¹⁶ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ ¹⁷ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’

¹⁸ So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel;^[a] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.’

Psalm 26

Plea for Justice and Declaration of Righteousness

Of David.

God Has Spoken by His Son

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,^[a] whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³ He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains^[b] all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Exaltation through Abasement

⁵ Now God^[a] did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. ⁶ But someone has testified somewhere,

Now in subjecting all things to them, God^[f] left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, ⁹ but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower^[g] than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God^[h] he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰ It was fitting that God,^[i] for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.^[j] For this reason Jesus^[k] is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,^{[l] 12} saying,

² Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ ³ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ⁴ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ ⁵ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” ⁷ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,^{[a] 8} and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

¹⁰ Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.