1,2Jesus came down the mountain with the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears. Then a leper appeared and dropped to his knees before Jesus, praying, "Master, if you want to, you can heal my body."

22Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life."* * *

26Jesus reprimanded them. "Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?" Then he stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down: "Silence!" The sea became smooth as glass.

6,7Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this?This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence?Isn’t this your father who created you,who made you and gave you a place on Earth?Read up on what happened before you were born;dig into the past, understand your roots.Ask your parents what it was like before you were born;ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.

39-42"Do you see it now? Do you see that I’m the one?Do you see that there’s no other god beside me?I bring death and I give life, I wound and I heal—there is no getting away from or around me!I raise my hand in solemn oath;I say, ‘I’m always around. By that very life I promise:When I sharpen my lightning swordand execute judgment,I take vengeance on my enemiesand pay back those who hate me.I’ll make my arrows drunk with blood,my sword will gorge itself on flesh,Feasting on slain and captive alike,the proud and vain enemy corpses.’"

51,52"This is because you broke faith with me in the company of the People of Israel at the Waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin—you didn’t honor my Holy Presence in the company of the People of Israel. You’ll look at the land spread out before you but you won’t enter it, this land that I am giving to the People of Israel."

7,8Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They’ll lose interest in all the stuff they’ve made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is.

10,11And why? Because you have forgotten God-Your-Salvation,not remembered your Rock-of-Refuge.And so, even though you are very religious,planting all sorts of bushes and herbs and treesto honor and influence your fertility gods,And even though you make them grow so well,bursting with buds and sprouts and blossoms,Nothing will come of them. Instead of a harvestyou’ll get nothing but grief and pain, pain, pain.

12,13Oh my! Thunder! A thundering herd of people!Thunder like the crashing of ocean waves!Nations roaring, roaring,like the roar of a massive waterfall,Roaring like a deafening Niagara!But God will silence them with a word,And then he’ll blow them away like dead leaves off a tree,like down from a thistle.

1-4When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

22-28"Fellow Israelites, listen carefully to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man thoroughly accredited by God to you—the miracles and wonders and signs that God did through him are common knowledge—this Jesus, following the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God, was betrayed by men who took the law into their own hands, and was handed over to you. And you pinned him to a cross and killed him. But God untied the death ropes and raised him up. Death was no match for him. David said it all:I saw God before me for all time.Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.I know you’ll never dump me in Hades;I’ll never even smell the stench of death.You’ve got my feet on the life-path,with your face shining sun-joy all around.

43-45Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

6,7God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that’s why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man’s wife back to him. He’s a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don’t give her back, know that it’s certain death both for you and everyone in your family."

11-13Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they’d kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she’s my father’s daughter but not my mother’s. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father’s home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I’m your brother.’"

16And to Sarah he said, "I’ve given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You’re vindicated."

1-4After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.

7"Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message."

18-20Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

1-7Then the Word of God came to me: "Son of man, now turn and face the mountains of Israel and preach against them: ‘O Mountains of Israel, listen to the Message of God, the Master. God, the Master, speaks to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I’m about to destroy your sacred god and goddess shrines. I’ll level your altars, bust up your sun-god pillars, and kill your people as they bow down to your no-god idols. I’ll stack the dead bodies of Israelites in front of your idols and then scatter your bones around your shrines. Every place where you’ve lived, the towns will be torn down and the pagan shrines demolished—altars busted up, idols smashed, all your custom-made sun-god pillars in ruins. Corpses everywhere you look! Then you’ll know that I am God.

8-10"‘But I’ll let a few escape the killing as you are scattered through other lands and nations. In the foreign countries where they’re taken as prisoners of war, they’ll remember me. They’ll realize how devastated I was by their betrayals, by their voracious lust for gratifying themselves in their idolatries. They’ll be disgusted with their evil ways, disgusting to God in the way they’ve lived. They’ll know that I am God. They’ll know that my judgment against them was no empty threat.

11-14"‘This is what God, the Master, says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, yell out, "No, no, no!" because of all the evil obscenities rife in Israel. They’re going to be killed, dying of hunger, dying of disease—death everywhere you look, people dropping like flies, people far away dying, people nearby dying, and whoever’s left in the city starving to death. Why? Because I’m angry, furiously angry. They’ll realize that I am God when they see their people’s corpses strewn over and around all their ruined sex-and-religion shrines on the bare hills and in the lush fertility groves, in all the places where they indulged their sensual rites. I’ll bring my hand down hard on them, demolish the country wherever they live, turn it into wasteland from one end to the other, from the wilderness to Riblah. Then they’ll know that I am God!’"

7-11"Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap?Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?It’s my observation that those who plow eviland sow trouble reap evil and trouble.One breath from God and they fall apart,one blast of his anger and there’s nothing left of them.The mighty lion, king of the beasts, roars mightily,but when he’s toothless he’s useless—No teeth, no prey—and the cubswander off to fend for themselves.

12-16"A word came to me in secret—a mere whisper of a word, but I heard it clearly.It came in a scary dream one night,after I had fallen into a deep, deep sleep.Dread stared me in the face, and Terror.I was scared to death—I shook from head to foot.A spirit glided right in front of me—the hair on my head stood on end.I couldn’t tell what it was that appeared there—a blur . . . and then I heard a muffled voice:

17-21"‘How can mere mortals be more righteous than God?How can humans be purer than their Creator?Why, God doesn’t even trust his own servants,doesn’t even cheer his angels,So how much less these bodies composed of mud,fragile as moths?These bodies of ours are here today and gone tomorrow,and no one even notices—gone without a trace.When the tent stakes are ripped up, the tent collapses—we die and are never the wiser for having lived.’"

5,6I stretch myself out. I sleep.Then I’m up again—rested, tall and steady,Fearless before the enemy mobsComing at me from all sides.

7Up, God! My God, help me!Slap their faces,First this cheek, then the other,Your fist hard in their teeth!

8Real help comes from God.Your blessing clothes your people!

11By this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with.

29-32Peter and the apostles answered, "It’s necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail."

38,39"So I am telling you: Hands off these men! Let them alone. If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!"

9,10But face the facts, all you oppressors, and then wring your hands.Listen, all of you, far and near.Prepare for the worst and wring your hands.Yes, prepare for the worst and wring your hands!Plan and plot all you want—nothing will come of it.All your talk is mere talk, empty words,Because when all is said and done,the last word is Immanuel—God-With-Us.

11-15God spoke strongly to me, grabbed me with both hands and warned me not to go along with this people. He said:"Don’t be like this people,always afraid somebody is plotting against them.Don’t fear what they fear.Don’t take on their worries.If you’re going to worry,worry about The Holy. Fear God-of-the-Angel-Armies.The Holy can be either a Hiding Placeor a Boulder blocking your way,The Rock standing in the willful wayof both houses of Israel,A barbed-wire Fence preventing trespassto the citizens of Jerusalem.Many of them are going to run into that Rockand get their bones broken,Get tangled up in that barbed wireand not get free of it."* * *

16-18Gather up the testimony,preserve the teaching for my followers,While I wait for God as long as he remains in hiding,while I wait and hope for him.I stand my ground and hope,I and the children God gave me as signs to Israel,Warning signs and hope signs from God-of-the-Angel-Armies,who makes his home in Mount Zion.

1,2Listen while I build my case, God,the most honest prayer you’ll ever hear.Show the world I’m innocent—in your heart you know I am.

6,7I call to you, God, because I’m sure of an answer.So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;take in your frightened children whoAre running from the neighborhood bulliesstraight to you.

10-14Their hearts are hard as nails,their mouths blast hot air.They are after me, nipping my heels,determined to bring me down,Lions ready to rip me apart,young lions poised to pounce.Up, God: beard them! break them!By your sword, free me from their clutches;Barehanded, God, break these mortals,these flat-earth people who can’t think beyond today.I’d like to see their belliesswollen with famine food,The weeds they’ve sownharvested and baked into famine bread,With second helpings for their childrenand crusts for their babies to chew on.

4-16"It’s not you I’m complaining to—it’s God.Is it any wonder I’m getting fed up with his silence?Take a good look at me. Aren’t you appalled by what’s happened?No! Don’t say anything. I can do without your comments.When I look back, I go into shock,my body is racked with spasms.Why do the wicked have it so good,live to a ripe old age and get rich?They get to see their children succeed,get to watch and enjoy their grandchildren.Their homes are peaceful and free from fear;they never experience God’s disciplining rod.Their bulls breed with great vigorand their cows calve without fail.They send their children out to playand watch them frolic like spring lambs.They make music with fiddles and flutes,have good times singing and dancing.They have a long life on easy street,and die painlessly in their sleep.They say to God, ‘Get lost!We’ve no interest in you or your ways.Why should we have dealings with God Almighty?What’s there in it for us?’But they’re wrong, dead wrong—they’re not gods.It’s beyond me how they can carry on like this!

17-21"Still, how often does it happen that the wicked fail,or disaster strikes,or they get their just deserts?How often are they blown away by bad luck?Not very often.You might say, ‘God is saving up the punishment for their children.’I say, ‘Give it to them right now so they’ll know what they’ve done!’They deserve to experience the effects of their evil,feel the full force of God’s wrath firsthand.What do they care what happens to their familiesafter they’re safely tucked away in the grave?

22-26"But who are we to tell God how to run his affairs?He’s dealing with matters that are way over our heads.Some people die in the prime of life,with everything going for them—fat and sassy.Others die bitter and bereft,never getting a taste of happiness.They’re laid out side by side in the cemetery,where the worms can’t tell one from the other.

15-17"So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?"

18Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. "It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!"

22-24When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.

6,7"I took the world off your shoulders,freed you from a life of hard labor.You called to me in your pain;I got you out of a bad place.I answered you from where the thunder hides,I proved you at Meribah Fountain.

8-10"Listen, dear ones—get this straight;O Israel, don’t take this lightly.Don’t take up with strange gods,don’t worship the popular gods.I’m God, your God, the very Godwho rescued you from doom in Egypt,Then fed you all you could eat,filled your hungry stomachs.

13-16"Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?Israel, will you follow my map?I’ll make short work of your enemies,give your foes the back of my hand.I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs,never to be heard from again.You’ll feast on my fresh-baked breadspread with butter and rock-pure honey."

1-13You who sit down in the High God’s presence,spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,Say this: "God, you’re my refuge.I trust in you and I’m safe!"That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,shields you from deadly hazards.His huge outstretched arms protect you—under them you’re perfectly safe;his arms fend off all harm.Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,not flying arrows in the day,Not disease that prowls through the darkness,not disaster that erupts at high noon.Even though others succumb all around,drop like flies right and left,no harm will even graze you.You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,watch the wicked turn into corpses.Yes, because God’s your refuge,the High God your very own home,Evil can’t get close to you,harm can’t get through the door.He ordered his angelsto guard you wherever you go.If you stumble, they’ll catch you;their job is to keep you from falling.You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

14-16"If you’ll hold on to me for dear life," says God,"I’ll get you out of any trouble.I’ll give you the best of careif you’ll only get to know and trust me.Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.I’ll give you a long life,give you a long drink of salvation!"

1Hallelujah!It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.

7-11Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,play music on your instruments to God,Who fills the sky with clouds,preparing rain for the earth,Then turning the mountains green with grass,feeding both cattle and crows.He’s not impressed with horsepower;the size of our muscles means little to him.Those who fear God get God’s attention;they can depend on his strength.

12-18Jerusalem, worship God!Zion, praise your God!He made your city secure,he blessed your children among you.He keeps the peace at your borders,he puts the best bread on your tables.He launches his promises earthward—how swift and sure they come!He spreads snow like a white fleece,he scatters frost like ashes,He broadcasts hail like birdseed—who can survive his winter?Then he gives the command and it all melts;he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!

1,2Is this any way to run a country?Is there an honest politician in the house?Behind the scenes you weave webs of deceit,behind closed doors you make deals with demons.

6-9God, smash their teeth to bits,leave them toothless tigers.Let their lives be buckets of water spilled,all that’s left, a damp stain in the sand.Let them be trampled grassworn smooth by the traffic.Let them dissolve into snail slime,be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight.Before what they cook up is half-done, God,throw it out with the garbage!

10,11The righteous will call up their friendswhen they see the wicked get their reward,Serve up their blood in gobletsas they toast one another,Everyone cheering, "It’s worth it to play by the rules!God’s handing out trophies and tending the earth!"

3He remembered to love us, a bonusTo his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.The whole earth comes to attention.Look—God’s work of salvation!

4Shout your praises to God, everybody!Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

9A tribute to God when he comes,When he comes to set the earth right.He’ll straighten out the whole world,He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.

9-16The Ephraimites, armed to the teeth,ran off when the battle began.They were cowards to God’s Covenant,refused to walk by his Word.They forgot what he had done—marvels he’d done right before their eyes.He performed miracles in plain sight of their parentsin Egypt, out on the fields of Zoan.He split the Sea and they walked right through it;he piled the waters to the right and the left.He led them by day with a cloud,led them all the night long with a fiery torch.He split rocks in the wilderness,gave them all they could drink from underground springs;He made creeks flow out from sheer rock,and water pour out like a river.

32-37And—can you believe it?—they kept right on sinning;all those wonders and they still wouldn’t believe!So their lives wasted away to nothing—nothing to show for their lives but a ghost town.When he cut them down, they came running for help;they turned and pled for mercy.They gave witness that God was their rock,that High God was their redeemer,But they didn’t mean a word of it;they lied through their teeth the whole time.They could not have cared less about him,wanted nothing to do with his Covenant.

38-55And God? Compassionate!Forgave the sin! Didn’t destroy!Over and over he reined in his anger,restrained his considerable wrath.He knew what they were made of;he knew there wasn’t much to them,How often in the desert they had spurned him,tried his patience in those wilderness years.Time and again they pushed him to the limit,provoked Israel’s Holy God.How quickly they forgot what he’d done,forgot their day of rescue from the enemy,When he did miracles in Egypt,wonders on the plain of Zoan.He turned the River and its streams to blood—not a drop of water fit to drink.He sent flies, which ate them alive,and frogs, which drove them crazy.He turned their harvest over to caterpillars,everything they had worked for to the locusts.He flattened their grapevines with hail;a killing frost ruined their orchards.He pounded their cattle with hail,let thunderbolts loose on their herds.His anger flared,a wild firestorm of havoc,An advance guard of disease-carrying angelsto clear the ground, preparing the way before him.He didn’t spare those people,he let the plague rage through their lives.He killed all the Egyptian firstborns,lusty infants, offspring of Ham’s virility.Then he led his people out like sheep,took his flock safely through the wilderness.He took good care of them; they had nothing to fear.The Sea took care of their enemies for good.He brought them into his holy land,this mountain he claimed for his own.He scattered everyone who got in their way;he staked out an inheritance for them—the tribes of Israel all had their own places.