Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel:

The Lord changed His mind about this.
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.

The Lord changed His mind about this.
“This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.

Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land,

“Because of this will not the land quake
And everyone who dwells in it mourn?
Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.

That they may possess the remnant of Edom
And all the nations who are called by My name,”
Declares the Lord who does this.

And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel,
Who are among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
And the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
Will possess the cities of the Negev.

Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.”

Then they called on the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.”

He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.

All this is for the rebellion of Jacob
And for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the rebellion of Jacob?
Is it not Samaria?
What is the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?

Because of this I must lament and wail,
I must go barefoot and naked;
I must make a lament like the jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches.

Therefore thus says the Lord,
“Behold, I am planning against this family a calamity
From which you cannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk haughtily,
For it will be an evil time.

“Arise and go,
For this is no place of rest
Because of the uncleanness that brings on destruction,
A painful destruction.

“If a man walking after wind and falsehood
Had told lies and said,
‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’
He would be spokesman to this people.

Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who abhor justice
And twist everything that is straight,

This One will be our peace.
When the Assyrian invades our land,
When he tramples on our citadels,
Then we will raise against him
Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.

“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the priests.

This they will have in return for their pride, because they have taunted and become arrogant against the people of the Lord of hosts.

This is the exultant city
Which dwells securely,
Who says in her heart,
“I am, and there is no one besides me.”
How she has become a desolation,
A resting place for beasts!
Everyone who passes by her will hiss
And wave his hand in contempt.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’”

“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?”

‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?

I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.

‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.”

Then Haggai said, “‘So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

But now, do consider from this day onward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord,

‘Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider:

Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’”

The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.

“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.

Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.

Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”

I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land

(and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”

Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?’ declares the Lord of hosts.

But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.

Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope;
This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.

Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.

So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The Lord be magnified beyond the border of Israel!”

“And now this commandment is for you, O priests.

Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts.

As for the man who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lord of hosts.

“This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

But when he had considered this, 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 the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”

But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him.

and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

‘Give us this day our daily bread.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”

But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This news spread throughout all that land.

When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!”

After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

This is the one about whom it is written,
‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,

And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.