I sank to the roots of the mountains; the earth's prison bars closed around me forever. Yet you resurrect the dead from the Pit, LORD my God!

"Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."

So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh to do what the LORD had ordered.

The people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least important.

When the message reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his royal garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in ashes.

No man or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything, graze, or drink water. Instead, let both man and animal clothe themselves with sackcloth and cry out to God forcefully. Let every person turn from his evil ways and from his tendency to do violence.

Who knows but that God may relent, have compassion, and turn from his fierce anger, so that we are not exterminated?"

God took note of what they did that they turned from their evil ways. Because God relented concerning the trouble about which he had warned them, he did not carry it out.

So he prayed to the LORD, "LORD, isn't this what I said while I was still in my home country? That's why I fled previously to Tarshish, because I knew you're a compassionate God, slow to anger, overflowing with gracious love, and reluctant to send trouble.

The LORD God prepared a vine plant, and it grew over Jonah to shade his head and provide relief from his misery. Jonah was happy indeed, he was ecstatic about the vine plant.

But at dawn the next day, God provided a worm that attacked the vine plant so that it withered away.

When the sun rose, God prepared a harsh east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah's head, he became faint, and he begged to die. "It is better for me to die than to live!" he said.

Then God asked Jonah, "Is your anger about the vine plant justified?" And he answered, "Absolutely! I'm so angry I could die!"

"Listen, people! All of you! Earth! Pay attention, and all you inhabitants of it! May the Lord GOD be a witness against you the Lord from his holy Temple.

For Samaria's injury is fatal, reaching all the way to Judah, extending even to the gate of my people to Jerusalem."

Even though the inhabitants of Maroth long for success, nevertheless evil descended from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.

"Shave your head and cut off your locks as you mourn your beloved children. Make yourself bald as an eagle, because they will go from you into exile!"

"Get up and go, because there's no rest for you here! Since everything is polluted, it can only cause destruction, even heavy destruction.

God will stand up and break through in their presence. Then they will pass through the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass in front of them with the LORD at their head."

you who despise good and love evil, who tear off the skin of my people, along with the flesh from their bones.

Those who see visions will be put to shame, and the diviners will be disgraced every one of them they will cover their faces, because there will be no answer from God.'"

Many nations will approach and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the Temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk according to his directions.' "Indeed, the Law will proceed from Zion, and the message of the LORD from Jerusalem.

"Because all of the people will walk, each person in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

Get up and smash them to pieces, daughter of Zion, because I will make your horn like iron and your hooves like bronze! And you will beat many people to pieces, and I will consecrate their dishonest gain to the LORD and their assets to the Lord of the entire earth."

"Then he will take his stand, shepherding by means of the strength of the LORD, by the power of the name of the LORD his God. And they will be firmly established; indeed, from then on he will become great to the ends of the earth.

You will turn your power against your adversaries, and all of your enemies will be cut down."

I will cut off the cities of your land, and I will tear down all of your fortifications.

Please hear what the LORD says: "Get up and make your case before the mountains, and let the hills listen to your voice.

How am I to present myself in the LORD's presence and bow in the presence of the High God? Should I present myself with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you to act with justice, to treasure the LORD's gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God who will deliver me. My God will hear me.

Don't be glad on my account, my enemy. When I fall, I'll get up. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.

Then my enemy will observe it, and shame will engulf the ones who asked me, "Where is the LORD your God?' My own eyes will see them, they will be trampled on like mud in the streets.

They will lick the dust like a serpent; they will crawl from their strongholds like snakes. They will fear the LORD our God. They will be terrified because of you.

Is there any God like you, forgiving iniquity, passing over transgressions by the survivors who are your heritage? He is not angry forever, because he delights in gracious love.

A jealous God, the LORD avenges. The LORD avenges; The Lord is an angry husband. The LORD takes vengeance on his enemies, reserving anger for his adversaries.

The LORD is good a refuge in troubled times. He knows those who are confiding in him.

Now this is what the Lord has decreed about you, Nineveh: "There will be no more children born to carry on your name. I will cut out the graven and molten images from the temples of your gods. I myself will dig your grave, because you are vile."

Look! There on the mountains! The feet of the one who brings good news, who broadcasts a message of peace. Judah, celebrate your solemn festivals and keep your vows, because the wicked will never again invade you. Nineveh will be completely eliminated!

"Draw water, because a siege is coming! Strengthen your fortresses! Make the clay good and strong! Mix the mortar! Go get your brick molds!

In that place fire will consume you, the sword will cut you down, consuming you as locusts do. Multiply yourself like locusts, increase like swarming grasshoppers.

Then like the wind sweeping by they will pass through they're guilty because they say their power is their god."

"Haven't you existed forever, LORD my God, my Holy One? We won't die! LORD, you've prepared them for judgment; Rock, you've sentenced them to correction.

"The LORD is in his holy Temple. All the earth be quiet in his presence."

God comes from Teman the Holy One from Mount Paran. Interlude His glory spreads throughout the heavens, and praises about him fill the earth.

as for me, I will rejoice in the LORD. I will find my joy in the God who delivers me.

The LORD God is my strength he will make my feet like those of a deer, equipping me to tread on my mountain heights. For the choir director: On my stringed instruments.

Remain silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, because the Day of the LORD approaches, and because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice for those whom he has invited to be consecrated.

When all of this happens," declares the LORD, "a loud shriek will come from the Fish Gate, and howling from the Mishneh Quarter, along with great destruction from the hills."

And it will come about that I will search Jerusalem with candles, punishing the self-satisfied and complacent, who say to themselves, "The LORD will do neither good nor evil.'

The survivors of Judah will find pasture on it; at twilight they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon, for the LORD their God will visit them, restoring their prosperity."

Therefore as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, "Moab will surely become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place overrun by weeds and salty marshes, unpopulated forever. The survivors of my people will confiscate their property, and those who remain of my nation will inherit what was theirs.

It won't obey anyone. It won't accept discipline. It does not trust in the LORD. It does not approach God.

The LORD your God among you is powerful he will save and he will take joyful delight in you. In his love he will renew you with his love; he will celebrate with singing because of you.

"Watch how I deal with everyone who oppresses you! At that time I will rescue the one who is lame, and I will draw to me the one who has been driven away. I will honor them with praise and with a good reputation in every land where they have been put to shame.

At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. Indeed, I will give you a good reputation, making you praiseworthy among all of the people of the world, when I restore your prosperity before your eyes," says the LORD.

Then Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel, Jehozadak's son Joshua the high priest, and all the rest of the people obeyed the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

Then the LORD revitalized the spirit of Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, the spirit of Jehozadak's son Joshua the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people, so they came and began to work on the house of their God, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

When someone came to a pile of grain to get 20 measures, there were only ten. Or when someone approached the wine press to siphon out 50 measures, there were only 20.

Then they reported to the angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees, "We have wandered throughout the earth and look! the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful."

Those who are now far away will come and do reconstruction work in the Temple of the LORD. Then you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. This will come about if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."'"

I will also bring them back to live in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will truly be their righteous God.'"

so I have decided at this time to do good things for Jerusalem and for the house of Judah. So stop being afraid.

"This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "In the future, ten men speaking all the languages of the nations will grab hold of one Jewish person by the hem of his garment and say, "Let us go up to Jerusalem with you, because we heard that God is with you."'"

I will remove the blood from its mouth, along with its abominations from between its teeth. Its survivors will be dedicated to our God; It will be like a clan of Judah, and Ekron will be as a Jebusite.

The LORD will appear over them his arrow will shoot like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go out with the southern windstorm.

The LORD their God will save them at that time as his very own flock of people, because they are his crown jewels, exalted throughout his land.

"I will fortify the house of Judah, and the house of Joseph I will save. I will surely bring them back, because I care about them. They will be as if I had never cast them away. Since I am the LORD their God, I will answer them.

Wail, cypress tree, for the cedar has fallen while the stately trees are destroyed. Wail, oak trees of Bashan, for the old growth forest has been cut down.

This is what the LORD my God says: "Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter.

In a single month I got rid of three shepherds because I grew tired of them, and they despised me.

The leaders of Judah will say to themselves, "Those who live in Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, their God."

At that time, the LORD will defend those who live in Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them at that time will be like David. The entire house of David will be like God indeed, like the angel of the LORD in their midst!

And I will bring that surviving third through, testing them as if through fire, purifying them like silver, assaying them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, "This is my people,' and they will say, "The LORD is my God.'"

I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem, to lay siege against it. The city will be captured, the houses will be ransacked, the women raped, and half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining people will not be cut off from the city.

You will run away through my mountain valley, because the valley of the mountains will extend as far as Azal. You will flee, as you fled from the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. And so the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones will be accompanying you."

The entire land will become like the Arabah plain from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. It will be raised up and inhabited where it is, from the Gate of Benjamin to the First Gate, then to the Corner Gate, to the Hananel Tower, and to the king's winepresses.

"And now, go ahead and implore God by saying, "Be gracious to us.' Will he receive you favorably and accept offerings like that from your hand?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

Do we not have one father? Has not one God created us? Why does each of us act deceitfully, each man against his own brother, to profane the covenant of our ancestors?

Judah has become unfaithful, and a detestable thing was committed in Israel and Jerusalem. Indeed, Judah profaned the Holy Place of the LORD, which he loves, and married a daughter of a foreign god.

"Indeed, the LORD God of Israel says that he hates divorce, along with the one who conceals his violence by outward appearances," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "So guard yourselves carefully, and don't be unfaithful."

"You have wearied the LORD with your words. You ask, "How have we wearied you?' By your saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD and he's pleased with them,' or "Where is the God of justice?'"

"Will a person rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you ask, "How are we robbing you?' "By the tithe and the offering.

You said, "It is futile to serve God,' and, "What did we get out of it when we carried out his requirements and went about like mourners in the presence of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies?'

and, "Now we call the arrogant one blessed. Those who do evil prosper and those who challenge God escape the consequences.'"

When you return, you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, and between the one who serves God and the one who does not."

which means, "God with us." When Joseph got up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary as his wife.

After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt," he said. "Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him."

So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left at night for Egypt.

"Get up," he said. "Take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead."

So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went into the land of Israel.

Don't think you can say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!

The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree that isn't producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

At this, he permitted him to be baptized. When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.

Then the tempter came. "Since you are the Son of God," he said, "tell these stones to become loaves of bread."

But he answered, "It is written, "One must not live on bread alone, but on every word coming out of the mouth of God.'"

He told Jesus, "Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because it is written, "God will put his angels in charge of you,' and, "With their hands they will hold you up, so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.'"

Jesus responded to him, "It is also written, "You must not tempt the Lord your God.'"

Then Jesus told him, "Go away, Satan! Because it is written, "You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

"How blessed are those who are pure in heart, because it is they who will see God!