Micah and the Levite

¹There was a man of tthe hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. ²And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, u“Blessed be my son by the Lord.” ³And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make va carved image and wa metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” ⁴So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother xtook 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. ⁵And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made yan ephod and zhousehold gods, and aordained1 one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶bIn those days there was no king in Israel. cEveryone did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷Now there was a young man of dBethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. ⁸And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to ethe hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. ⁹And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” ¹⁰And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me fa father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. ¹¹And the Levite gwas content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. ¹²And Micah hordained the Levite, and the young man ibecame his priest, and was in the house of Micah. ¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

Paul Goes to Jerusalem

¹And when swe had parted from them and set sail, we tcame by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.1 ²And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. ⁴And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And uthrough the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, vaccompanied us until we were outside the city. And wkneeling down on the beach, we prayed ⁶and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

⁷When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted xthe brothers2 and stayed with them for one day. ⁸On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of yPhilip zthe evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹He had four unmarried daughters, awho prophesied. ¹⁰While we were staying for many days, a prophet named bAgabus came down from Judea. ¹¹And coming to us, he ctook Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, d“Thus says the Holy Spirit, e‘This is how the Jews3 at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and fdeliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” ¹²When we heard this, we and the people there gurged him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, g“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For hI am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ifor the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, jwe ceased and said, k“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

¹⁷When we had come to Jerusalem, lthe brothers received us gladly. ¹⁸On the following day Paul went in with us to mJames, and all nthe elders were present. ¹⁹After greeting them, ohe related one by one pthe things that God had done among the Gentiles through his qministry. ²⁰And when they heard it, they rglorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all szealous for the law, ²¹and they have been told about you that you teach all tthe Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, utelling them vnot to circumcise their children or wwalk according to xour customs. ²²What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ywho are under a vow; ²⁴take these men and zpurify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, yso that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. ²⁵But as for the Gentiles who have believed, awe have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled,4 and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day zhe purified himself along with them and bwent into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and cthe offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

²⁷When cthe seven days were almost completed, dthe Jews from Asia, eseeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who fis teaching everyone everywhere against the people and gthe law and gthis place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and hhas defiled gthis holy place.” ²⁹For they had previously seen iTrophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and jdragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. ³¹jAnd as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of kthe cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³²lHe at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him mto be bound nwith two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. ³⁴oSome in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into pthe barracks. ³⁵And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, ³⁶for the mob of the people followed, crying out, q“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

³⁷As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸Are you not rthe Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out sinto the wilderness?” ³⁹Paul replied, t“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, umotioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in vthe Hebrew language,5 saying:

Jeremiah 30

Restoration for Israel and Judah

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: eWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ³fFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, gwhen I will restore hthe fortunes of my people, iIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, jand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning iIsrael and Judah:

⁵“Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

⁶Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

kWhy then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach klike a woman in labor?

lWhy has every face turned pale?

⁷Alas! mThat day is so great

nthere is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

⁸“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will obreak his pyoke from off your neck, and I will oburst your bonds, qand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.1 ⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God and rDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰s“Then fear not, tO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for behold, sI will save you from far away,

uand your offspring from the land of their captivity.

sJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

¹¹vFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;

vI will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

vI will wdiscipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the Lord:

xYour hurt is incurable,

yand your wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

zno healing for you.

¹⁴aAll your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of ban enemy,

the punishment cof a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

dbecause your sins are flagrant.

¹⁵xWhy do you cry out over your hurt?

xYour pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

dbecause your sins are flagrant,

I have done these things to you.

¹⁶eTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

and fall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;

gthose who plunder you shall be plundered,

hand all who prey on you I will make a prey.

¹⁷iFor I will restore jhealth to you,

and kyour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,

because lthey have called you an outcast:

l‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:

Behold, mI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt on nits mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

¹⁹oOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,

and the voices of those who celebrate.

pI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;

I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

²⁰qTheir children shall be as they were of old,

and their congregation shall be established before me,

and I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹rTheir prince shall be one of themselves;

rtheir ruler shall come out from their midst;

sI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,

tfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.

²²uAnd you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.”

²³vBehold wthe storm of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴xThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intentions of his mind.

yIn the latter days you will understand this.

Jeremiah 31

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

¹z“At that time, declares the Lord, aI will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

²Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness;

bwhen Israel sought for rest,

³the Lord appeared to him1 from far away.

cI have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore dI have continued emy faithfulness to you.

⁴fAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

gAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines

and shall go forth in hthe dance of the merrymakers.

⁵iAgain you shall plant vineyards

on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant

and shall enjoy the fruit.

⁶For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in jthe hill country of Ephraim:

k‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’”

⁷For thus says the Lord:

l“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for mthe chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

n‘O Lord, save your people,

the remnant of Israel.’

⁸Behold, I will bring them ofrom the north country

and pgather them from qthe farthest parts of the earth,

among them rthe blind and the lame,

the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

⁹sWith weeping they shall come,

tand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,

I will make them uwalk by brooks of water,

vin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,

for wI am a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is xmy firstborn.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,

and declare it in the coastlands far away;

say, ‘He who scattered Israel will pgather him,

and will keep him yas a shepherd keeps his flock.’

¹¹zFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob

and has redeemed him from ahands too strong for him.

¹²They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,

band they shall be radiant cover the goodness of the Lord,

dover the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and over the young of the flock and the herd;

etheir life shall be like a watered garden,

fand they shall languish no more.

¹³gThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

and the young men and the old shall be merry.

hI will turn their mourning into joy;

I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.

¹⁴iI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,

and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

declares the Lord.”

¹⁵Thus says the Lord:

j“A voice is heard in kRamah,

lamentation and bitter weeping.

lRachel is weeping for her children;

she refuses to be comforted for her children,

mbecause they are no more.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord:

“Keep your voice from weeping,

and your eyes from tears,

for there is a reward for your work,

declares the Lord,

and nthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.

¹⁷oThere is hope for your future,

declares the Lord,

and your children shall come back to their own country.

¹⁸I have heard pEphraim grieving,

‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,

like an untrained calf;

qbring me back that I may be restored,

for you are the Lord my God.

¹⁹For after rI had turned away, I relented,

and after I was instructed, sI struck my thigh;

tI was ashamed, and I was confounded,

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

²⁰pIs Ephraim my dear son?

uIs he my darling child?

For as often as I speak against him,

I do remember him still.

vTherefore my heart2 yearns for him;

I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

²¹w“Set up road markers for yourself;

make yourself guideposts;

xconsider well the highway,

wthe road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel,

return to these your cities.

²²yHow long will you waver,

zO faithless daughter?

For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:

a woman encircles a man.”

²³Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, awhen I restore their fortunes:

b“‘The Lord bless you, cO habitation of righteousness,

dO holy hill!’

²⁴eAnd Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and ethe farmers and those who wander with their flocks. ²⁵For I will fsatisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

²⁶At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

²⁷g“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when hI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with ithe seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸And it shall come to pass that jas I have watched over them kto pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, jso I will watch over them lto build and to plant, declares the Lord. ²⁹In those days they shall no longer say:

m“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

and the children's teeth are set on edge.’

³⁰nBut everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

³¹o“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make pa new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when qI took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, rthough I was their husband, declares the Lord. ³³sFor this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: sI will put my law within them, and I will write it ton their hearts. uAnd I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ vfor they shall all know me, wfrom the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For xI will forgive their iniquity, and yI will remember their sin no more.”

³⁵Thus says the Lord,

who zgives the sun for light by day

and athe fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

bthe Lord of hosts is his name:

³⁶c“If this fixed order departs

from before me, declares the Lord,

then shall the offspring of Israel cease

from being a nation before me forever.”

³⁷Thus says the Lord:

“If the heavens above can be measured,

and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,

dthen I will cast off all the offspring of Israel

for all that they have done,

declares the Lord.”

³⁸e“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord ffrom the Tower of Hananel to gthe Corner Gate. ³⁹hAnd the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. ⁴⁰iThe whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the jbrook Kidron, to the corner of kthe Horse Gate toward the east, lshall be sacred to the Lord. mIt shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

The Resurrection

¹uvWhen the Sabbath was past, wMary Magdalene, wMary the mother of James, and iSalome xbought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away ythe stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—zit was very large. ⁵And aentering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, bdressed in ca white robe, and dthey were alarmed. ⁶And he said to them, d“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that ehe is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, ejust as he told you.” ⁸And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]1

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

[[⁹Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, fhe appeared first to gMary Magdalene, gfrom whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰hShe went and told those who had been with him, ias they jmourned and wept. ¹¹But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they kwould not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

¹²lAfter these things mhe appeared in nanother form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. ¹³oAnd they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

¹⁴Afterward mhe appeared pto the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their qunbelief and rhardness of heart, because sthey had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. ¹⁵And he said to them, t“Go into all the world and uproclaim the gospel to vthe whole creation. ¹⁶wWhoever believes and is xbaptized ywill be saved, but zwhoever wdoes not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And athese signs will accompany those who believe: bin my name they will cast out demons; cthey will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸dthey will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; ethey will lay their hands fon the sick, and they will recover.”

¹⁹So then the Lord Jesus, gafter he had spoken to them, hwas taken up into heaven and isat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰And they went out and preached everywhere, while jthe Lord worked with them and confirmed kthe message lby accompanying signs.]]