When ¹  the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce, ²  and the fields yield no crops; ³  when the sheep disappear ⁴  from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls,

“Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Turn now from your evil wickedness,”’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the Lord.

You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears ¹  as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; ¹  otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins ²  and both are preserved.”

If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off ¹  your feet as a testimony against them.”

As ¹  Jesus ²  stepped ashore, ³  a certain man from the town ⁴  met him who was possessed by demons. ⁵  For a long time this man ⁶  had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among ⁷  the tombs.

But I do not consider my life ¹  worth anything ²  to myself, so that ³  I may finish my task ⁴  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ⁵  of God’s grace.

They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living ¹  among the Gentiles to abandon ²  Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children ³  or live ⁴  according to our customs.

But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ¹  that they should avoid ²  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ³  and blood and what has been strangled ⁴  and sexual immorality.”

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, ¹  but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

Nor do we boast beyond certain limits ¹  in the work ²  done by others, but we hope ³  that as your faith continues to grow, our work may be greatly expanded ⁴  among you according to our limits, ⁵ 

You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, ¹  that it may give grace to those who hear.

He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me – not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”

And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma ¹  and said ²  to himself, ³  “I will never again curse ⁴  the ground because of humankind, even though ⁵  the inclination of their minds ⁶  is evil from childhood on. ⁷  I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.

They covered ¹  the surface ²  of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, ³  and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.

If some of the meat of his peace offering sacrifice is ever eaten on the third day it will not be accepted; it will not be accounted to the one who presented it, since it is spoiled, ¹  and the person who eats from it will bear his punishment for iniquity. ² 

Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.

This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our ¹  God any more or see this great fire any more lest we die.”