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¹⁴ Return, O faithless children,

says the Lord,
   for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
   and I will bring you to Zion.

15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one be made. ¹⁷At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil will.

Psalm 23

1  The Lord is my shepherd; ♦︎
   therefore can I lack nothing.
2  He makes me lie down in green pastures ♦︎
   and leads me beside still waters.
3  He shall refresh my soul ♦︎
   and guide me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4  Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
      I will fear no evil; ♦︎
   for you are with me;
      your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5  You spread a table before me
      in the presence of those who trouble me; ♦︎
   you have anointed my head with oil
      and my cup shall be full.
6  Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me
      all the days of my life, ♦︎
   and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.^{* 22}As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’