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A Plea for Repentance

14 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.(A)
Take words with you
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
    and we will offer
    the fruit[a] of our lips.(B)
Assyria shall not save us;
    we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”(C)

Assurance of Forgiveness

I will heal their disloyalty;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.(D)
I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.[b](E)
His shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive tree
    and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.(F)
They shall again live beneath my[c] shadow;
    they shall flourish as a garden;[d]
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.(G)

O Ephraim, what have I[e] to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.[f]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    your fruit comes from me.(H)
Those who are wise understand these things;
    those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
  2. 14.5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
  3. 14.7 Heb his
  4. 14.7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
  5. 14.8 Or What more has Ephraim
  6. 14.8 Heb him

Paul before the Council

30 Since he wanted to find out what Paul[a] was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.(A)

23 While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, “Brothers,[b] up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.”(B) Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth.(C) At this Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”(D) Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.’ ”(E)

When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, “Brothers,[c] I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection[d] of the dead.”(F) When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.)(G) Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”(H) 10 When the dissension became violent, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force, and bring him into the barracks.(I)

11 That night the Lord stood near him and said, “Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.”(J)

Footnotes

  1. 22.30 Gk he
  2. 23.1 Gk Men, brothers
  3. 23.6 Gk Men, brothers
  4. 23.6 Gk concerning hope and resurrection

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?(A) 40 A disciple is not above the teacher, but every disciple who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.(B) 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;(C) 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush.(D) 45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.(E)

The Two Foundations

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?(F) 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.(G) 48 That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.[a] 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it quickly collapsed, and great was the ruin of that house.”

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Footnotes

  1. 6.48 Other ancient authorities read founded upon the rock