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Judah’s Captivity Portrayed

12The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear; ³for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, mortal, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight; you shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile; and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who go into exile. ⁵Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry the baggage through it. ⁶In their sight you shall lift the baggage on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.

7 I did just as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands; I brought it out in the dark, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹Mortal, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel in it.’ ¹¹Say, ‘I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ¹²And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage on his shoulder in the dark, and shall go out; he^* shall dig through the wall and carry it through; he shall cover his face, so that he may not see the land with his eyes. ¹³I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it; and he shall die there. ¹⁴I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will unsheathe the sword behind them. ¹⁵And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. ¹⁶But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go; then they shall know that I am the Lord.

⁵⁶ Yet they tested the Most High God,
   and rebelled against him.
   They did not observe his decrees,
⁵⁷ but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;
   they twisted like a treacherous bow.
⁵⁸ For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
   they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
⁵⁹ When God heard, he was full of wrath,
   and he utterly rejected Israel.
⁶¹ and delivered his power to captivity,
   his glory to the hand of the foe.
⁶² He gave his people to the sword,
   and vented his wrath on his heritage.

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church^* sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ ²²Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven^* times.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

23 ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents^* was brought to him; ²⁵and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” ²⁷And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;^* and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” ²⁹Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” ³⁰But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³²Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” ³⁴And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister^* from your heart.’

Teaching about Divorce

19When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.