His head is like the most pure gold. His hair is curly – black like a raven.

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you?

He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the area.

This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses.

So do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow;

When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance

Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.

Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up.

It is as if I have been given fertile fields or received a beautiful tract of land.

Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.

Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband-to-be.

and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which is from God.

Absalom would then say, “If only they would make me a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.”

You must divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. To a larger group you must give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you must give a smaller inheritance. Everyone’s inheritance must be in the place where his lot falls. You must inherit according to your ancestral tribes.

and an ox and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with olive oil, for today the Lord is going to appear to you.’”