I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

⁶On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine. ⁷On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; ⁸He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken. ⁹And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. ⁴Even 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. ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. ¹⁰ Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. ¹²I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need. ¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

¹ Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: ²“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. ⁴Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ ⁵But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business. ⁶The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. ⁸Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. ¹²‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless. ¹³Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.”