Robbing God

⁶ “For ^(A)I the Lord do not change; ^(B)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. ^7 (C)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^(D)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^(E)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^(F)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^(G)In your tithes and contributions. ^9 (H)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. ^10 (I)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^(J)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^(K)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will rebuke ^(L)the devourer^[a] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ¹² Then ^(M)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^(N)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

^13 (O)“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^(P)But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ ¹⁴ You have said, ^(Q)‘It is vain to serve God. ^(R)What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵ And now we call ^(S)the arrogant blessed. ^(T)Evildoers not only prosper but ^(U)they put God to the test and they escape.’”

Be Ready for Every Good Work

3 Remind them ^(A)to be submissive to rulers and authorities, ^(B)to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ^2 (C)to speak evil of no one, ^(D)to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ^(E)to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³ For ^(F)we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(G)the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, ^(H)not because of works done by us in righteousness, but ^(I)according to his own mercy, by ^(J)the washing of regeneration and ^(K)renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he ^(L)poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that ^(M)being justified by his grace we might become ^(N)heirs ^(O)according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ The saying is ^(P)trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful ^(Q)to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. ⁹ But ^(R)avoid foolish ^(S)controversies, ^(T)genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for ^(U)they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, ^(V)after warning him once and then twice, ^(W)have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 ^(A)He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And ^(B)he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ^(C)a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^(D)I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and ^(E)received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all ^(F)grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods ^(G)I give to the poor. And if I have ^(H)defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^(I)fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^(J)he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For ^(K)the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”