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.

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.

I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats. For the Lord who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse.

Let your doors be open, O Lebanon, so that fire may be burning among your cedars.

Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
Because the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
For the inaccessible forest [on the steep mountainside] has come down.

A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.

Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.

And I said to them, If it is good, give My price; and if not, let it go. So they weighed My price thirty pieces of silver.

For see, I will put a sheep-keeper over the land, who will have no care for that which is cut off, and will not go in search of the wanderers, or make well what is broken, and he will not give food to that which is ill, but he will take for his food the flesh of the fat, and let their feet be broken.

An Oracle

The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
A declaration of the Lord,
who stretched out the heavens,
laid the foundation of the earth,
and formed the spirit of man within him.

O Sword! awake against my shepherd, even against the man that is my companion, urgeth Yahweh of hosts, - Smite the shepherd, and let the flock, be scattered, Howbeit I will turn back my hand over the little ones.

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.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

And it was in that day there shall be great consternation of Jehovah among them; and they laid hold each upon the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall come up upon the hand of his neighbor.

And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Whereas Edom, may say, We are laid waste, but we will again build the desolate places, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, They, may build, but, I, will pull down, - and men shall call them, The Boundary of Lawlessness, and, The people with whom Yahweh hath indignation unto times age-abiding;

"A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, 'How have we made light of your name?'

If only there was one among you who would see that the doors were shut, so that you might not put a light to the fire on my altar for nothing! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of armies, and I will not take an offering from your hands.

And you say, See, what a weariness it is! and you let out your breath at it, says the Lord of armies; and you have given what has been cut about by beasts, and what is damaged in its feet and ill; this is the offering you give: will this be pleasing to me from your hands? says the Lord.

Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? Why do we betray one another, in this way making light of the covenant of our ancestors?

And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Let your tenths come into the store-house so that there may be food in my house, and put me to the test by doing so, says the Lord of armies, and see if I do not make the windows of heaven open and send down such a blessing on you that there is no room for it.

So shall the sun of righteousness, arise to you who revere my Name, with healing in his wings, - and ye shall come forth and leap for joy like calves let loose from the stall;

And Joseph her husband being just, and not willing to expose her to disgrace, wished to let her go in secret.

And he sent them to Beth-lehem and said, Go and make certain where the young child is; and when you have seen him, let me have news of it, so that I may come and give him worship.

[After] they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising led them until it came [and] stood above [the place] where the child was.

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
She refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”

Saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin; for the kingdom of heaven is near.

So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin];

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

I indeed baptize you with water to lead you to repentance; but he that cometh after me, is my superiour, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry: he shall baptize you with the effusion of the holy Ghost, in the appearance of fire:

"Let it be so on this occasion," Jesus replied; "for so we ought to fulfil every religious duty." Then he consented;

And Jesus, as soon as he was baptized, came straight out of the water: And, lo, heaven was opened over him, and John saw the spirit of God descend, like a dove, and light upon him:

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

If you are the Son of God, let yourself go down; for it is in the Writings, He will give his angels care over you; and, In their hands they will keep you up, so that your foot may not be crushed against a stone.

Again, the Evil One took him up to a very high mountain, and let him see all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

From that time Jesus went about preaching and saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

And straight away they let go the nets and went after him.

And they having instantly let go the ship and their father,. followed him.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Let there be no thought that I have come to put an end to the law or the prophets. I have not come for destruction, but to make complete.

Let go there thy gift, before the altar, and retire; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then, having come, bring thy gift.

And if your right hand is a cause of trouble to you, let it be cut off and put it away from you; because it is better to undergo the loss of one part, than for all your body to go into hell.

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

But I say to you, That whosoever shall let go his wife except for the reason of adultery, makes her to commit adultery; and whosoever should marry her having been loosed, commits adultery.

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

But I say to you, Do not make use of force against an evil man; but to him who gives you a blow on the right side of your face let the left be turned.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

So that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven; for his sun gives light to the evil and to the good, and he sends rain on the upright man and on the sinner.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

"When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they like to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, to let people see them. I tell you, that is the only reward they will get!

But, when one of you prays, let him go into his own room, shut the door, and pray to his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

Thus therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified,

let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth;

‘And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

For if you let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will have forgiveness from your Father in heaven.

But if you do not let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will not have forgiveness from your Father for your sins.

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they look woebegone to let men see they are fasting; I tell you truly, they do get their reward.

But, when one of your fasts, let him anoint his head and wash his face,

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

No slave can belong to two masters, for he will either hate one and love the other, or stand by one and make light of the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Look at the birds in the sky; they do not plant seeds or harvest [a crop] or store [things] in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them [adequately]. Are you not a lot more valuable than they are?

But let your first care be for his kingdom and his righteousness; and all these other things will be given to you in addition.

Care not then for the morrow: but let the morrow care for itself. For the day present hath ever enough of his own trouble.

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Let your actions be such, with regard to others, as you should think reasonable with regard to yourselves, for this is the substance of the law and the prophets.

"You should enter [God's kingdom] by means of the narrow door, for the wide door and the broad road are the ones that lead to [spiritual and physical] destruction. And many people will enter [that wide door].

But the door that is narrow and the road that is restricted lead to [spiritual] life and [only] a few people will find them.

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 Jesus said to him, See that you say nothing about this to anyone; but go and let the priest see you and make the offering which was ordered by Moses, for a witness to them.

and saying, 'Sir, my young man hath been laid in the house a paralytic, fearfully afflicted,'

And Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go, and as thou didst believe let it be to thee;' and his young man was healed in that hour.

And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever.

And he touched her hand, and the fever let her go: and she arose, and served them.

Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father (collect my inheritance).”

But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

And they gave a loud cry, saying, What have we to do with you, you Son of God? Have you come here to give us punishment before the time?

And the evil spirits made strong prayers to him, saying, If you send us out, let us go into the herd of pigs.

And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, laid upon a bed; and Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Be of good courage, child; thy sins are forgiven.

For why is it easier to say, Sins are let go to thee; or say, Arise and walk?

But to let you see the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins" ??he then said to the paralytic, "Get up, lift your pallet, and go home."

Now as Jesus moved on from there, two blind men followed Him [i.e., probably being led by sighted persons]. They were shouting, "Have pity on us, son of David!"

Then touched he their eyes, saying, 'According to your faith let it be to you,'

And their eyes were opened; and Jesus charged them sharply, saying, See, let no man know it.

And the demon being cast out, the dumb, spake, and the crowd admired, saying, It was never so brought to light in Israel.

These twelve did Jesus send, and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the ways that lead to the Gentiles, and in to the cities of the Samaritans enter ye not:

And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

and they will lead you before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony unto them and the Gentiles.

Have, then, no fear of them: because nothing is covered which will not come to light, or secret which will not be made clear.

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And none of them doth light on the ground, without your father.

and any one who does not take up his cross and follow where I lead is not worthy of me.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Come to me, all of you who toil and are burdened, and I will let you rest.