Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1 After this jJesus went away to the other side of kthe Sea of Galilee, which is lthe Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on mthe mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now nthe Passover, the ofeast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 pLifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to qPhilip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 rPhilip answered him, “Two hundred denarii1 worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, sAndrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five tbarley loaves and two fish, but twhat are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” uNow there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and vwhen he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, w“This is indeed xthe Prophet ywho is to come into the world!”
15 zPerceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus awithdrew again to bthe mountain by himself.
18 wServants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, xmindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But yif when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For zto this you have been called, ybecause Christ also suffered for you, aleaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 bHe committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 cWhen he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, dbut continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 eHe himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we fmight die to sin and glive to righteousness. hBy his wounds you have been healed. 25 For iyou were straying like sheep, but have now returned to jthe Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The Bride’s Dream
1 On my bed rby night
I sought shim whom my soul loves;
tI sought him, but found him not.
2 I will rise now and go about the city,
in uthe streets and in the squares;
I will seek shim whom my soul loves.
I sought him, but found him not.
3 vThe watchmen found me
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
4 Scarcely had I passed them
when I found shim whom my soul loves.
I wheld him, and would not let him go
until I had xbrought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of yher who conceived me.
5 zI adjure you, aO daughters of Jerusalem,
bby the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.
Solomon Arrives for the Wedding
6 cWhat is that coming up from the wilderness
like dcolumns of smoke,
perfumed with emyrrh and frankincense,
with all the fragrant powders of a merchant?
7 Behold, it is the litter1 of Solomon!
Around it are fsixty gmighty men,
some of the mighty men of Israel,
8 all of them wearing swords
and expert in war,
each with his hsword at his thigh,
against iterror by night.
9 King Solomon made himself a carriage2
from the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made its posts of silver,
its back of gold, its seat of purple;
its interior was inlaid with love
by jthe daughters of Jerusalem.
11 Go out, O kdaughters of Zion,
and look upon King Solomon,
with the crown with which his mother crowned him
on lthe day of his wedding,
on the day of the gladness of his heart.
Judgment on Ammon
1 aConcerning the Ammonites.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has bMilcom1 cdispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause dthe battle cry to be heard
against eRabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate fmound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord.
3 “Wail, O gHeshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
Cry out, O daughters of eRabbah!
hPut on sackcloth,
lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
For iMilcom shall go into exile,
jwith his priests and his officials.
4 Why do you boast of your valleys,2
kO faithless daughter,
lwho trusted in her treasures, saying,
‘Who will come against me?’
5 Behold, mI will bring terror upon you,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
from all who are around you,
and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
with none to gather the fugitives.
6 “But nafterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.”
Judgment on Edom
7 Concerning oEdom.
Thus says the Lord of hosts:
p“Is wisdom no more in pTeman?
qHas counsel perished from the prudent?
qHas their wisdom vanished?
8 rFlee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of sDedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
tthe time when I punish him.
9 uIf grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave vgleanings?
uIf thieves came by night,
would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10 wBut I have stripped Esau bare;
uI have uncovered his hiding places,
and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
and his neighbors; and xhe is no more.
11 yLeave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
yand let your widows trust in me.”
12 For thus says the Lord: z“If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, awill you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 bFor I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that cBozrah shall become da horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14 eI have heard a message from the Lord,
and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
f“Gather yourselves together and come against her,
and rise up for battle!
15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
despised among mankind.
16 The horror you inspire has deceived you,
and the pride of your heart,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,3
who hold the height of the hill.
Though you gmake your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will bring you down from there,
declares the Lord.
17 h“Edom shall become a horror. iEveryone who passes by it will be horrified iand will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 jAs when Sodom and Gomorrah and their kneighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, lno man shall dwell there, lno man shall sojourn in her. 19 mBehold, nlike a lion coming up from othe jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him4 run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. pFor who is like me? qWho will summon me? rWhat shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against sEdom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of tTeman: uEven the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall vthe earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, wone shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against xBozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart yof a woman in her birth pains.”
Judgment on Damascus
23 Concerning zDamascus:
a“Hamath and bArpad are confounded,
for they have heard bad news;
they melt in fear,
cthey are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24 zDamascus has become feeble, dshe turned to flee,
and panic seized her;
anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
as yof a woman in labor.
25 How is ethe famous city not forsaken,
the city of my joy?
26 fTherefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
declares the Lord of hosts.
27 And gI will kindle a fire in the wall of zDamascus,
and it shall devour the strongholds of hBen-hadad.”
Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning iKedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.
Thus says the Lord:
j“Rise up, advance against iKedar!
Destroy kthe people of the east!
29 lTheir tents and their flocks shall be taken,
their lcurtains and all their goods;
their camels shall be led away from them,
and men shall cry to them: m‘Terror on every side!’
30 nFlee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor!
declares the Lord.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
has made a plan against you
and formed a purpose against you.
31 j“Rise up, advance against a nation oat ease,
pthat dwells securely,
declares the Lord,
pthat has no gates or bars,
that dwells alone.
32 qTheir camels shall become plunder,
their herds of livestock a spoil.
rI will scatter to every wind
sthose who cut the corners of their hair,
and I will bring their calamity
from every side of them,
declares the Lord.
33 Hazor shall become ta haunt of jackals,
an everlasting waste;
uno man shall dwell there;
uno man shall sojourn in her.”
Judgment on Elam
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning vElam, in the beginning of the reign of wZedekiah king of Judah.
35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break xthe bow of vElam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon vElam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of vElam shall not come. 37 I will yterrify vElam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, zmy fierce anger, declares the Lord. aI will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in vElam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
39 “But in the latter days bI will restore the fortunes of vElam, declares the Lord.”
