Jesus and Peter

15 When they had ^ufinished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ^v“Simon, ^wson of John, ^xdo you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed ^ymy lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, ^z“Tend ^ymy sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him ^athe third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, ^byou know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed ^cmy sheep. 18 ^dTruly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, ^eyou used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show ^fby what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, ^g“Follow me.”

Jesus and the Beloved Apostle

20 Peter turned and saw ^hthe disciple whom Jesus loved following them, ⁱthe one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain ^juntil ^kI come, what is that to you? ^lYou follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among ^mthe brothers¹ that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

24 This is the disciple ⁿwho is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and ^owe know ^pthat his testimony is true.

25 Now ^qthere are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that ^rthe world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

The River of Life

1 Then the angel¹ showed me ^xthe river of ^ythe water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of ^zthe street of the city; ^aalso, on either side of the river, ^bthe tree of life² with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were ^cfor the healing of the nations. 3 ^dNo longer will there be anything accursed, but ^ethe throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and ^fhis servants will worship him. 4 ^gThey will see his face, and ^hhis name will be on their foreheads. 5 And ⁱnight will be no more. They will need no light of lamp ^jor sun, for ^kthe Lord God will be their light, and ^lthey will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

6 And he said to me, ^m“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of ⁿthe spirits of the prophets, ^ohas sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7 “And behold, ^pI am coming soon. ^qBlessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8 I, ^rJohn, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, ^sI fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 ^sbut he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those ^mwho keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

10 And he said to me, ^t“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 ^uLet the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

12 “Behold, ^vI am coming soon, ^wbringing my recompense with me, ^xto repay each one for what he has done. 13 ^yI am the Alpha and the Omega, ^zthe first and the last, ^athe beginning and the end.”

14 Blessed are those who ^bwash their robes,³ so that they may have the right to ^cthe tree of life and that ^dthey may enter the city by the gates. 15 ^eOutside are ^fthe dogs ^gand sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 ^h“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things ⁱfor the churches. I am ^jthe root and ^kthe descendant of David, ^lthe bright morning star.”

17 The Spirit and ^mthe Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And ⁿlet the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the ^owater of life without price.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: ^pif anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in ^qthe tree of life and in ^rthe holy city, which are described in this book.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely ^sI am coming soon.” Amen. ^tCome, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.⁴ Amen.

Job’s Confession and Repentance

1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:

The Lord Rebukes Job’s Friends

7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz ^mthe Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take ⁿseven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and ^ooffer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall ^ppray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” 9 ^qSo Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

The Lord Restores Job’s Fortunes

10 And the Lord ^rrestored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job ^stwice as much as he had before. 11 Then came to him all his ^tbrothers and sisters and all who had ^tknown him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they ^ushowed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil² that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him ^va piece of money³ and ^wa ring of gold.

12 And the Lord blessed ^xthe latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had ^y14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also ^zseven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance ^aamong their brothers. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and ^bsaw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and ^cfull of days.

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.¹

The Lord’s Love for Israel

2 ^a“I have loved you,” says the Lord. ^bBut you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau ^cJacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet ^dI have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. ^eI have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” 5 ^fYour own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

The Priests’ Polluted Offerings

6 ^g“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am ^ha father, where is my honor? And if I am ⁱa master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. ^bBut you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 ^jBy offering polluted food upon my altar. ^bBut you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that ^kthe Lord’s table may be despised. 8 ^lWhen you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 9 And now ^mentreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, ⁿwill he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. 10 ^oOh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, ^pand I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name ^qwill be² great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name ^qwill be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that ^rthe Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ^s‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. ^tYou bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has ^ua male in his flock, and ^vvows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For ^wI am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name ^xwill be feared among the nations.

The Lord Rebukes the Priests

1 “And now, ^yO priests, ^zthis command is for you. 2 ^aIf you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send ^bthe curse upon you and I will curse ^cyour blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, ^dI will rebuke your offspring,³ and ^espread dung on your faces, the ^fdung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.⁴ 4 So shall you know that I have sent ^gthis command to you, that ^hmy covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and ⁱpeace, and I gave them to him. ^jIt was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. 6 ^kTrue instruction⁵ was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he ^lturned many from iniquity. 7 For ^mthe lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people⁶ should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have turned aside from the way. ⁿYou have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted ^othe covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, 9 and so ^pI make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but ^qshow partiality in your instruction.”

Judah Profaned the Covenant

10 Have we not all ^rone Father? Has not ^sone God created us? Why then are we ^tfaithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been ^tfaithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For ^uJudah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant⁷ of the man who does this, who ^vbrings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

13 And this second thing you do. ^wYou cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 ^xBut you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord ^ywas witness between you and the wife of your youth, ^zto whom ^tyou have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 ^aDid he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?⁸ And what was the one God⁹ seeking?^{10 b}Godly offspring. So guard yourselves¹¹ in your spirit, and let none of you be ^tfaithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For ^cthe man who does not love his wife but divorces her,¹² says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers¹³ his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and ^tdo not be faithless.”

The Messenger of the Lord

17 ^dYou have wearied the Lord with your words. ^xBut you say, “How have we wearied him?” ^eBy saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, ^f“Where is the God of justice?”

1 ^g“Behold, I send ^hmy messenger, and ⁱhe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord ^jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and ^kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But ^lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For ^mhe is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit ⁿas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring ^oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.¹⁴ 4 ^pThen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be ^qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those ^rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, ^sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

6 “For ^tI the Lord do not change; ^utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 ^vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. ^wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. ^xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. ^xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ ^yIn your tithes and contributions. 9 ^zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 ^aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby ^bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open ^cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke ^dthe devourer¹⁵ 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 ^eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be ^fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 ^g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. ^hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ⁱ‘It is vain to serve God. ^jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call ^kthe arrogant blessed. ^kEvildoers not only prosper but ^lthey put God to the test and they escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16 Then those who feared the Lord ^mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and ⁿa book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, ^oin the day when I make up ^pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall ^qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

The Great Day of the Lord

1 “For behold, ^rthe day is coming, ^sburning like an oven, when ^tall the arrogant and ^tall evildoers ^uwill be stubble. The day that is coming ^ushall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you ^vwho fear my name, ^wthe sun ^xof righteousness shall rise ^ywith healing in its wings. You shall go out ^zleaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, ^aon the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

4 ^b“Remember ^cthe law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules¹⁷ that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 ^d“Behold, I will send you ^eElijah the prophet ^fbefore the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will ^gturn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and ^hstrike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”¹⁸