All the choice men ¹  among his troops will die ²  by the sword and the survivors will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken!

Listen to this, you elders; ¹  pay attention, ²  all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life ³  or in the lifetime ⁴  of your ancestors? ⁵ 

I then said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be eradicated, let it be eradicated. As for those who survive, let them eat each other’s flesh!”

May the Lord cut off from the community ¹  of Jacob every last person who does this, ²  as well as the person who presents improper offerings to the Lord who rules over all!

“Everyone ¹  who hears these words of mine and does them is like ²  a wise man ³  who built his house on rock.

They begged him if ¹  they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

“So when you see the abomination of desolation ¹  – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

For the one who has will be given more, ¹  and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ² 

After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Give to everyone who asks you, ¹  and do not ask for your possessions ²  back ³  from the person who takes them away.

“Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice ¹  – I will show you what he is like:

Wherever ¹  they do not receive you, ²  as you leave that town, ³  shake the dust off ⁴  your feet as a testimony against them.”

So ¹  the master said to his ²  slave, ‘Go out to the highways ³  and country roads ⁴  and urge ⁵  people ⁶  to come in, so that my house will be filled. ⁷ 

Jesus ¹  said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe ²  to the one through whom they come!

But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name ¹  – he has given the right to become God’s children

When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight ¹  and replied, ²  “Whoever among you is guiltless ³  may be the first to throw a stone at her.”

I tell you the solemn truth, ¹  if anyone obeys ²  my teaching, ³  he will never see death.” ⁴ 

The one who rejects me and does not accept ¹  my words has a judge; ²  the word ³  I have spoken will judge him at the last day.

If anyone does not remain ¹  in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, ²  and are burned up. ³ 

beginning from his baptism by John until the day he ¹  was taken up from us – one of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.”