The Parable of the Sower. 1^* On another occasion^a he began to teach by the sea.^* A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.^b 2And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 3^* “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. 7Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. 8And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables. 10And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. 11^* He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, 12so that

‘they may look and see but not perceive,

and hear and listen but not understand,

in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’”^c

Job’s Seventh Reply. 1Then Job answered and said:

2Today especially my complaint is bitter,

his hand is heavy upon me in my groanings.

3Would that I knew how to find him,

that I might come to his dwelling!

4I would set out my case before him,

fill my mouth with arguments;

5I would learn the words he would answer me,

understand what he would say to me.

6Would he contend against me with his great power?

No, he himself would heed me!

7There an upright man might argue with him,

and I would once and for all be delivered from my judge.

1Awake, awake!

Put on your strength, Zion;

Put on your glorious garments,

Jerusalem, holy city.

Never again shall the uncircumcised

or the unclean enter you.

2Arise, shake off the dust,

sit enthroned, Jerusalem;

Loose the bonds from your neck,

captive daughter Zion!

3For thus says the LORD:

For nothing you were sold,

without money you shall be redeemed.

4For thus says the Lord GOD:

To Egypt long ago my people went down,

to sojourn there;

Assyria, too, oppressed them for nought.

5But now, what am I to do here?

—oracle of the LORD.

My people have been taken away for nothing;

their rulers mock, oracle of the LORD;

constantly, every day, my name is reviled.

6Therefore my people shall know my name

on that day, that it is I who speaks: Here I am!

12Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.^f 13No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.^g

Jesus, Compassionate High Priest. 14^* Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.^h 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.ⁱ 16So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.^j

The Parable of the Talents.^* 14^c “It will be as when a man who was going on a journey^* called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15To one he gave five talents;^* to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately 16the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. 17Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 18^* But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five.^* He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ 21^d His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 22[Then] the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ 26His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!^* So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? 27Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 28Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 29^{* e} For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30^* And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

1Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,^a the peak of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land—Gilead, and as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,^b 3the Negeb, the plain (the valley of Jericho, the City of Palms), and as far as Zoar. 4The LORD then said to him, This is the land^c about which I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “I will give it to your descendants.” I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross over. 5So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD, died^d as the LORD had said; 6and he was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; to this day no one knows the place of his burial.^e 7Moses was one hundred and twenty years old^f when he died, yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. 8The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days, till they had completed the period of grief and mourning for Moses.

13therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

My servants shall eat,

but you shall go hungry;

My servants shall drink,

but you shall be thirsty;

My servants shall rejoice,

but you shall be put to shame;

14My servants shall shout

for joy of heart,

But you shall cry out for grief of heart,

and howl for anguish of spirit.

15You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen ones

when the Lord GOD slays you,

and calls his servants by another name.

16Whoever invokes a blessing in the land

shall bless by the God of truth;^*

Whoever takes an oath in the land

shall swear by the God of truth;

For the hardships of the past shall be forgotten

and hidden from my eyes.

7Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.^f

9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching.^* It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace and not by foods, which do not benefit those who live by them.^g 10We have an altar^* from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11The bodies of the animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as a sin offering are burned outside the camp.^h 12Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood.ⁱ 13Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. 14For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come.^j 15Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.^k 16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.^l