"For the Lord who rules over all says, 'As I had planned to hurt you when your fathers made me angry,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'and I was not sorry,

The word of the Lord who rules over all came to me as follows:

The inhabitants of one will go to another and say, "Let's go up at once to ask the favor of the Lord, to seek the Lord who rules over all. Indeed, I'll go with you."'

Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord who rules over all and to ask his favor.

as are those of Hamath also, which adjoins Damascus, and Tyre and Sidon, though they consider themselves to be very wise.

Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited.

Then I will surround my temple to protect it like a guard from anyone crossing back and forth; so no one will cross over against them anymore as an oppressor, for now I myself have seen it.

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

I will bend Judah as my bow; I will load the bow with Ephraim, my arrow! I will stir up your sons, Zion, against yours, Greece, and I will make you, Zion, like a warrior's sword.

On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land.

Ask the Lord for rain in the season of the late spring rains -- the Lord who causes thunderstorms -- and he will give everyone showers of rain and green growth in the field.

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.

The Ephraimites will be like warriors and will rejoice as if they had drunk wine. Their children will see it and rejoice; they will celebrate in the things of the Lord.

I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before.

Next I eradicated the three shepherds in one month, for I ran out of patience with them and, indeed, they detested me as well.

I then said, "I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other's flesh!"

"I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn.

On that day the lamentation in Jerusalem will be as great as the lamentation at Hadad-Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Then someone will ask him, 'What are these wounds on your chest?' and he will answer, 'Some that I received in the house of my friends.'

A day of the Lord is about to come when your possessions will be divided as plunder in your midst.

Then the Lord will go to battle and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days.

Then you will escape through my mountain valley, for the mountains will extend to Azal. Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him.

The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name.

On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription "Holy to the Lord." The cooking pots in the Lord's temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar.

Edom says, "Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places." So the Lord who rules over all responds, "They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.

You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, 'How have we offended you?' By treating the table of the Lord as if it is of no importance!

For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them to your governor! Will he be pleased with you or show you favor?" asks the Lord who rules over all.

May the Lord cut off from the community of Jacob every last person who does this, as well as the person who presents improper offerings to 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.

Yet you ask, "Why?" The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law.

The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in former times and years past.

"You have criticized me sharply," says the Lord, "but you ask, 'How have we criticized you?'

"They will belong to me," says the Lord who rules over all, "in the day when I prepare my own special property. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah,

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.

He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well."

As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him,

and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

and don't think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him.

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen).

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

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

Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

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

and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.

But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.

If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.

Then Jesus said to him, "See that you do not speak to anyone, but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; just as you believed, it will be done for you." And the servant was healed at that hour.

As he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said to him. And he got up and followed him.

As Jesus was having a meal in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples.

As he was saying these things, a ruler came, bowed low before him, and said, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live."

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

As they were going away, a man who could not talk and was demon-possessed was brought to him.

Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest."

Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them as follows: "Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town.

As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near!'

As you enter the house, give it greetings.

And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or that town.

"I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

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

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question:

Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other.

But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate him.

For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!"

And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown."

As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.

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

As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

As the night was ending, Jesus came to them walking on the sea.

and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.

And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."

Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?"

As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to him.

Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?'

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

He said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Take what is yours and go. I want to give to this last man the same as I gave to you.

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside privately and said to them on the way,

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed them.

So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.

As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, "Who is this?"