Bible in 90 Days

Strong Men Are Destroyed

11 Open your doors, O Lebanon, so that fire may destroy your cedars! ² Cry in sorrow, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen. The beautiful trees have been destroyed. Cry in sorrow, O oaks of Bashan, for the many trees have fallen. ³ Listen to the cry of the shepherds, for their great land is laid waste. Listen to the sound of the young lions, for the trees along the valley of the Jordan River lay waste.

The Two Shepherds

⁴ The Lord my God said, “Take care of the flock that is to be killed. ⁵ Those who buy them kill them and are not punished. And those who sell them say, ‘Thanks and honor be to the Lord, for I have become rich!’ Their own shepherds have no pity on them. ⁶ For I will no longer have pity on the people who live in this land,” says the Lord. “I will give everyone over to the power of his neighbor and his king. They will bring trouble to the land, and I will not save them from their power.”

⁷ So I took care of the flock that was to be killed, and those of the flock who suffered. I took two walking sticks. One I called Favor, and the other I called Agreement. I took care of the flock. ⁸ I destroyed the three shepherds in one month. I was angry with them, and they hated me. ⁹ Then I said, “I will not take care of you. Let those die who are to die. And what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. Let those who are left eat each other’s flesh.” ¹⁰ And I took my walking stick Favor and cut it in pieces, to break the agreement I had made with all the people. ¹¹ So it was broken on that day. And those of the flock who suffered and were watching me knew that it was the Word of the Lord. ¹² I said to them, “If you think it is right, give me my pay. But if not, keep it.” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as my pay. ¹³ Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the one who makes pots—the great price they thought I was worth.” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the pot maker in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ Then I cut my second walking stick, Agreement, in pieces, to break the agreement between Judah and Israel.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the tools of a foolish shepherd. ¹⁶ For I am going to have a shepherd rule over the land who will not care for the dying. He will not look for those who were sent everywhere or heal the hurt, or feed those who are well. But he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their feet. ¹⁷ It is bad for the shepherd who has no worth and who leaves the flock! A sword will destroy his arm and his right eye! His arm will be all dried up, and his right eye will be blind.”

Judah to Be Saved

12 The Word of the Lord about Israel:

The Lord, Who spread out the heavens, who put the earth in its place, and made the spirit of man within him says this about Israel: ² “I am going to make Jerusalem like a cup that makes all the people around it seem to be drunk. Judah will be shut in by armies as well as Jerusalem. ³ On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the people. All who lift it will be hurt. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. ⁴ On that day,” says the Lord, “I will put fear in every horse, and make the horsemen crazy. But I will watch over the people of Judah, while I make every horse of the nations blind. ⁵ Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong because of the Lord of All, their God.’ ⁶ On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a pot of fire among pieces of wood, like fire among cut grain. They will destroy all the people around them, on the right and on the left. And the people of Jerusalem will again live on their own land in Jerusalem. ⁷ The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the shining-greatness of the family of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah. ⁸ On that day the Lord will fight for the people of Jerusalem. The one who is weak among them on that day will be like David. And the family of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord leading them. ⁹ On that day I will destroy every nation that comes against Jerusalem.

Sorrow in Jerusalem

¹⁰ “I will pour out the Spirit of loving-favor and prayer on the family of David and on those who live in Jerusalem. They will look on Him Whose side they cut. They will cry in sorrow for Him, as one cries for an only son. They will cry much over Him, like those who have lost their first-born son. ¹¹ On that day there will be much crying in Jerusalem, like the cries of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will be filled with sorrow, each family by itself. The families of David and their wives, and the family of Nathan and their wives, will each be filled with sorrow. ¹³ The family of Levi and their wives will cry in sorrow, and the family of the Shimeites and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the families that are left, and their wives.

False Gods and False Preachers

13 “On that day a well of water will be opened for the family of David and for the people of Jerusalem to make them clean from their sin.

² “On that day,” says the Lord of All, “I will destroy the names of the false gods from the land. They will no longer be remembered. And I will take away from the land those who tell what will happen in the future and the unclean spirit. ³ If anyone still tells what will happen in the future, his father and mother who gave birth to him will tell him, ‘You must not live, because you have lied in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who gave birth to him will kill him when he speaks false words. ⁴ On that day those who tell what will happen in the future will each be ashamed of his special dream when he speaks. He will not put on clothing made from hair to fool the people. ⁵ But he will say, ‘I am not a man who speaks for God. I am a farmer. A man sold me as a servant when I was young.’ ⁶ If someone asks him, ‘What are these sores on your back?’ he will answer, ‘They are the sores I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Who Saves

⁷ “Wake up, O sword, against My shepherd and against the man who is close to Me,” says the Lord of All. “Kill the shepherd, and the sheep will go everywhere. And I will turn My hand against the little ones. ⁸ In the whole land,” says the Lord, “two-thirds will die, but one-third will be left alive. ⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire. I will make them pure like silver is made pure. I will test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

The Day of the Lord

14 A day of the Lord is coming when the things of much worth taken from you will be divided among you. ² For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. The city will be taken. The houses will be robbed. The women will be taken against their will. And half of the city will be taken away to a strange land. But the rest of the people will not be taken away from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, in front of Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will be divided in two from east to west by a very large valley. Half the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. ⁵ You will run away by the valley of My mountains, for it will go as far as Azel. You will run away just as you did when the earth shook in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him. ⁶ On that day there will be no light. The stars of heaven will be made dark. ⁷ It will be a special day which is known to the Lord. It will not be day or night. For when evening comes, there will be light. ⁸ On that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem. Half of them will flow toward the sea in the east. The other half will flow toward the sea in the west. They will flow in summer and in winter.

⁹ The Lord will be King over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. ¹⁰ The whole land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem will rise and stay on its land from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to where the king’s wine is made. ¹¹ People will live in it, and there will be no more curse. The people of Jerusalem will live without fear.

¹² Now this is how the Lord will punish all the people who have gone to war against Jerusalem. Their flesh will waste away while they stand on their feet. Their eyes will waste away in their faces, and their tongues will waste away in their mouths. ¹³ On that day the Lord will send much fear upon them. They will take hold of one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be raised against the hand of another. ¹⁴ Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the riches of all the nations around will be gathered, much gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵ The same kind of punishment will come upon the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle in those camps.

The Nations Worship the King

¹⁶ Then everyone who is left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go each year to worship the King, the Lord of All, and to keep the Special Supper of Tents. ¹⁷ If any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of All, they will have no rain. ¹⁸ If the family of Egypt does not go up to worship, then they will have no rain. The Lord will punish them as He punishes the nations that do not go up to keep the Special Supper of Tents.

¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Special Supper of Tents. ²⁰ On that day, “Holy to the Lord,” will be written on the bells of the horses. And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord will be like the holy dishes in front of the altar. ²¹ Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of All. And all who come bringing gifts in worship will take some of the pots and cook in them. On that day there will no longer be one who buys and sells in the house of the Lord of All.

1 This is the Word of the Lord spoken to Israel through Malachi.

God’s Love for Israel

² “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, ³ but I have hated Esau. I have laid waste his mountains and have given his riches to the wild dogs of the desert.” ⁴ Edom may say, “We have been destroyed, but we will return and build our cities again.” But the Lord of All says, “They may build, but I will tear down. They will be called the sinful land, the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.” ⁵ You will see this with your own eyes and say, “The Lord is great even outside the land of Israel!”

Unclean Gifts Given on the Altar

⁶ “A son honors his father. A servant honors his owner. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? If I am a boss, where is My respect? says the Lord of All to you, O religious leaders who hate My name. But you say, ‘How have we hated Your name?’ ⁷ You are bringing unclean food to My altar. But you say, ‘How have we made Your altar unclean?’ “Because you say the Lord’s table is to be hated. ⁸ When you bring a blind animal to the altar as My gift, is it not sinful? When you bring one that cannot walk, or one that is sick, is it not sinful? Why not bring it to your ruler? Would he be pleased with you? Would he receive it?” says the Lord of All. ⁹ “Now pray for God’s favor, that He may be kind to us. With such gifts from your hands, will He receive any of you in kindness?” says the Lord of All. ¹⁰ “If only there were one among you who would shut the gates and stop you from burning a fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of All. “And I will not receive a gift in worship from you. ¹¹ From sunrise to sunset My name will be great among the nations. Special perfume will be given to My name everywhere, and a grain gift that is pure. For My name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of All. ¹² “But you are making it unclean when you say that the table of the Lord is unclean, and that its food is to be hated. ¹³ You say, ‘How tired it makes us!’ And you turn your nose away from it,” says the Lord of All. “You bring what was stolen, and what cannot walk, and what is sick. You bring this as your gift! Should I receive that from your hands?” says the Lord. ¹⁴ “A curse will come upon the sinful man who promises to give a male from his flock, but gives an animal that is not perfect to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the Lord of All. “And My name is feared among the nations.

Sinful Religious Leaders

2 “And now, this word is for you, O religious leaders. ² If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor My name,” says the Lord of All, “then I will send the curse on you. I will destroy the good things you have been given. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you have not set your heart to honor Me. ³ I will speak sharp words to your children. I will spread animal waste on your faces, the waste of your special suppers. And you will be taken away with it. ⁴ Then you will know that I have sent this word to you, so that My agreement with Levi may be kept,” says the Lord of All. ⁵ “My agreement with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him, that he might honor Me with fear. So he honored Me with fear. My name filled him with fear and wonder. ⁶ True teaching was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and was right and good. And he turned many from sin. ⁷ For the lips of a religious leader should have much learning. Men should listen for teaching from his mouth, for he is sent by the Lord of All. ⁸ But you have turned aside from the way. You have made many fall by your teaching. You have sinned against the agreement of Levi,” says the Lord of All. ⁹ “So I have made you hated and ashamed in front of all the people, for you are not keeping My ways. You have shown favor to certain people when you teach them.”

The People Are Not Faithful to God

¹⁰ “Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God made us? Why can we not be trusted by one another? Why do we sin against the agreement of our fathers? ¹¹ Judah has not been faithful. A very sinful thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has made unclean the holy place of the Lord, which He loves. And he has married the daughter of a strange god. ¹² May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob every man who does this, even if he brings a gift in worship to the Lord of All. ¹³ This is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears from much crying, because He no longer cares about the gift or receives it with favor from your hands. ¹⁴ You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord has seen how you have not been faithful to the wife you married when you were young, even when she stays with you and is your wife by agreement. ¹⁵ Has not the Lord made them one in flesh and spirit? And what does He desire but God-like children? Be careful then in your spirit, and stay faithful to the wife you married when you were young. ¹⁶ “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “And I hate the man who does wrong to his wife,” says the Lord of All. “So be careful in your spirit, and be one who can be trusted.”

¹⁷ You have made the Lord tired with your words. Yet you say, “How have we made Him tired?” By saying, “Everyone who sins is good in the eyes of the Lord, and He is pleased with them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God Who is fair?”

The One to Come

3 “See, I am going to send one with news, and he will make the way ready before Me. Then all at once the Lord you are looking for will come to His house. The one with the news of the agreement, whom you desire, is coming,” says the Lord of All. ² “But who can live through the day of His coming? Who can stand when He shows Himself? For He is like a fire for making gold pure, and like a strong cleaner. ³ He will sit as one who melts silver and makes it pure. He will make the sons of Levi pure. He will make them pure like gold and silver, so that they may bring the right gifts to the Lord. ⁴ Then the gifts of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as they were in the past. ⁵ Then I will come to judge you. I will be quick to speak against those who use witchcraft, and those who do sex sins, and those who make false promises. I will speak against those who do not pay a man what he has earned, and who make it hard for the woman whose husband has died and for children who have no parents. And I will speak against those who turn away the stranger and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of All.

⁶ “For I, the Lord, do not change. So you, O children of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Giving to God a Tenth Part

⁷ “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My Laws and have not obeyed them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of All. “But you say, ‘How are we to return?’ ⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ You have not given Me the tenth part of what you receive and your gifts. ⁹ You are cursed, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! ¹⁰ Bring the tenth part into the store-house, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the Lord of All. “See if I will not then open the windows of heaven and pour out good things for you until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will speak sharp words to the destroyer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground. And your vine in the field will be sure to give its grapes,” says the Lord of All. ¹² “All the nations will say that much good has come to you, for you will be a happy land,” says the Lord of All.

The People Complain

¹³ “Your words have been spoken in pride against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we said against You?’ ¹⁴ You have said, ‘It is of no worth to serve God. What do we get by doing what He says, or by walking in sorrow before the Lord of All? ¹⁵ So now we say that it is good to be proud. Not only are sinners doing well, but they put God to the test and get away with it.’”

The Book to Be Remembered

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord spoke often to one another, and the Lord listened to them. And the names of those who worshiped the Lord and honored Him were written down before Him in a Book to be remembered. ¹⁷ “They will be Mine says the Lord of All, “on that day that I gather My special people. I will have loving-pity on them as a man has loving-pity on his own son who serves him.” ¹⁸ Then you will again see the difference between those who are right and good, and those who are sinful. You will see the difference between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

The Great Day of the Lord

4 “See, the day is coming. It is burning like a hot fire. And all those who are proud and those who do wrong will be like dry grass. The day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord of All. “Not a root or branch will be left to them. ² But for you who fear My name, the sun of what is right and good will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and dance like calves from the cattle-house. ³ You will crush the sinful under foot. They will be ashes under your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the Lord of All.

⁴ “Remember the Law of My servant Moses. Remember all the Laws I gave him in Horeb for all Israel. ⁵ See, I will send you Elijah the man of God before the day of the Lord comes, that great day that will be full of much trouble. ⁶ And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Or else I will come and destroy the land with a curse.”

The Families Jesus Came Through ^(A)

1 These are the families through which Jesus Christ came. He came through David and Abraham. ² Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Their mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Aram. ⁴ Aram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. ⁵ Salmon was the father of Boaz. The mother of Boaz was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. The mother of Obed was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. ⁶ Jesse was the father of David the king.

King David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. ⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram. Joram was the father of Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time the people were taken to Babylon.

¹² After they were taken to the city of Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. ¹⁴ Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. ¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was the husband of Mary. She was the mother of Jesus Who is called the Christ. ¹⁷ So the number of families from Abraham to David was fourteen. The number of families from David to the time the people were taken to Babylon was fourteen. The number of families after they were taken to Babylon to the birth of Jesus Christ was fourteen.

The Birth of Jesus ^(B)

¹⁸ The birth of Jesus Christ was like this: Mary His mother had been promised in marriage to Joseph. Before they were married, it was learned that she was to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph was her promised husband. He was a good man and did not want to make it hard for Mary in front of people. He thought it would be good to break the promised marriage without people knowing it. ²⁰ While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is to become a mother by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ A Son will be born to her. You will give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from the punishment of their sins.”

²² This happened as the Lord said it would happen through the early preacher. ²³ He said, “The young woman, who has never had a man, will give birth to a Son. They will give Him the name Immanuel. This means God with us.” ^{(C) 24} Joseph awoke from his sleep. He did what the angel of the Lord told him to do. He took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have her, as a husband has a wife, until she gave birth to a Son. Joseph gave Him the name Jesus.

Wise Men Visit the Young Child Jesus

2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in the country of Judea. It was the time when Herod was king of that part of the country. Soon after Jesus was born, some wise men who learned things from stars came to Jerusalem from the East. ² They asked, “Where is the King of the Jews Who has been born? We have seen His star in the East. We have come to worship Him.”

³ King Herod heard this. He and all the people of Jerusalem were worried. ⁴ He called together all the religious leaders of the Jews and the teachers of the Law. Herod asked them where Christ was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea. The early preacher wrote, ⁶ ‘You, Bethlehem of Judah, are not the least of the leaders of Judah. Out of you will come a King Who will lead My people the Jews.’” ^(D)

⁷ Then Herod had a secret meeting with the men who learned things from stars. He asked them about what time the star had been seen. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and find the young Child. When you find Him, let me know. Then I can go and worship Him also.”

⁹ After the king had spoken, they went on their way. The star they had seen in the East went before them. It came and stopped over the place where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with much joy.

¹¹ They went into the house and found the young Child with Mary, His mother. Then they got down before Him and worshiped Him. They opened their bags of riches and gave Him gifts of gold and perfume and spices. ¹² Then God spoke to them in a dream. He told them not to go back to Herod. So they went to their own country by another road.

Joseph Goes to Egypt

¹³ When they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up. Take the young Child and His mother to the country of Egypt. Go as fast as you can! Stay there until you hear from Me. Herod is going to look for the young Child to kill Him.” ¹⁴ During the night he got up and left with the young Child and His mother for Egypt. ¹⁵ He stayed there until Herod died. This happened as the Lord had said through an early preacher, “I called My Son out of Egypt.” ^(E)

Herod Had All the Young Boys Killed

¹⁶ Herod learned that the wise men had fooled him. He was very angry. He sent men to kill all the young boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and in all the country near by. He decided to do this from what he had heard from the wise men as to the time when the star was seen. ¹⁷ Then it happened as the early preacher Jeremiah said it would happen. ¹⁸ He said, “The sound of crying and much sorrow was heard in Ramah. Rachel was crying for her children. She would not be comforted because they were dead.” ^(F)

Joseph Goes from Egypt to Nazareth ^(G)

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream while he was in Egypt. ²⁰ He said, “Get up. Take the young Child and His mother and go into the land of the Jews. Those who tried to kill the young Child are dead.” ²¹ Joseph got up. He took the young Child and His mother and came into the land of the Jews. ²² Joseph heard that Archelaus was the king of the country of Judea. Herod, the father of Archelaus, had died. Joseph was afraid to go there. God told him in a dream to go to the country of Galilee and he went. ²³ Joseph stayed in a town called Nazareth. It happened as the early preachers said it would happen. They said, “Jesus will be called a Nazarene.”

John the Baptist Makes the Way Ready for Jesus ^(H)

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert in the country of Judea. ² He said, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them! The holy nation of heaven is near.” ³ The early preacher Isaiah spoke of this man. He said, “Listen! His voice calls out in the desert! ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!’” ^(I)

⁴ John wore clothes made of hair from camels. He had a leather belt around him. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem and of all the country of Judea and those from near the Jordan River went to him. ⁶ Those who told of their sins were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁷ He saw many proud religious law-keepers and other people of the religious group who believe no one will be raised from the dead. They were coming to him to be baptized. He said to them, “You family of snakes! Who told you how to keep from God’s anger that is coming? ⁸ Do something to show me that your hearts are changed. ⁹ Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can make children for Abraham out of these stones.

¹⁰ “Even now the ax is on the root of the trees. Every tree that does not give good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ For sure, I baptize with water those who are sorry for their sins and turn from them. The One Who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is greater than I. I am not good enough to take off His shoes. ¹² He comes ready to clean the grain. He will gather the grain in and clean it all. The clean grain He will put into a building. He will burn that which is no good with a fire that cannot be put out.”

The Baptism of Jesus ^(J)

¹³ Jesus came from Galilee. He went to John at the Jordan River to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John tried to stop Him. He said, “I need to be baptized by You. Do You come to me?” ¹⁵ Jesus said to him, “Let it be done now. We should do what is right.” John agreed and baptized Jesus. ¹⁶ When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened. He saw the Spirit of God coming down and resting on Jesus like a dove. ¹⁷ A voice was heard from heaven. It said, “This is My much-loved Son. I am very happy with Him.”

Jesus Was Tempted ^(K)

4 Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. There He was tempted by the devil. ² Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights. After that He was hungry. ³ The devil came tempting Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to be made into bread.” ⁴ But Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man is not to live on bread only. Man is to live by every word that God speaks.’” ^(L)

⁵ Then the devil took Jesus up to Jerusalem, the holy city. He had Jesus stand on the highest part of the house of God. ⁶ The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. It is written, ‘He has told His angels to look after You. In their hands they will hold You up. Then Your foot will not hit against a stone.’” ^{(M) 7} Jesus said to the devil, “It is written also, ‘You must not tempt the Lord your God.’” ^(N)

⁸ Again the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He had Jesus look at all the nations of the world to see how great they were. ⁹ He said to Jesus, “I will give You all these nations if You will get down at my feet and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to the devil, “Get away, Satan. It is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. You must obey Him only.’” ^{(O) 11} Then the devil went away from Jesus. Angels came and cared for Him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee ^(P)

¹² When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He went to the country of Galilee. ¹³ He left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It is by the lake in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali.

¹⁴ This happened as the early preacher Isaiah said it would happen. He said, ¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and Naphtali is along the road to the lake. It is on the other side of the Jordan River in Galilee. These people are not Jews. ¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness saw a great light. Light did shine on those in the land who were near death.” ^(Q)

¹⁷ From that time on, Jesus went about preaching. He said, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them. The holy nation of heaven is near.”

Jesus Calls Peter and Andrew ^(R)

¹⁸ Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers. They were Simon (his other name was Peter) and Andrew, his brother. They were putting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “Follow Me. I will make you fish for men!” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed Him.

²¹ Going from there, Jesus saw two other brothers. They were James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were sitting in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called them. ²² At once they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

Jesus Keeps On Preaching in Galilee ^(S)

²³ Jesus went over all Galilee. He taught in their places of worship and preached the Good News of the holy nation. He healed all kinds of sickness and disease among the people. ²⁴ The news about Him went over all the country of Syria. They brought all the sick people to Him with many kinds of diseases and pains. They brought to Him those who had demons. They brought those who at times lose the use of their minds. They brought those who could not use their hands and legs. He healed them. ²⁵ Many people followed Him from Galilee and Judea. They followed Him from the cities of Decapolis and Jerusalem. They followed Him from Judea and from the other side of the Jordan River.