became tribute and were a source of shame to you.

You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. Why?' asks the Lord who rules over all. 'Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house!

Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit even now testifies to you.'

Then Haggai asked, "If a person who is ritually unclean because of touching a dead body comes in contact with one of these items, will it become unclean?" The priests answered, "It will be unclean."

But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers? Then they paid attention and confessed, 'The Lord who rules over all has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.'"

and said to him, "Hurry, speak to this young man as follows: 'Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls because of the multitude of people and animals there.

"What are you, you great mountain? Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple capstone with shoutings of 'Grace! Grace!' because of this."

Rather, I will sweep them away in a storm into all the nations they are not familiar with.' Thus the land had become desolate because of them, with no one crossing through or returning, for they had made the fruitful land a waste."

Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says, 'Old men and women will once more live in the plazas of Jerusalem, each one leaning on a cane because of advanced age.

Before that time there was no compensation for man or animal, nor was there any relief from adversity for those who came and went, because I had pitted everybody -- each one -- against everyone else.

Moreover, as for you, because of our covenant relationship secured with blood, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.

For the household gods have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and as for the dreamers, they have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd.

"I (says the Lord) will strengthen the kingdom of Judah and deliver the people of Joseph and will bring them back because of my compassion for them. They will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and therefore I will hear them.

Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen.

Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.

If you do not listen and take seriously the need to honor my name," says the Lord who rules over all, "I will send judgment on you and turn your blessings into curses -- indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" Because you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord's opinion, and he delights in them," or "Where is the God of justice?"

You are bound for judgment because you are robbing me -- this whole nation is guilty.

Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately.

When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone."

Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

But I say to you, do not take oaths at all -- not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.

"Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.

"Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock.

because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues.

And you will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles.

And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children.

Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them -- and now, something greater than Jonah is here!

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon -- and now, something greater than Solomon is here!

Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.

But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.

"But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.

But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him."

because John had repeatedly told him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

Although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet.

Although it grieved the king, because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given.

Meanwhile the boat, already far from land, was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it.

He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?

But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us."

Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."

He said, "When evening comes you say, 'It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,'

and in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.' You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.

So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, "It is because we brought no bread."

And Jesus answered him, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's."

and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water.

He told them, "It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you."

Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made.

Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, 'Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me!