1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is the ordinance of the law that the Lord has commanded: ‘Instruct the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without blemish, which has no defect and has never carried a yoke. 3 You must give it to Eleazar the priest so that he can take it outside the camp, and it must be slaughtered before him. 4 Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the direction of the front of the tent of meeting. 5 Then the heifer must be burned in his sight—its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its offal is to be burned. 6 And the priest must take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them into the midst of the fire where the heifer is burning. 7 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and afterward he may come into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns it must wash his clothes in water and bathe himself in water. He will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
9 “‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification—it is a purification for sin. 10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.
11 “‘Whoever touches the corpse of any person will be ceremonially unclean seven days. 12 He must purify himself with water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and the seventh day, then he will not be clean. 13 Anyone who touches the corpse of any dead person and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that person must be cut off from Israel, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.
14 “‘This is the law: When a man dies in a tent, anyone who comes into the tent and all who are in the tent will be ceremonially unclean seven days. 15 And every open container that has no covering fastened on it is unclean. 16 And whoever touches the body of someone killed with a sword in the open fields, or the body of someone who died of natural causes, or a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean seven days.
17 “‘For a ceremonially unclean person you must take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin and pour fresh running water over them in a vessel. 18 Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one who was killed, or one who died, or a grave. 19 And the clean person must sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he must purify him, and then he must wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he will be clean in the evening. 20 But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person must be cut off from among the community, because he has polluted the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.
21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. 22 And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”
1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me.
All day long hostile enemies are tormenting me.
2 Those who anticipate my defeat attack me all day long.
Indeed, many are fighting against me, O Exalted One.
3 When I am afraid,
I trust in you.
4 In God—I boast in his promise—
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men do to me?
5 All day long they cause me trouble;
they make a habit of plotting my demise.
6 They stalk and lurk;
they watch my every step,
as they prepare to take my life.
7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape.
In your anger bring down the nations, O God.
8 You keep track of my misery.
Put my tears in your leather container.
Are they not recorded in your scroll?
9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help;
I know that God is on my side.
10 In God—I boast in his promise—
in the Lord—I boast in his promise—
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men do to me?
12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God;
I will give you the thank offerings you deserve,
13 when you deliver my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling,
so that I might serve God as I enjoy life.
1 Have mercy on me, O God. Have mercy on me.
For in you I have taken shelter.
In the shadow of your wings I take shelter
until trouble passes.
2 I cry out for help to God Most High,
to the God who vindicates me.
3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me
from my enemies who hurl insults. (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness.
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among those who want to devour me,
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Rise up above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.
6 They have prepared a net to trap me;
I am discouraged.
They have dug a pit for me.
They will fall into it. (Selah)
7 I am determined, O God. I am determined.
I will sing and praise you.
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!
I will wake up at dawn.
9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.
10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 Rise up above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.
1 The Lord told me, “Take a large tablet and inscribe these words on it with an ordinary stylus: ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz.’ 2 Then I will summon as my reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” 3 I then approached the prophetess for marital relations; she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord told me, “Name him Maher Shalal Hash Baz, 4 for before the child knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “These people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and melt in fear over Rezin and the son of Remaliah. 7 So look, the Lord is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. 8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel.”
9 You will be broken, O nations;
you will be shattered!
Pay attention, all you distant lands of the earth.
Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!
Get ready for battle, and you will be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted.
Issue your orders, but they will not be executed!
For God is with us!
11 Indeed this is what the Lord told me quite forcefully. He warned me not to act like these people:
12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word.
Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.
13 You must recognize the authority of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
He is the one you must respect;
he is the one you must fear.
14 He will become a sanctuary,
but a stone that makes a person trip,
and a rock that makes one stumble—
to the two houses of Israel.
He will become a trap and a snare
to the residents of Jerusalem.
15 Many will stumble over the stone and the rock,
and will fall and be seriously injured,
and will be ensnared and captured.”
16 Tie up the scroll as legal evidence,
seal the official record of God’s instructions and give it to my followers.
17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,
who has rejected the family of Jacob;
I will wait for him.
18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. 21 They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward. 22 When one looks out over the land, he sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land. 1 1 (8:23) The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious.
In earlier times he humiliated
the land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali;
but now he brings honor
to the way of the sea,
the region beyond the Jordan,
and Galilee of the nations.
2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness
see a bright light;
light shines
on those who live in a land of deep darkness.
3 You have enlarged the nation;
you give them great joy.
They rejoice in your presence
as harvesters rejoice;
as warriors celebrate when they divide up the plunder.
4 For their oppressive yoke
and the club that strikes their shoulders,
the cudgel the oppressor uses on them,
you have shattered, as in the day of Midian’s defeat.
5 Indeed every boot that marches and shakes the earth
and every garment dragged through blood
is used as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child has been born to us,
a son has been given to us.
He shoulders responsibility
and is called
Wonderful Adviser,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
7 His dominion will be vast,
and he will bring immeasurable prosperity.
He will rule on David’s throne
and over David’s kingdom,
establishing it and strengthening it
by promoting justice and fairness,
from this time forward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will accomplish this.
1 My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, 3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? 4 If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to? 8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. 10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. 12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. 13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear.
20 But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
