When the Israelites were ¹  in the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ² 

Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community.

But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.

Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed,

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus ¹  from one town after another, ²  he spoke to them ³  in a parable:

The one who reaps receives pay ¹  and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together.

So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a cup ¹  of water, so I can take a drink.”

He shrouded himself in darkness, ¹  in thick rain clouds. ² 

She said, “As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I’m going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation.” ¹ 

Now regarding the arrival ¹  of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, ²  we ask you, brothers and sisters, ³ 

The Israelites did so, and they gathered – some more, some less.

Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures ¹  will gather. ² 

God called the dry ground “land” ¹  and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

When ¹  they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. ² 

But you have come to Mount Zion, the city ¹  of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly

For to the one who pleases him, ¹  God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing ²  wealth ³  – only to give ⁴  it ⁵  to the one who pleases God. This ⁶  task of the wicked ⁷  is futile – like chasing the wind!

¹ There is a loud noise on the mountains – it sounds like a large army! ²  There is great commotion among the kingdoms ³  – nations are being assembled! The Lord who commands armies is mustering forces for battle.

In a year’s time ¹  you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape ²  harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

For ¹  we are in danger of being charged with rioting ²  today, since there is no cause we can give to explain ³  this disorderly gathering.” ⁴ 

Your plunder ¹  disappears as if locusts were eating it; ²  they swarm over it like locusts! ³