Deborah and Barak

¹xAnd the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. ²And the Lord ysold them into the hand of zJabin king of Canaan, who reigned in zHazor. The commander of his army was aSisera, who lived in bHarosheth-hagoyim. ³Then the people of Israel ccried out to the Lord for help, for he had d900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

⁴Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in ethe hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. ⁶She sent and summoned fBarak the son of Abinoam from gKedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount hTabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. ⁷And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by ithe river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, jand I will give him into your hand’?” ⁸Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” ⁹And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will ksell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰And Barak called out lZebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.

¹¹Now Heber mthe Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of nHobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in oZaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

¹²When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³Sisera called out all his chariots, p900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. ¹⁴And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which qthe Lord has given Sisera into your hand. rDoes not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. ¹⁵sAnd the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot. ¹⁶And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

¹⁷But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened ta skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. ²⁰And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” ²¹But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. ²²And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

²³uSo on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel. ²⁴And the hand of the people of Israel pressed harder and harder against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Saul Ravages the Church

¹And bSaul capproved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and dthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ²Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. ³But eSaul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he fdragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

⁴Now gthose who were scattered went about preaching the word. ⁵hPhilip went down to the city1 of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. ⁶iAnd the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him jand saw the signs that he did. ⁷For kunclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸So lthere was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

⁹But there was a man named Simon, mwho had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, nsaying that he himself was somebody great. ¹⁰They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, o“This man is the power of God that is called pGreat.” ¹¹And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had qamazed them with his magic. ¹²But when rthey believed Philip as he preached good news sabout the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, rthey were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And tseeing signs and ugreat miracles2 performed, vhe was amazed.

¹⁴Now when wthe apostles at Jerusalem heard that xSamaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, ¹⁵who came down and prayed for them ythat they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶for zhe had not yet afallen on any of them, but bthey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then cthey laid their hands on them and dthey received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰But Peter said to him, e“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God fwith money! ²¹You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for gyour heart is not right before God. ²²Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, hif possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that you are in ithe gall3 of bitterness and in jthe bond of iniquity.” ²⁴And Simon answered, k“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, lpreaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶Now man angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south4 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷And he rose and went. And there was an nEthiopian, a oeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, pwho was in charge of all her treasure. qHe had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹And he said, r“How can I, unless someone sguides me?” And the invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

u“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter

and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he opens not his mouth.

³³In his vhumiliation justice was denied him.

Who can describe his generation?

For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and wbeginning with this Scripture xhe told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! yWhat prevents me from being baptized?”5 ³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹And when they came up out of the water, zthe Spirit of the Lord acarried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Sin of Judah

¹“The sin of Judah is written with ra pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on sthe tablet of their heart, and on tthe horns of their altars, ²while utheir children remember their altars and their vAsherim, wbeside every green tree and on the high hills, ³xon the mountains in the open country. yYour wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. ⁴You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, zand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, afor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

⁵Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man bwho trusts in man

and makes flesh his strength,1

whose heart turns away from the Lord.

⁶cHe is like a shrub in the desert,

dand shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in ean uninhabited salt land.

⁷f“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

gwhose trust is the Lord.

⁸hHe is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

⁹The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

¹⁰i“I the Lord search the heart

jand test the mind,2

kto give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.”

¹¹Like the lpartridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,

so is mhe who gets riches but not by justice;

nin the midst of his days they will leave him,

oand at his end he will be a fool.

¹²A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

¹³O Lord, pthe hope of Israel,

qall who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you3 rshall be written in the earth,

for sthey have forsaken tthe Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

¹⁴uHeal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved,

for vyou are my praise.

¹⁵wBehold, they say to me,

“Where is the word of the Lord?

Let it come!”

¹⁶I have not run away from being your shepherd,

nor have I desired the day of sickness.

xYou know xwhat came out of my lips;

it was before your face.

¹⁷Be not a terror to me;

yyou are my refuge in the day of disaster.

¹⁸zLet those be put to shame who persecute me,

but let me not be put to shame;

zlet them be dismayed,

but let me not be dismayed;

abring upon them the day of disaster;

destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

¹⁹Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which bthe kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, ²⁰and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, byou kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. ²¹Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and cdo not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. ²²And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath dor do any work, but ekeep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. ²³Yet fthey did not listen or incline their ear, gbut stiffened their neck, that they hmight not hear and receive instruction.

²⁴“‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and cbring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but ekeep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, ²⁵then ithere shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. ²⁶And people shall come from jthe cities of Judah kand the places around Jerusalem, jfrom the land of Benjamin, kfrom the Shephelah, from the hill country, kand from lthe Negeb, bringing mburnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and mbringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. ²⁷But if you do not listen to me, to ekeep the Sabbath day holy, cand not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will nkindle a fire in its gates, and it shall odevour the palaces of Jerusalem and pshall not be quenched.’”

A Man with a Withered Hand

¹cAgain dhe entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. ²And ethey watched Jesus,1 to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴And he said to them, f“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵And he glooked around at them with anger, grieved at htheir hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” iHe stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶jThe Pharisees went out and immediately jheld counsel with kthe Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

⁷lJesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and ma great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea ⁸and Jerusalem and nIdumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around oTyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. ⁹And he told his disciples to phave a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they qcrush him, ¹⁰for rhe had healed many, so that all who had sdiseases pressed around him tto touch him. ¹¹uAnd whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they vfell down before him and cried out, “You are wthe Son of God.” ¹²And xhe strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The Twelve Apostles

¹³yAnd he went up on the mountain and called to him those zwhom he desired, and they came to him. ¹⁴yAnd he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach ¹⁵yand have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶He appointed the twelve: aSimon (to whom bhe gave the name Peter); ¹⁷cJames the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and dMatthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,2 ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

²⁰Then he went ehome, and the crowd gathered again, fso that they could not even eat. ²¹gAnd when hhis family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He iis out of his mind.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

²²And jthe scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, k“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³lAnd he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷But mno one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. nThen indeed he may plunder his house.

²⁸o“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹but whoever pblasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

³¹qAnd his mother and his rbrothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³²And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers3 are outside, seeking you.” ³³And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴And slooking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵tFor whoever udoes the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”