¹Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. ²So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” ³And Joab answered, “May the Lᴏʀᴅ make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” ⁴Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ⁶But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. ⁷And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. ⁸So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” ⁹And the Lᴏʀᴅ spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, ¹⁰“Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” ¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: ‘Choose for yourself, ¹²either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lᴏʀᴅ—the plague in the land, with the angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” ¹³And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lᴏʀᴅ, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” ¹⁴So the Lᴏʀᴅ sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. ¹⁵And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lᴏʀᴅ looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lᴏʀᴅ my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.” ¹⁸Therefore, the angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lᴏʀᴅ on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²⁰Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. ²¹Then David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. ²²Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lᴏʀᴅ. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” ²³And Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.” ²⁴Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lᴏʀᴅ, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” ²⁵So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. ²⁶And David built there an altar to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lᴏʀᴅ; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷So the Lᴏʀᴅ commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath. ²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lᴏʀᴅ had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ²⁹For the tabernacle of the Lᴏʀᴅ and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon. ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lᴏʀᴅ.

¹Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, ²as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. ⁴Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” ⁷Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” ⁸and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. ⁹But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. ¹¹Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, ¹²having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. ¹³Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. ¹⁵For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— ¹⁶as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. ¹⁷Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. ¹⁸Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ²²“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; ²³who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; ²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

¹But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. ²So he prayed to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. ³Therefore now, O Lᴏʀᴅ, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” ⁴Then the Lᴏʀᴅ said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” ⁵So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. ⁶And the Lᴏʀᴅ God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. ⁷But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. ⁸And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” ⁹Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” ¹⁰But the Lᴏʀᴅ said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

¹Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ²He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. ⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. ⁷Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. ⁹Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him. ¹⁰And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. ¹²When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” ¹³But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” ¹⁵And they did so, and made them all sit down. ¹⁶Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. ¹⁸And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” ²⁰He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” ²¹And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²²saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” ²³Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. ²⁷“But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.” ²⁸Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. ³⁰And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, ³¹who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. ³³Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. ³⁵And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” ³⁶When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. ³⁷Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. ³⁸Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. ⁴⁰So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” ⁴¹Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴²And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. ⁴³And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying. ⁴⁶Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. ⁴⁷And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, ⁴⁸and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.” ⁴⁹Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.” ⁵¹Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵²and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” ⁵⁵But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. ⁵⁶For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. ⁵⁷Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” ⁶²But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”