1 Kings 13

New International Version

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God^(A) came from Judah to Bethel,^(B) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ²By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah^(C) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places^(D) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³That same day the man of God gave a sign:^(E) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede^(F) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”^(G)

⁸But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,^(H) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread^(I) or drink water here. ⁹For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

¹¹Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. ¹²Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. ¹³So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it ¹⁴and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

¹⁵So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

¹⁶The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread^(J) or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

¹⁸The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord:^(K) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying^(L) to him.) ¹⁹So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

²⁰While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. ²¹He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied^(M) the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. ²²You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”

²³When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. ²⁴As he went on his way, a lion^(N) met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. ²⁵Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

²⁶When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied^(O) the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.”

²⁷The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. ²⁸Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. ²⁹So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. ³⁰Then he laid the body in his own tomb,^(P) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”^(Q)

³¹After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones^(R) beside his bones. ³²For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places^(S) in the towns of Samaria^(T) will certainly come true.”^(U)

³³Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,^(V) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts^(W) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. ³⁴This was the sin^(X) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction^(Y) from the face of the earth.

Isaiah 63

New International Version

God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption

63 Who is this coming from Edom,^(A)
from Bozrah,^(B) with his garments stained crimson?^(C)
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?^(D)

“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”^(E)

²Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?^(F)

³“I have trodden the winepress^(G) alone;
    from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled^(H) them in my anger
    and trod them down in my wrath;^(I)
their blood spattered my garments,^(J)
    and I stained all my clothing.
⁴It was for me the day of vengeance;^(K)
    the year for me to redeem had come.
⁵I looked, but there was no one^(L) to help,
    I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm^(M) achieved salvation for me,
    and my own wrath sustained me.^(N)
⁶I trampled^(O) the nations in my anger;
    in my wrath I made them drunk^(P)
    and poured their blood^(Q) on the ground.”

Praise and Prayer

⁷I will tell of the kindnesses^(R) of the Lord,
    the deeds for which he is to be praised,
    according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things^(S)
    he has done for Israel,
    according to his compassion^(T) and many kindnesses.
⁸He said, “Surely they are my people,^(U)
    children who will be true to me”;
    and so he became their Savior.^(V)
⁹In all their distress he too was distressed,
    and the angel^(W) of his presence^(X) saved them.^[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed^(Y) them;
    he lifted them up and carried^(Z) them
    all the days of old.^(AA)
¹⁰Yet they rebelled^(AB)
    and grieved his Holy Spirit.^(AC)
So he turned and became their enemy^(AD)
    and he himself fought^(AE) against them.

¹¹Then his people recalled^[b] the days of old,
    the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,^(AF)
    with the shepherd of his flock?^(AG)
Where is he who set
    his Holy Spirit^(AH) among them,
¹²who sent his glorious arm^(AI) of power
    to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters^(AJ) before them,
    to gain for himself everlasting renown,^(AK)
¹³who led^(AL) them through the depths?^(AM)
Like a horse in open country,
    they did not stumble;^(AN)
¹⁴like cattle that go down to the plain,
    they were given rest^(AO) by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
    to make for yourself a glorious name.

¹⁵Look down from heaven^(AP) and see,
    from your lofty throne,^(AQ) holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal^(AR) and your might?
    Your tenderness and compassion^(AS) are withheld^(AT) from us.
¹⁶But you are our Father,^(AU)
    though Abraham does not know us
    or Israel acknowledge^(AV) us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
    our Redeemer^(AW) from of old is your name.
¹⁷Why, Lord, do you make us wander^(AX) from your ways
    and harden our hearts^(AY) so we do not revere^(AZ) you?
Return^(BA) for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes that are your inheritance.^(BB)
¹⁸For a little while^(BC) your people possessed your holy place,
    but now our enemies have trampled^(BD) down your sanctuary.^(BE)
¹⁹We are yours from of old;
    but you have not ruled over them,
    they have not been called^[c] by your name.^(BF)

Footnotes

Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior ⁹in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
Isaiah 63:19 Or We are like those you have never ruled, / like those never called

Romans 5

New International Version

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified^(A) through faith,^(B) we^[a] have peace^(C) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,^(D) ²through whom we have gained access^(E) by faith into this grace in which we now stand.^(F) And we^[b] boast in the hope^(G) of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings,^(H) because we know that suffering produces perseverance;^(I) ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope^(J) does not put us to shame, because God’s love^(K) has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,^(L) who has been given to us.

⁶You see, at just the right time,^(M) when we were still powerless,^(N) Christ died for the ungodly.^(O) ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.^(P)

⁹Since we have now been justified^(Q) by his blood,^(R) how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath^(S) through him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies,^(T) we were reconciled^(U) to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!^(V) ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.^(W)

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

¹²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,^(X) and death through sin,^(Y) and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned^(Z)—

¹³To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.^(AA) ¹⁴Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,^(AB) who is a pattern of the one to come.^(AC)

¹⁵But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,^(AD) how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ,^(AE) overflow to the many! ¹⁶Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death^(AF) reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life^(AG) through the one man, Jesus Christ!

¹⁸Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,^(AH) so also one righteous act resulted in justification^(AI) and life^(AJ) for all people. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man^(AK) the many were made sinners,^(AL) so also through the obedience^(AM) of the one man the many will be made righteous.

²⁰The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.^(AN) But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,^(AO) ²¹so that, just as sin reigned in death,^(AP) so also grace^(AQ) might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life^(AR) through Jesus Christ our Lord.