50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:

    “His love endures forever.”

14 The Lord is my strength and my defense;

    he has become my salvation.

15 Shouts of joy and victory

    resound in the tents of the righteous:

“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!

16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;

    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”

17 I will not die but live,

    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.

18 The Lord has chastened me severely,

    but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;

    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord

    through which the righteous may enter.

21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;

    you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone;

23 the Lord has done this,

    and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 The Lord has done it this very day;

    let us rejoice today and be glad.

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

1 My son, keep my words

    and store up my commands within you.

2 Keep my commands and you will live;

    guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

3 Bind them on your fingers;

    write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

    and to insight, “You are my relative.”

5 They will keep you from the adulterous woman,

    from the wayward woman with her seductive words.

6 At the window of my house

    I looked down through the lattice.

7 I saw among the simple,

    I noticed among the young men,

    a youth who had no sense.

8 He was going down the street near her corner,

    walking along in the direction of her house

9 at twilight, as the day was fading,

    as the dark of night set in.

10 Then out came a woman to meet him,

    dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.

11 (She is unruly and defiant,

    her feet never stay at home;

12 now in the street, now in the squares,

    at every corner she lurks.)

13 She took hold of him and kissed him

    and with a brazen face she said:

14 “Today I fulfilled my vows,

    and I have food from my fellowship offering at home.

15 So I came out to meet you;

    I looked for you and have found you!

16 I have covered my bed

    with colored linens from Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed

    with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

18 Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;

    let’s enjoy ourselves with love!

19 My husband is not at home;

    he has gone on a long journey.

20 He took his purse filled with money

    and will not be home till full moon.”

21 With persuasive words she led him astray;

    she seduced him with her smooth talk.

22 All at once he followed her

    like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer[a] stepping into a noose

23 till an arrow pierces his liver,

like a bird darting into a snare,

    little knowing it will cost him his life.

24 Now then, my sons, listen to me;

    pay attention to what I say.

25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways

    or stray into her paths.

26 Many are the victims she has brought down;

    her slain are a mighty throng.

27 Her house is a highway to the grave,

    leading down to the chambers of death.

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

8 At this time some astrologers[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

12 I am writing to you, dear children,

    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

13 I am writing to you, fathers,

    because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

    because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children,

    because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,

    because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

    because you are strong,

    and the word of God lives in you,

    and you have overcome the evil one.

On Not Loving the World

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the name of the Lord;

    praise him, you servants of the Lord,

2 you who minister in the house of the Lord,

    in the courts of the house of our God.

3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

    sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.

4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,

    Israel to be his treasured possession.

5 I know that the Lord is great,

    that our Lord is greater than all gods.

6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,

    in the heavens and on the earth,

    in the seas and all their depths.

7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;

    he sends lightning with the rain

    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

    the firstborn of people and animals.

9 He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,

    against Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 He struck down many nations

    and killed mighty kings—

11 Sihon king of the Amorites,

    Og king of Bashan,

    and all the kings of Canaan—

12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,

    an inheritance to his people Israel.

13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,

    your renown, Lord, through all generations.

14 For the Lord will vindicate his people

    and have compassion on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

    made by human hands.

16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

    eyes, but cannot see.

17 They have ears, but cannot hear,

    nor is there breath in their mouths.

18 Those who make them will be like them,

    and so will all who trust in them.

19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;

    house of Aaron, praise the Lord;

20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;

    you who fear him, praise the Lord.

21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,

    to him who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

1 Does not wisdom call out?

    Does not understanding raise her voice?

2 At the highest point along the way,

    where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 beside the gate leading into the city,

    at the entrance, she cries aloud:

4 “To you, O people, I call out;

    I raise my voice to all mankind.

5 You who are simple, gain prudence;

    you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.

6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;

    I open my lips to speak what is right.

7 My mouth speaks what is true,

    for my lips detest wickedness.

8 All the words of my mouth are just;

    none of them is crooked or perverse.

9 To the discerning all of them are right;

    they are upright to those who have found knowledge.

10 Choose my instruction instead of silver,

    knowledge rather than choice gold,

11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies,

    and nothing you desire can compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;

    I possess knowledge and discretion.

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear are heard—

    terror, not peace.

6 Ask and see:

    Can a man bear children?

Then why do I see every strong man

    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,

    every face turned deathly pale?

7 How awful that day will be!

    No other will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

    but he will be saved out of it.

8 “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,

    ‘I will break the yoke off their necks

and will tear off their bonds;

    no longer will foreigners enslave them.

9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God

    and David their king,

    whom I will raise up for them.

10 “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;

    do not be dismayed, Israel,’

declares the Lord.

‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,

    your descendants from the land of their exile.

Jacob will again have peace and security,

    and no one will make him afraid.

11 I am with you and will save you,’

    declares the Lord.

‘Though I completely destroy all the nations

    among which I scatter you,

    I will not completely destroy you.

I will discipline you but only in due measure;

    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’

1 The elder,

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

    praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;

    praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

    praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,

    praise him with the strings and pipe,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

    praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,

    before his deeds of old;

23 I was formed long ages ago,

    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.

24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,

    when there were no springs overflowing with water;

25 before the mountains were settled in place,

    before the hills, I was given birth,

26 before he made the world or its fields

    or any of the dust of the earth.

27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,

    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

28 when he established the clouds above

    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

29 when he gave the sea its boundary

    so the waters would not overstep his command,

and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

30 Then I was constantly[c] at his side.

I was filled with delight day after day,

    rejoicing always in his presence,

31 rejoicing in his whole world

    and delighting in mankind.

32 “Now then, my children, listen to me;

    blessed are those who keep my ways.

33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;

    do not disregard it.

34 Blessed are those who listen to me,

    watching daily at my doors,

    waiting at my doorway.

35 For those who find me find life

    and receive favor from the Lord.

36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves;

    all who hate me love death.”

1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

    but shows favor to the humble.”

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving

    and extol him with music and song.

3 For the Lord is the great God,

    the great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,

    and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5 The sea is his, for he made it,

    and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,

    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

7 for he is our God

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,

8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,

    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,

9 where your ancestors tested me;

    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;

    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,

    and they have not known my ways.’

11 So I declared on oath in my anger,

    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve[a] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

1 Wisdom has built her house;

    she has set up its seven pillars.

2 She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;

    she has also set her table.

3 She has sent out her servants, and she calls

    from the highest point of the city,

4 “Let all who are simple come to my house!”

To those who have no sense she says,

5 “Come, eat my food

    and drink the wine I have mixed.

6 Leave your simple ways and you will live;

    walk in the way of insight.”

1 I will sing for the one I love

    a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

    on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

    and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

    and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

    but it yielded only bad fruit.

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

    judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard

    than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

    why did it yield only bad?

5 Now I will tell you

    what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

    and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

    and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland,

    neither pruned nor cultivated,

    and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

    not to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

    is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

    are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

    for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.