Truly the family idols talk nonsense and the diviners discern lies, describing delusional dreams. Since their comfort is vacuous, they wander off on their own like sheep, because there is no shepherd.

"Against the shepherds my anger rises I am punishing the leaders also, because the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah, appointing them as his royal war horse for battle.

They will be like mighty soldiers who trample mud in the streets during battle. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and the opposing horsemen will be confused.

"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.

I will whistle for them, gathering them together, because I have redeemed them, and they will multiply as they were before.

Hear the wailing of the shepherds, for the magnificence of the forest is ruined! Hear the roar of the lions, for the Jordan's arrogance is ruined!

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

Their buyers slaughter them without being punished, continuing to sell them as they say, "Bless the LORD!' and, "I'm rich!' Meanwhile, their shepherds show them no compassion.

So I said, "I will no longer be your shepherd. Let those who are about to die perish, and let what is about to be destroyed be destroyed. As for the survivors, let them devour each other."

"At that time, I will make the leaders of Judah like a brazier filled with blazing wood, or like a torch setting fire to harvested grain. They will devour all the invading armies, both on the right hand and on the left. As a result, Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its rightful place as the real Jerusalem.'"

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!

Then they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son. At that time, Jerusalem will mourn deeply, like the mourning about Hadad-rimmon that took place in the plain of Megiddo.

Furthermore, it will come about at that time that every prophet will become ashamed of his vision as he prophesies. They will wear no rough garments intended to deceive others."

"Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the mighty one who is related to me," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "Strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the insignificant ones.

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.'"

"Look! A day is coming for the LORD, when your plunder will be divided among you.

Then the LORD will go out to battle against those nations, waging war as in a day of battle.

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.

"I've loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, "How have you loved us?'

"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD, "yet I loved Jacob, hated Esau, turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to desert jackals.

Even though Edom may claim, "We were crushed, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,' this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "They may rebuild, but I'll demolish. People will call them, "The Wicked Land,' and, "The People With Whom the LORD is Forever Angry.'

Your own eyes will see this, and you will say, "Great is the LORD even beyond the borders of Israel!'"

"A son honors his father and a servant his master. So if I'm a father, where is my honor? And if I'm a master, where is my respect?" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies to you priests who are despising my name. "But you ask, "How have we despised your name?'

By presenting defiled food on my altar. And you ask, "How have we defiled you?' By saying, "The Table of the LORD is contemptible.'

When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Offer that to your governor would he be pleased with you or receive you favorably?" asks the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

"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.

"But you are profaning my name by saying that the Table of the LORD is defiled and that its fruit and its food are contemptible.

"Cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock, and vows to give it, but sacrifices a mutilated one to the LORD. Indeed, I am a great king," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and my name is feared among the Gentiles."

Now this commandment is for you priests:

"My covenant with him was for life and peace, and I gave the commandments to him so he would fear me. He did fear me as he stood in my presence.

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?

"This is another thing you do: you flood the altar of the LORD with tears, weeping and wailing because he no longer pays attention to your offering nor takes pleasure in it from your hand.

Yet you ask, "For what reason?' Because the LORD acts as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you were unfaithful to her, your partner, the wife of your covenant.

"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?'"

"Watch out! I'm sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly, the LORD you are looking for will come to his Temple. He is the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Watch out! He is coming!" says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

Then the offering to the LORD by Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable as it was in the past, even as in former years.

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?'

"They'll be mine," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "in the day when I prepare my treasured possession. I'll spare them, just as a man spares his own son who serves him.

"The coming day is certainly going to burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and all who practice evil will be stubble the coming day will set them on fire," says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

This is a record of the life of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Asaph fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah,

Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,

Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

After he had thought about it, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," he said, "don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

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

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 Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod, wise men arrived in Jerusalem from the east

and asked, "Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem.

They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, because that is what was written by the prophet:

Then Herod secretly called together the wise men, found out from them the time the star had appeared,

and sent them to Bethlehem. He told them, "As you go, search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me so that I, too, may go and worship him."

Herod flew into a rage when he learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, so he ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem and all its neighboring regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had determined from the wise men.

"Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!"

He was the one the prophet Isaiah was referring to when he said, "He is a voice calling out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!'"

Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance!

I am baptizing you with water as evidence of repentance, but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire."

But Jesus answered him, "Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness."

Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him!"

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.'"

in order to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

From then on, Jesus began to announce, "Repent, because the kingdom from heaven is near!"

"How blessed are those who mourn, because it is they who will be comforted!

"How blessed are those who are humble, because it is they who will inherit the earth!

"How blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because it is they who will be satisfied!

"How blessed are those who are merciful, because it is they who will receive mercy!

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

"How blessed are those who make peace, because it is they who will be called God's children!

Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That's how they persecuted the prophets who came before you."

But I say to you, anyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be subject to punishment. And whoever says to his brother "Raka!' will be subject to the Council. And whoever says, "You fool!' will be subject to hell fire.

So if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than to have your whole body go into hell."

But I tell you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is God's throne,

nor by the earth, because it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the Great King.

But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

And if you greet only your relatives, that's no great thing you're doing, is it? Even the unbelievers do the same, don't they?

So be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees from the hidden place will reward you.

Therefore, this is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.

And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

so that your fasting will not be noticed by others but by your Father who is in the hidden place. And your Father who watches from the hidden place will reward you."

because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light within you has turned into darkness, how great is that darkness!"

"That's why I'm telling you to stop worrying about your life what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body what you will wear. Life is more than food, isn't it, and the body more than clothing?

Now if that is the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, won't he clothe you much better you who have little faith?

because it is the unbelievers who are eager for all those things. Surely your heavenly Father knows that you need all of them!

But first be concerned about God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well.

Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when the beam is in your own eye?

"Never give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them with their feet and then turn around and attack you."