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⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,
   in which you have made me hope.
⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my distress,
   that your promise gives me life.
⁵¹ The arrogant utterly deride me,
   but I do not turn away from your law.
⁵² When I think of your ordinances from of old,
   I take comfort, O Lord.
⁵³ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
   those who forsake your law.
⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs
   wherever I make my home.
⁵⁵ I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
   and keep your law.
⁵⁶ This blessing has fallen to me,
   for I have kept your precepts.

⁵⁷ The Lord is my portion;
   I promise to keep your words.
⁵⁸ I implore your favour with all my heart;
   be gracious to me according to your promise.
⁵⁹ When I think of your ways,
   I turn my feet to your decrees;
⁶⁰ I hurry and do not delay
   to keep your commandments.
⁶¹ Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
   I do not forget your law.
⁶² At midnight I rise to praise you,
   because of your righteous ordinances.
⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear you,
   of those who keep your precepts.
⁶⁴ The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
   teach me your statutes.

⁶⁵ You have dealt well with your servant,
   O Lord, according to your word.
⁶⁶ Teach me good judgement and knowledge,
   for I believe in your commandments.
⁶⁷ Before I was humbled I went astray,
   but now I keep your word.
⁶⁸ You are good and do good;
   teach me your statutes.
⁶⁹ The arrogant smear me with lies,
   but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
⁷⁰ Their hearts are fat and gross,
   but I delight in your law.
⁷¹ It is good for me that I was humbled,
   so that I might learn your statutes.
⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me
   than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

THE SECOND LETTER OF

John

Salutation

1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, ²because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us for ever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from^* Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

Truth and Love

4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. ⁵But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. ⁶And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.

7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! ⁸Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we^* have worked for, but may receive a full reward. ⁹Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; ¹¹for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.

Final Greetings

12 Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.^*

The Gospel According to

Luke

Dedication to Theophilus

1Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, ³I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first,^* to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

⁷³ Your hands have made and fashioned me;
   give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
⁷⁴ Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
   because I have hoped in your word.
⁷⁵ I know, O Lord, that your judgements are right,
   and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
⁷⁶ Let your steadfast love become my comfort
   according to your promise to your servant.
⁷⁷ Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
   for your law is my delight.
⁷⁸ Let the arrogant be put to shame,
   because they have subverted me with guile;
   as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
⁷⁹ Let those who fear you turn to me,
   so that they may know your decrees.
⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
   so that I may not be put to shame.

⁸¹ My soul languishes for your salvation;
   I hope in your word.
⁸² My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
   I ask, ‘When will you comfort me?’
⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
   yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
⁸⁴ How long must your servant endure?
   When will you judge those who persecute me?
⁸⁵ The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
   they flout your law.
⁸⁶ All your commandments are enduring;
   I am persecuted without cause; help me!
⁸⁷ They have almost made an end of me on earth;
   but I have not forsaken your precepts.
⁸⁸ In your steadfast love spare my life,
   so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

Capture of Demetrius

14In the one hundred and seventy-second year^* King Demetrius assembled his forces and marched into Media to obtain help, so that he could make war against Trypho. ²When King Arsaces of Persia and Media heard that Demetrius had invaded his territory, he sent one of his generals to take him alive. ³The general^* went and defeated the army of Demetrius, and seized him and took him to Arsaces, who put him under guard.

Eulogy of Simon

⁴ The land^* had rest all the days of Simon.
   He sought the good of his nation;
his rule was pleasing to them,
   as was the honour shown him, all his days.
⁵ To crown all his honours he took Joppa for a harbour,
   and opened a way to the isles of the sea.
⁶ He extended the borders of his nation,
   and gained full control of the country.
⁷ He gathered a host of captives;
   he ruled over Gazara and Beth-zur and the citadel,
and he removed its uncleanness from it;
   and there was none to oppose him.
⁸ They tilled their land in peace;
   the ground gave its increase,
   and the trees of the plains their fruit.
⁹ Old men sat in the streets;
   they all talked together of good things,
   and the youths put on splendid military attire.
¹⁰ He supplied the towns with food,
   and furnished them with the means of defence,
   until his renown spread to the ends of the earth.
¹¹ He established peace in the land,
   and Israel rejoiced with great joy.
¹² All the people sat under their own vines and fig trees,
   and there was none to make them afraid.
¹³ No one was left in the land to fight them,
   and the kings were crushed in those days.
¹⁴ He gave help to all the humble among his people;
   he sought out the law,
   and did away with all the renegades and outlaws.
¹⁵ He made the sanctuary glorious,
   and added to the vessels of the sanctuary.

Diplomacy with Rome and Sparta

16 It was heard in Rome, and as far away as Sparta, that Jonathan had died, and they were deeply grieved. ¹⁷When they heard that his brother Simon had become high priest in his stead, and that he was ruling over the country and the towns in it, ¹⁸they wrote to him on bronze tablets to renew with him the friendship and alliance that they had established with his brothers Judas and Jonathan. ¹⁹And these were read before the assembly in Jerusalem.

20 This is a copy of the letter that the Spartans sent:

‘The rulers and the city of the Spartans to the high priest Simon and to the elders and the priests and the rest of the Jewish people, our brothers, greetings. ²¹The envoys who were sent to our people have told us about your glory and honour, and we rejoiced at their coming. ²²We have recorded what they said in our public decrees, as follows, “Numenius son of Antiochus and Antipater son of Jason, envoys of the Jews, have come to us to renew their friendship with us. ²³It has pleased our people to receive these men with honour and to put a copy of their words in the public archives, so that the people of the Spartans may have a record of them. And they have sent a copy of this to the high priest Simon.” ’

24 After this Simon sent Numenius to Rome with a large gold shield weighing one thousand minas, to confirm the alliance with the Romans.^*

Official Honours for Simon

25 When the people heard these things they said, ‘How shall we thank Simon and his sons? ²⁶For he and his brothers and the house of his father have stood firm; they have fought and repulsed Israel’s enemies and established its freedom.’ ²⁷So they made a record on bronze tablets and put it on pillars on Mount Zion.

This is a copy of what they wrote: ‘On the eighteenth day of Elul, in the one hundred and seventy-second year,^* which is the third year of the great high priest Simon, ²⁸in Asaramel,^* in the great assembly of the priests and the people and the rulers of the nation and the elders of the country, the following was proclaimed to us:

29 ‘Since wars often occurred in the country, Simon son of Mattathias, a priest of the sons^* of Joarib, and his brothers, exposed themselves to danger and resisted the enemies of their nation, in order that their sanctuary and the law might be preserved; and they brought great glory to their nation. ³⁰Jonathan rallied the^* nation, became their high priest, and was gathered to his people. ³¹When their enemies decided to invade their country and lay hands on their sanctuary, ³²then Simon rose up and fought for his nation. He spent great sums of his own money; he armed the soldiers of his nation and paid them wages. ³³He fortified the towns of Judea, and Beth-zur on the borders of Judea, where formerly the arms of the enemy had been stored, and he placed there a garrison of Jews. ³⁴He also fortified Joppa, which is by the sea, and Gazara, which is on the borders of Azotus, where the enemy formerly lived. He settled Jews there, and provided in those towns^* whatever was necessary for their restoration.

35 ‘The people saw Simon’s faithfulness^* and the glory that he had resolved to win for his nation, and they made him their leader and high priest, because he had done all these things and because of the justice and loyalty that he had maintained towards his nation. He sought in every way to exalt his people. ³⁶In his days things prospered in his hands, so that the Gentiles were put out of the^* country, as were also those in the city of David in Jerusalem, who had built themselves a citadel from which they used to sally forth and defile the environs of the sanctuary, doing great damage to its purity. ³⁷He settled Jews in it and fortified it for the safety of the country and of the city, and built the walls of Jerusalem higher.

38 ‘In view of these things King Demetrius confirmed him in the high-priesthood, ³⁹made him one of his Friends, and paid him high honours. ⁴⁰For he had heard that the Jews were addressed by the Romans as friends and allies and brothers, and that the Romans^* had received the envoys of Simon with honour.

41 ‘The Jews and their priests have resolved that Simon should be their leader and high priest for ever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise, ⁴²and that he should be governor over them and that he should take charge of the sanctuary and appoint officials over its tasks and over the country and the weapons and the strongholds, and that he should take charge of the sanctuary, ⁴³and that he should be obeyed by all, and that all contracts in the country should be written in his name, and that he should be clothed in purple and wear gold.

44 ‘None of the people or priests shall be permitted to nullify any of these decisions or to oppose what he says, or to convene an assembly in the country without his permission, or to be clothed in purple or put on a gold buckle. ⁴⁵Whoever acts contrary to these decisions or rejects any of them shall be liable to punishment.’

46 All the people agreed to grant Simon the right to act in accordance with these decisions. ⁴⁷So Simon accepted and agreed to be high priest, to be commander and ethnarch of the Jews and priests, and to be protector of them all.^{* 48}And they gave orders to inscribe this decree on bronze tablets, to put them up in a conspicuous place in the precincts of the sanctuary, ⁴⁹and to deposit copies of them in the treasury, so that Simon and his sons might have them.

Pronouncement about the Sabbath

23 One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ ²⁵And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? ²⁶He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ ²⁷Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; ²⁸so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

The Man with a Withered Hand

3Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ²They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ ⁴Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. ⁵He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Multitude at the Lakeside

7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; ⁸hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; ¹⁰for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. ¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ ¹²But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.