The sovereign master ¹  says, “These people say they are loyal to me; ²  they say wonderful things about me, ³  but they are not really loyal to me. ⁴  Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual. ⁵ 

This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹  says, the Holy One of Israel: ²  “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who leads you in the way you should go.

The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ¹  so that I know how to help the weary. ²  He wakes me up every morning; he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ³ 

Your priests ¹  did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ ²  Those responsible for teaching my law ³  did not really know me. ⁴  Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. ⁵  They all worshiped idols that could not help them. ⁶ 

I said, ¹  “So now, ²  you wailing women, hear what the Lord says. ³  Open your ears to the words from his mouth. Teach your daughters this mournful song, and each of you teach your neighbor ⁴  this lament.

The Lord who rules over all ¹  says to the people of Jerusalem: ²  “Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They are reporting visions of their own imaginations, not something the Lord has given them to say. ³ 

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  told him, “Go and speak to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Tell them, ²  ‘I, the Lord, say: ³  “You must learn a lesson from this ⁴  about obeying what I say! ⁵ 

Therefore, I will certainly cut ¹  you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; ²  I will certainly kill you ³  in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; ⁴  for ⁵  my judgment ⁶  will come forth like the light of the dawn. ⁷ 

He taught what was true; ¹  sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin.

Then ¹  Jesus ²  began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer ³  many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, ⁴  and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Then ¹  Jesus ²  left that place and went to the region of Judea and ³  beyond the Jordan River. ⁴  Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them.

Then ¹  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ²  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ³  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁴  and went on a journey.

They ¹  were all amazed and began to say ²  to one another, “What’s happening here? ³  For with authority and power ⁴  he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

So listen carefully, ¹  for whoever has will be given more, but ²  whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has ³  will be taken from him.”

Now ¹  Jesus ²  was praying in a certain place. When ³  he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John ⁴  taught ⁵  his disciples.”

Then ¹  he said to them, “Suppose one of you ²  has a friend, and you go to him ³  at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, ⁴ 

They ¹  began to accuse ²  him, saying, “We found this man subverting ³  our nation, forbidding ⁴  us to pay the tribute tax ⁵  to Caesar ⁶  and claiming that he himself is Christ, ⁷  a king.”

and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading ¹  the people. When I examined him before you, I ²  did not find this man guilty ³  of anything you accused him of doing.

The person who speaks on his own authority ¹  desires ²  to receive honor ³  for himself; the one who desires ⁴  the honor ⁵  of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, ⁶  and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Then Jesus said, ¹  “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, ²  and I do nothing on my own initiative, ³  but I speak just what the Father taught me. ⁴