¹Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and lovely to praise Him! ²The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel. ³He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ⁴He determines the number of the stars; He calls them each by name. ⁵Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.

¹Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ²“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’? ³As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. ⁴Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

²⁵Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ²⁶If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has committed. ²⁷But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. ²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die. ²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? ³⁰Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall. ³¹Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? ³²For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live!

¹ To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; ²in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. ³Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who are faithless without cause will be disgraced. ⁴Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. ⁵Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You. ⁶Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age. ⁷Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD. ⁸Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way. ⁹He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. ¹⁰All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world ¹⁶as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. ¹⁷But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

²³ When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?” ²⁴“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷So they answered, “We do not know.” And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.