Matthew 11

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

¹Soon afterward, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him,

¹⁵He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.

¹⁶Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read,

²For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

¹⁷For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.

¹²When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee.

¹⁸Then John’s disciples informed him about all these things.

¹⁹So John called two of his disciples and sent them to ask the Lord, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

¹While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples

²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

¹“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts.

³⁷For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.

¹⁵The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

¹⁶This is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”

²But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

¹¹“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,

¹²that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the Lord, who will do this.

⁴Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

⁵Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,

⁶“I, the Lord, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,

⁷to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

¹⁸On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

¹¹Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.

¹²Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

¹⁴And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

¹⁵Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

¹⁴The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

⁶⁶From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.

²⁷As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”

²⁸But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

²³Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”

²⁴Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

⁶But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

³⁵John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.

¹⁸Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

²⁴After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

²⁵Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear elegant clothing and live in luxury are found in palaces.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

³“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”

⁴John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

⁴John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁸“He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.

²⁷in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.

⁴And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.

²the Lord had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.

¹¹To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

⁵Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

¹¹And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹²He replied, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected?

¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

¹³Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

²⁴“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁵What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.

¹⁶Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God.

¹“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts.

³A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the Lord.

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”

²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

⁸Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

¹¹I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹⁵John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”

¹⁹So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁶The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

²⁴“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

²⁷Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

²⁹All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

³⁰But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

¹⁷Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

¹⁸For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

²¹But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

²²For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.

²³Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’

²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

⁴⁴Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

⁶And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the Lord.

¹¹And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹²He replied, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected?

¹⁰The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.

¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

²¹“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

²²So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

⁵And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁹He who has ears, let him hear.”

⁸Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop—a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

⁹Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

³¹“To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?

³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

³⁶Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

³⁰Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?

³⁴You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

¹⁸Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

¹³What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?

⁹Whom is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His message? To infants just weaned from milk? To babies removed from the breast?

¹⁰For they hear: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there.”

¹⁷This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them.

¹⁸Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.

²⁹You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.

¹⁵Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

⁴Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

²⁵Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

⁴John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.

²⁰Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”

²⁵It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

⁴⁸The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”

¹⁷I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.

¹⁰Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.

¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

³⁴The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

³⁵But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

¹Now all the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around to listen to Jesus.

²So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

⁷And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!”

²⁹Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house. A large crowd of tax collectors was there, along with others who were eating with them.

³⁰But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.

¹³Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

¹⁴But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

²⁵He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

²⁶Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

⁶I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle.

²Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.

³The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”

²⁰Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.

²¹Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.

²¹Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling.

⁶not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

⁷But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

²⁰Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

¹⁰Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida.

²¹They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”

⁶Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

²⁴But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

²⁶If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

⁴⁷That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.

⁴⁸But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

³⁶But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

¹⁷In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him.

¹³You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.

¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

⁴⁶So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.

⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.

¹³Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

¹³But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the Lord.

⁸Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.

¹⁶I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.

¹⁷They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

²²But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

¹¹If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”

⁶The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.

¹²I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

¹⁶“Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”

²From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

²¹At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

²²All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

¹⁸For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

¹⁹For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

³“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

¹¹according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁹He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

²¹At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

¹⁸Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.

⁹And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

⁷If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

²²All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

⁹Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.

²⁵Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.

²⁶And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

²³Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

³⁷Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

¹“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

²Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’

⁶Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.

⁷but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

¹⁵I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.

⁴⁶Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?

⁴⁷I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:

²⁴Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,

³³I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

⁹But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

¹⁰That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

⁸He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?