Do not put faith in a friend; put no trust in a close friend. Guard the doorways of your mouth from the one who lies in your lap.

But [as for] me, I will look to Yahweh; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

But the earth will be a desolation because of its inhabitants, for the fruit of their deeds.

Yahweh is slow to anger but great [in] power; he will certainly not allow [the guilty] to go unpunished. {He marches} in storm wind and in gale; storm clouds [are the] dust of his feet.

But with a rushing torrent he will bring [Nineveh] to an end; he will chase his enemies into darkness.

{Her goddess is taken out and taken into exile}; her maidservants moan like doves; they beat on their breasts.

Nineveh [is] like a pool of water without its water. {As they flee}, [she cries,] "Stop! Stop!" But there is no one who turns back.

Cush [was] her strength, Egypt without end; Put and Libya were among {your allies}.

Draw water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go to the mud [pit]! Trample the clay! Grasp the brick mold!

Look! His spirit within him is puffed up; it is not upright. But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.

But Yahweh [is] in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him."

and those who bow down on the rooftops to the host of heaven, and those who bow down, swearing to Yahweh but [also] swearing by Milkom,

Yahweh [is] righteous in her midst; he does not do wickedness. {Morning by morning} he renders his judgment; at dawn he does not fail, but an evil one knows no shame.

You have sown much but have harvested little. You have eaten without [being] satisfied; {you have drunk without being satiated}; you have worn clothes without [being] warm; the one who earns wages puts it in {a pouch with holes}.'

'But now take courage, Zerubbabel,' {declares} Yahweh. 'Take courage, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and take courage, all the people of the land,' {declares} Yahweh. 'Do the work, because I [am] with you,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts,

But now, please {consider} from this day forward, before one stone was placed on another in the temple of Yahweh,

I struck you with blight, and with plant mildew, and hail, all the work of your hands. But {you did not come back to me},' {declares} Yahweh.

"Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!" ' But they did not hear and they did not pay attention to me," {declares} Yahweh.

and I asked, "What [are] these coming to do?" And he answered, saying, "These [are] the horns that scattered Judah, {so that no man} lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it."

But Yahweh said to Satan, "Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan! Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! [Is] this not a stick snatched from the fire?"

And I said, "Let them put a clean headband on his head." And they put a clean headband on his head, and they clothed him [with] garments. And the angel of Yahweh [was] standing [by].

And he answered and said to me, "This [is] the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by strength and not by power, but [only] by my Spirit,' says Yahweh of hosts.

And he said to me, "To build for it a house in the land of Shinar, and [when] it is put in place, it will be placed there on its site."

But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder and {stopped their ears from listening}.

But now {I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days},' {declares} Yahweh of hosts.

But I will encamp at my temple [like a] guard, against those crossing through and returning; no oppressor will cross through them again, for now I have seen with my [own] eyes.

[As for] you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from {the waterless pit}.

And they will be like warriors, trampling in the mud of [the] streets in the battle. They will fight, because Yahweh [is] with them, and they will put to shame [the] riders on horses.

And I said to them, "If {it seems right to you}, give [me] my wages, but if not, {keep them}." And they weighed out my wages, thirty silver [shekels].

On that day,' {declares} 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}, and I will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

On that day Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants 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}.

{And then} 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,

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."

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.

All the land will be transformed into a desert plateau from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But it will rise up high and it will stay 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.

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} in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.

"I have loved you," says Yahweh, but you say, "How have you loved us?" "[Is] Esau not Jacob's brother?" {declares} Yahweh. "I have loved Jacob,

but Esau I have hated. I have made his mountain ranges a desolation, and [given] his inheritance to the jackals of [the] desert."

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."

"A son honors [his] father, and a slave his master; but if I [am] a father, where [is] my honor, and if I [am] a master, where [is] my reverence?" says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests, {who despise} my name. "But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'

[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!

"But you [are] profaning it by saying the table of the Lord [is] defiled, and its fruit--its food--is despised!

"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."

But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by [your] instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi," says Yahweh of hosts.

"And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you [are] not keeping my way, but are {favoring your own instruction}."

But you ask, "{For what reason}?" 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}.

{Did not one God make them?} But a remnant of [the] spirit is his. And what does the one [God] desire? An offspring of God. {You must be attentive to} your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, "With what have we wearied [him]?" [You have done so] {when you say}, "Everyone who does evil [is] good in the {sight} of Yahweh, and in them he delights," or "Where [is] the God of justice?"

From the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept [them]! Return to me and I will return to you," says Yahweh of hosts, "but you say, 'How shall we return?'

"Your words have been harsh against me," says Yahweh. "But you say, 'How have we spoken together against you?'

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like {fattened calves}.

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} by the Holy Spirit.

But [as] 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.

But [when he] 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.

But [when he] 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?

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.

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."

But John tried to prevent him, saying, "{I need} to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

But Jesus answered [and] said to him, "Permit [it] now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted him.

But he answered [and] said, "It is written, 'Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God."

Jesus said to him, "On the other hand it is written, 'You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.'"

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.

And immediately they left the boat and their father [and] followed him.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside [and] trampled under foot by people.

nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house.

"Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy [them] but to fulfill [them].

Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps [them] and teaches [them], this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Stupid fool!' will be subject to the council, and whoever says, 'Obstinate fool!' will be subject to fiery hell.

Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to the {people of old}, 'Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.'

But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

But let your statement be 'Yes, yes; no, no,' and anything beyond these is from the evil one.

But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

But you, [when you] practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door [and] pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"But [when you] pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.

And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

But if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

But [when] you are fasting, {put olive oil on your head} and wash your face

so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal.

But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great [is] the darkness!

but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these.

But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, [although it] is [here] today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not [do so] much more [for] you, you of little faith?

But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these [things] will be added to you.

And why do you see the speck [that is] in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam of wood in your [own] eye?

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves.

In the [same] way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.

A good tree is not able to produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree to produce good fruit.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not collapse, because its foundation was laid on the rock.

And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and its fall was great."

And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

And the centurion answered [and] said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed.

But I say to you that many will come from east and west and {be seated at the banquet} with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky [have] nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."