1 Ā āSon of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, āMountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord. 2Ā This is what the Sovereign Lord says: the enemy said of you, āAha! The ancient heights have become our possession.āā 3Ā Therefore prophesy and say, āThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: because they ravaged and crushed you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of peopleās malicious talk and slander, 4Ā therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around youĀ ā 5Ā this is what the Sovereign Lord says: in my burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made my land their own possession so that they might plunder its pasture-land.ā 6Ā Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: āThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. 7Ā Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn.
8Ā āāBut you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9Ā I am concerned for you and will look on you with favour; you will be ploughed and sown, 10Ā and I will cause many people to live on youĀ ā yes, all of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11Ā I will increase the number of people and animals living on you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 12Ā I will cause people, my people Israel, to live on you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children.
13Ā āāThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: because some say to you, āYou devour people and deprive your nation of its children,ā 14Ā therefore you will no longer devour people or make your nation childless, declares the Sovereign Lord. 15Ā No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall, declares the Sovereign Lord.āā
16Ā Again the word of the Lord came to me: 17Ā āSon of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a womanās monthly uncleanness in my sight. 18Ā So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols. 19Ā I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. 20Ā And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, āThese are the Lordās people, and yet they had to leave his land.ā 21Ā I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.
22Ā āTherefore say to the Israelites, āThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: it is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23Ā I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
24Ā āāFor I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25Ā I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26Ā I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27Ā And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28Ā Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29Ā I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the corn and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30Ā I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31Ā Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32Ā I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!
33Ā āāThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: on the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34Ā The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35Ā They will say, āThis land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.ā 36Ā Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.ā
37Ā āThis is what the Sovereign Lord says: once again I will yield to Israelās plea and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep, 38Ā as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed festivals. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.ā
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9Ā As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectorās booth. āFollow me,ā he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10Ā While Jesus was having dinner at Matthewās house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11Ā When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, āWhy does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?ā
12Ā On hearing this, Jesus said, āIt is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. 13Ā But go and learn what this means: āI desire mercy, not sacrifice.ā For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.ā
14Ā Then Johnās disciples came and asked him, āHow is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?ā
15Ā Jesus answered, āHow can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
16Ā āNo one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Ā Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.ā