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With all your strength, love your Creator,
forsake not his ministers. Honor God and respect the priest; give
him his portion as you have been commanded: First fruits and
contributions, due sacrifices and holy offerings. [SIRACH 7:30-31]
He forms men's tongues and eyes and ears, and
imparts to them an understanding heart. With wisdom and knowledge
he fills them; good and evil he shows them. He looks with favor
upon their hearts, and shows them his glorious works, That they
may describe the wonders of his deeds and praise his holy name.
[Taken from SIRACH 17:5-8]
Let not your mouth form the habit of swearing,
or becoming too familiar with the Holy Name. [SIRACH 23:9]
Just as a slave that is constantly under
scrutiny will not be without welts, So one who swears continually
by the Holy Name will not remain free from sin. [SIRACH 23:10]
"Then the Creator of all gave me his
command, and he who formed me chose the spot for my tent, Saying,
'In Jacob make your dwelling, in Israel your inheritance.' Before
all ages, in the beginning, he created me, and through all ages I
shall not cease to be. In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and in Zion I fixed my abode. Thus in the chosen city he has given
me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain." [Taken from SIRACH 24:8-11]
Like the sun rising in the LORD'S heavens, the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home.
Like the light which shines above the holy lampstand, are her beauty of face and graceful figure. [SIRACH 26:16-17]
Come to our aid, O God of the universe, and put all the nations
in dread of you! Raise your hand against the heathen, that they
may realize your power. As you have used us to show them your
holiness, so now use them to show us your glory. Thus they will
know, as we know, that there is no God but you. [SIRACH 36:1-4]
Take pity on your holy city, Jerusalem, your
dwelling place. Fill Zion with your majesty, your temple with your
glory. Give evidence of your deeds of old; fulfill the prophecies
spoken in your name, Reward those who have hoped in you, and let
your prophets be proved true. [SIRACH 36:12-15]
So now with full joy of heart proclaim and bless
the name of the Holy One. [SIRACH 39:35]
As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory
of the LORD fills all his works; Yet even God's holy ones must
fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, Though God has given
these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory. [SIRACH
42:16-17]
He raised up also, like Moses in holiness, his
brother Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. He made him perpetual in his
office when he bestowed on him the priesthood of his people; He
established him in honor and crowned him with lofty majesty; He
clothed him with splendid apparel, and adorned him with the
glorious vestments: Breeches and tunic and robe with pomegranates
around the hem, And a rustle of bells round about, through whose
pleasing sound at each step He would be heard within the
sanctuary, and the children of his race would be remembered; The
sacred vestments of gold, of violet, and of crimson, wrought with
embroidery; The breastpiece for decision, the ephod and cincture
with scarlet yarn, the work of the weaver; Precious stones with
seal engravings in golden settings, the work of the jeweler, To
commemorate in incised letters each of the tribes of Israel; On
his turban the diadem of gold, its plate wrought with the insignia
of holiness, Majestic, glorious, renowned for splendor, a delight
to the eyes, beauty supreme. Before him, no one was adorned with
these, nor may they ever be worn by any Except his sons and them
alone, generation after generation, for all time. [Taken from
SIRACH 45:6-13]
For Moses ordained [Aaron] and anointed him with the
holy oil, In a lasting covenant with him and with his family, as
permanent as the heavens, That he should serve God in his
priesthood and bless his people in his name. [Taken from SIRACH 45:15]
[David] added beauty to the feasts and
solemnized the seasons of each year With string music before the
altar, providing sweet melody for the psalms So that when the Holy
Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound. [Taken
from SIRACH 47:9-10]
Except for David, Hezekiah and Josiah, they all
were wicked; They abandoned the Law of the Most High, these kings
of Judah, right to the very end. So he gave over their power to
others, their glory to a foolish foreign nation Who burned the
holy city and left its streets desolate, As Jeremiah had foretold
[Taken from SIRACH 49:4-6]
How can we fittingly praise Zerubbabel, who was
like a signet ring on God's right hand, And Jeshua, Jozadak's son?
In their time they built the house of God; They erected the holy
temple, destined for everlasting glory. [Taken from SIRACH 49:11-12]
The sons of Aaron would sound a blast, the
priests, on their trumpets of beaten metal; A blast to resound
mightily as a reminder before the Most High. Then all the people
with one accord would quickly fall prostrate to the ground In
adoration before the Most High, before the Holy One of Israel. [SIRACH
50:16-17]
Ah! sinful nation, people laden with wickedness,
evil race, corrupt children! They have forsaken the LORD, spurned
the Holy One of Israel, apostatized. [ISA 1:4]
On that day, The branch of the LORD will be
luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and
splendor for the survivors of Israel. He who remains in Zion and
he that is left in Jerusalem will be called holy: every one marked
down for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord washes away the filth of
the daughters of Zion, And purges Jerusalem's blood from her midst
with a blast of searing judgment, Then will the LORD create, over
the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, A
smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. [ISA 4:2-5]
Men shall be abased, each one brought low, and
the eyes of the haughty lowered, But the LORD of hosts shall be
exalted by his judgment, and God the Holy shall be shown holy by
his justice. Woe to those who tug at guilt with cords of
perversity, and at sin as if with cart ropes! To those who say,
"Let him make haste and speed his work, that we may see it;
On with the plan of the Holy One of Israel! let it come to pass,
that we may know it!" Woe to those who call evil good, and
good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into
darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter! Woe
to those who are wise in their own sight, and prudent in their own
esteem! [Taken from ISA 5:15-16,18-21]
Therefore, as the tongue of fire licks up
stubble, as dry grass shrivels in the flame, Even so their root
shall become rotten and their blossom scatter like dust; For they
have spurned the law of the LORD of hosts, and scorned the word of
the Holy One of Israel. [ISA 5:24]
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord
seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment
filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them
had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they
veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft. "Holy,
holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!" they cried one to the
other. "All the earth is filled with his glory!" At the
sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was
filled with smoke. [ISA 6:1-4]
And he replied: Go and say to this people:
Listen carefully, but you shall not understand! Look intently, but
you shall know nothing! You are to make the heart of this people
sluggish, to dull their ears and close their eyes; Else their eyes
will see, their ears hear, their heart understand, and they will
turn and be healed. "How long, O Lord?" I asked. And he
replied: Until the cities are desolate, without inhabitants,
Houses, without a man, and the earth is a desolate waste. Until
the LORD removes men far away, and the land is abandoned more and
more. If there be still a tenth part in it, then this in turn
shall be laid waste; As with a terebinth or an oak whose trunk
remains when its leaves have fallen. (Holy offspring is the
trunk.) [ISA 6:9-13]
The Light of Israel will become a fire, Israel's
Holy One a flame, That burns and consumes his briers and his
thorns in a single day. His splendid forests and orchards will be
consumed, soul and body; And the remnant of the trees in his
forest will be so few, Like poles set up for signals, that any boy
can record them. On that day The remnant of Israel, the survivors
of the house of Jacob, will no more lean upon him who struck them;
But they lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A
remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. [ISA
10:17-21]
But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of
Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the
LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of
fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for
the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of
his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the
wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and
faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest
of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf
and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to
guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together
their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The
baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on
the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy
mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the
LORD, as water covers the sea. [ISA 11:1-9]
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great
in your midst is the Holy One of Israel! [ISA 12:6]
Only a scattering of grapes shall be left! As
when an olive tree has been beaten, Two or three olives remain at
the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches, says the
LORD, the God of Israel. On that day man shall look to his maker,
his eyes turned toward the Holy One of Israel. He shall not look
to the altars, his handiwork, nor shall he regard what his fingers
have made: the sacred poles or the incense stands. [ISA 17:6-8]
On that day, A great trumpet shall blow, and the
lost in the land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of Egypt
Shall come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain, in
Jerusalem. [ISA 27:13]
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and
the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. [ISA 29:19]
When his children see the work of my hands in
his midst, They shall keep my name holy; they shall reverence the
Holy One of Jacob, and be in awe of the God of Israel. [ISA 29:23]
This is a rebellious people, deceitful children,
Children who refuse to obey the law of the LORD. They say to the
seers, "Have no visions"; to the prophets, "Do not
descry for us what is right; speak flatteries to us, conjure up
illusions. Out of the way! Out of our path! Let us hear no more of
the Holy One of Israel." Therefore, thus says the Holy One of
Israel: Because you reject this word, And put your trust in what
is crooked and devious, and depend on it, This guilt of yours
shall be like a descending rift Bulging out in a high wall whose
crash comes suddenly, in an instant. [ISA 30:9-13]
For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of
Israel: By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in
trust your strength lies. But this you did not wish. [ISA 30:15]
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who
depend upon horses; Who put their trust in chariots because of
their number, and in horsemen because of their combined power, But
look not to the Holy One of Israel nor seek the LORD! [ISA 31:1]
A highway will be there, called the holy way; No
one unclean may pass over it, nor fools go astray on it. [ISA
35:8]
Whom have you insulted and blasphemed, against
whom have you raised your voice And lifted up your eyes on high?
Against the Holy One of Israel! [ISA 37:23]
To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the
Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these:
He leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by
name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of
them is missing! Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded
by my God"? Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD
is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not
faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. [ISA
40:25-28]
Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will
help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and
double-edged, To thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the
hills like chaff. When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them
off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the
LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. The afflicted and the
needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not
forsake them. I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and
fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a
marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. I will plant
in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in
the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the
pine, That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the
hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created
it. [ISA 41:14-20]
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O
Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass
through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not
drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the
flames shall not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the
Holy One of Israel, your savior. I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in return for you. Because you are precious in
my eyes and glorious, and because I love you, I give men in return
for you and peoples in exchange for your life. [ISA 43:1-4]
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel: For your sakes I send to Babylon; I will lower all the
bars, and the Chaldeans shall cry out in lamentation. [ISA 43:14]
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of
Israel, your King. [ISA 43:15]
Your first father sinned; your spokesmen
rebelled against me Till I repudiated the holy gates, put Jacob
under the ban, and exposed Israel to scorn. [ISA 43:27-28]
Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, his
maker: You question me about my children, or prescribe the work of
my hands for me! It was I who made the earth and created mankind
upon it; It was my hands that stretched out the heavens; I gave
the order to all their host. [Taken from ISA 45:11-12]
Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter
Babylon; Sit on the ground, dethroned, O daughter of the Chaldeans.
No longer shall you be called dainty and delicate. Take the
millstone and grind flour, remove your veil; Strip off your train,
bare your legs, pass through the streams. Your nakedness shall be
uncovered and your shame be seen; I will take vengeance, I will
yield to no entreaty, says our redeemer, Whose name is the LORD of
hosts, the Holy One of Israel. [ISA 47:1-4]
Hear this, O house of Jacob called by the name
Israel, sprung from the stock of Judah, You who swear by the name
of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel without sincerity or
justice, Though you are named after the holy city and rely on the
God of Israel, whose name is the LORD of hosts. Things of the past
I foretold long ago, they went forth from my mouth, I let you hear
of them; then suddenly I took action and they came to be. [ISA 48:1-3]
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel: I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my
commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your
vindication like the waves of the sea; Your descendants would be
like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, Their
name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. [ISA 48:17-19]
Thus says the LORD, the redeemer and the Holy
One of Israel, To the one despised, whom the nations abhor, the
slave of rulers: When kings see you, they shall stand up, and
princes shall prostrate themselves Because of the LORD who is
faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. [ISA 49:7]
Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put
on your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, holy city. No longer shall
the uncircumcised or the unclean enter you. [ISA 52:1]
The LORD has bared his holy arm in the sight of
all the nations; All the ends of the earth will behold the
salvation of our God. [ISA 52:10]
Fear not, you shall not be put to shame; you
need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced. The shame of your
youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer
remember. For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his
name is the LORD of hosts; Your redeemer is the Holy One of
Israel, called God of all the earth. The LORD calls you back, like
a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and
then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back. [ISA 54:4-7]
Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have
life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits
assured to David. As I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader
and commander of nations, So shall you summon a nation you knew
not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you, Because of
the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his
thoughts; Let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is
generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor
are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are
above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my
thoughts above your thoughts. [ISA 55:3-9]
I will give, in my house and within my walls, a
monument and a name Better than sons and daughters; an eternal,
imperishable name will I give them. And the foreigners who join
themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, Loving the name of the
LORD, and becoming his servants - All who keep the sabbath free
from profanation and hold to my covenant, Them I will bring to my
holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer [Taken from
ISA 56:5-7]
Though worn out by your many misdeeds, you never
said, "It is hopeless"; New strength you found, and so
you did not weaken. Of whom were you afraid? Whom did you fear,
that you became false And did not remember me or give me any
thought? Was I to remain silent and unseeing, so that you would
not have me to fear? I will expose your justice and your works;
They shall not help you when you cry out, nor save you in your
distress. All these the wind shall carry off, the breeze shall
bear away; But he who takes refuge in me shall inherit the land,
and possess my holy mountain. [ISA 57:10-13]
For thus says he who is high and exalted, living
eternally, whose name is the Holy One: On high I dwell, and in
holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, To revive
the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed.
[ISA 57:15]
If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from
following your own pursuits on my holy day; If you call the
sabbath a delight, and the LORD'S holy day honorable; If you honor
it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or
speaking with malice - Then you shall delight in the LORD, and I
will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will nourish you
with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the LORD
has spoken. [ISA 58:13-14]
All the vessels of the sea are assembled, with
the ships of Tarshish in the lead, To bring your children from
afar with their silver and gold, In the name of the LORD, your
God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. [ISA 60:9]
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you: the
cypress, the plane and the pine, To bring beauty to my sanctuary,
and glory to the place where I set my feet. The children of your
oppressors shall come, bowing low before you; All those who
despised you shall fall prostrate at your feet. They shall call
you "City of the LORD," "Zion of the Holy One of
Israel." [Taken from ISA 60:13-14]
See, the LORD proclaims to the ends of the
earth: Say to daughter Zion, your savior comes! Here is his reward
with him, his recompense before him. They shall be called the holy
people, the redeemed of the LORD, And you shall be called
"Frequented," a city that is not forsaken. [ISA 62:11-12]
Look down from heaven and regard us from your
holy and glorious palace! Where is your zealous care and your
might, your surge of pity and your mercy? O Lord, hold not back,
for you are our father. Were Abraham not to know us, nor Israel to
acknowledge us, You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are
named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake
of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Why have the wicked
invaded your holy place, why have our enemies trampled your
sanctuary? Too long have we been like those you do not rule, who
do not bear your name. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and
come down, with the mountains quaking before you [Taken from ISA
63:15-19]
Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay
and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands. Be not so
very angry, LORD, keep not our guilt forever in mind; look upon
us, who are all your people. Your holy cities have become a
desert, Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a waste. Our holy and glorious
temple in which our fathers praised you Has been burned with fire;
all that was dear to us is laid waste. Can you hold back, O LORD,
after all this? Can you remain silent, and afflict us so severely?
[ISA 64:7-11]
Sharon shall be a pasture for the flocks and the
valley of Achor a resting place for the cattle of my people who
have sought me. But you who forsake the LORD, forgetting my holy
mountain, You who spread a table for Fortune and fill cups of
blended wine for Destiny, You I will destine for the sword; you
shall all go down in slaughter. Since I called and you did not
answer, I spoke and you did not listen, But did what was evil in
my sight and preferred things which displease me [Taken from ISA
65:10-12]
The wolf and the lamb shall graze alike, and the
lion shall eat hay like the ox (but the serpent's food shall be
dust). None shall hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says
the LORD. [ISA 65:25]
I come to gather nations of every language; they
shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them; from
them I will send fugitives to the nations: to Tarshish, Put and
Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have
never heard of my fame, or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim
my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brethren
from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in
chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem, my
holy mountain, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their
offering to the house of the LORD in clean vessels. Some of these
I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD. [ISA 66:18-21]
A throne of glory, exalted from the beginning,
such is our holy place. [JER 17:12]
Thus says the LORD: As you love your lives, take
care not to carry burdens on the sabbath day, to bring them in
through the gates of Jerusalem. Bring no burden from your homes on
the sabbath. Do no work whatever, but keep holy the sabbath, as I
commanded your fathers, though they did not listen or give ear,
but stiffened their necks so as not to hear or take correction. If
you obey me wholeheartedly, says the LORD, and carry no burden
through the gates of this city on the sabbath, keeping the sabbath
holy and abstaining from all work on it, then, through the gates
of this city, kings who sit upon the throne of David will continue
to enter, riding in their chariots or upon their horses, along
with their princes, and the men of Judah, and the citizens of
Jerusalem. This city will remain inhabited forever... But if you
do not obey me and keep holy the sabbath, if you carry burdens and
come through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath, I will set
unquenchable fire to its gates, which will consume the palaces of
Jerusalem. [Taken from JER 17:21-25,27]
Concerning the prophets: My heart within me is
broken, my bones all tremble; I am like a man who is drunk,
overcome by wine, Because of the LORD, because of his holy words.
With adulterers the land is filled; on their account the land
mourns, the pasture ranges are seared. Theirs is an evil course,
theirs is unjust power. [JER 23:9-10]
Prophesy against them all these things and say
to them: The LORD roars from on high, from his holy dwelling he
raises his voice; Mightily he roars over the range, a shout like
that of vintagers over the grapes. To all who inhabit the earth to
its very ends the uproar spreads; For the LORD has an indictment
against the nations, he is to pass judgment upon all mankind: The
godless shall be given to the sword, says the LORD. Thus says the
LORD of hosts: Lo! calamity stalks from nation to nation; A great
storm is unleashed from the ends of the earth. [Taken from JER
25:30-32]
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
When I change their lot in the land of Judah and her cities, they
shall again repeat this greeting: "May the LORD bless you,
holy mountain, abode of justice!" [JER 31:23]
The days are coming, says the LORD, when the
city shall be rebuilt as the LORD'S, from the Tower of Hananel to
the Corner Gate. The measuring line shall be stretched from there
straight to the hill Gareb and then turn to Goah. The whole valley
of corpses and ashes, all the slopes toward the Kidron Valley, as
far as the corner of the Horse Gate at the east, shall be holy to
the LORD. Never again shall the city be rooted up or thrown down.
[JER 31:38-40]
Call up against Babylon archers, all who bend
the bow; Encamp around her, let no one escape. Repay her for her
deeds; as she has done, do to her, For she insulted the LORD, the
Holy One of Israel. [JER 50:29]
The slain shall fall in the land of Chaldea, the
transfixed, in her streets; For Israel and Judah are not widowed
of their God, the LORD of hosts, And the Chaldean land is full of
guilt to be punished by the Holy One of Israel. [JER 51:4-5]
You who have escaped the sword, go on, stand not
still; Remember the LORD from afar, let Jerusalem come to your
minds. We are ashamed because we have heard taunts, confusion
covers our faces; strangers have entered the holy places of the
house of the LORD. But behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will punish her idols, and in her whole land the wounded
will groan. Though Babylon scale the heavens, and make her strong
heights inaccessible, destroyers from me shall reach her, says the LORD.
[Taken from JER 51:50-53]
O LORD, look down from your holy dwelling and
take thought of us; turn, O LORD, your ear to hear us. [BARUCH
2:16]
"Fear not, my children; call upon God, who
will deliver you from oppression at enemy hands. I have trusted in
the Eternal God for your welfare, and joy has come to me from the
Holy One Because of the mercy that will swiftly reach you from
your eternal savior. With mourning and lament I sent you forth,
but God will give you back to me with enduring gladness and joy." [BARUCH
4:21-23]
Look to the east, Jerusalem! behold the joy that
comes to you from God. Here come your sons whom you once let go,
gathered in from the east and from the west By the word of the
Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God. [Taken from BARUCH 4:36-37]
Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to
the east and see your children Gathered from the east and the west
at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by
God. Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will
bring them back to you borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones. [Taken
from BARUCH 5:5-6]
I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign
between me and them, to show that it was I, the LORD, who made
them holy. [EZEK 20:12]
I am the LORD, your God: observe my statutes and be careful to keep my ordinances; keep holy my sabbaths, as a sign between me and you to show that I am the LORD, your God. [EZEK 20:19-20]
As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord
GOD: Come, each one of you, destroy your idols! Then listen to me,
and never again profane my holy name with your gifts and your
idols. For on my holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,
says the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel without
exception shall worship me; there I will accept them, and there I
will claim your tributes and the first fruits of your offerings,
and all that you dedicate. As a pleasing odor I will accept you,
when I have brought you from among the nations and gathered you
out of the countries over which you were scattered; and by means
of you I will manifest my holiness in the sight of the nations.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you back to
the land of Israel, the land which I swore to give to your
fathers. There you shall recall your conduct and all the deeds by
which you defiled yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves
because of all the evil things you did. And you shall know that I
am the LORD when I deal with you thus, for my name's sake, and not
according to your evil conduct and corrupt actions, O house of
Israel, says the Lord GOD. [EZEK 20:39-44]
What is holy to me you have spurned, and my
sabbaths you have desecrated. [EZEK 22:8]
Her priests violate my law and profane what is
holy to me; they do not distinguish between the sacred and the
profane, nor teach the difference between the unclean and the
clean; they pay no attention to my sabbaths, so that I have been
profaned in their midst. [EZEK 22:26]
With the Cherub I placed you; you were on the
holy mountain of God, walking among the fiery stones. Blameless
you were in your conduct from the day you were created, Until evil
was found in you, the result of your far-flung trade; violence was
your business, and you sinned. Then I banned you from the mountain
of God; the Cherub drove you from among the fiery stones. You
became haughty of heart because of your beauty; for the sake of
splendor you debased your wisdom. I cast you to the earth, so
great was your guilt; I made you a spectacle in the sight of
kings. [EZEK 28:14-17]
Son of man, look toward Sidon, and prophesy
against it: Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst. Then they shall know that I am
the LORD, when I inflict punishments upon it and use it to
manifest my holiness. Into it I will send pestilence, and blood
shall flow in its streets. Within it shall fall those slain by the
sword that comes against it from every side. Thus they shall know
that I am the LORD. Sidon shall no longer be a tearing thorn for
the house of Israel, a brier that scratches them more than all the
others about them who despise them; thus they shall know that I am
the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of
Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, then I will
manifest my holiness through them in the sight of the nations.
Then they shall live on their land which I gave to my servant
Jacob; they shall live on it in security, building houses and
planting vineyards. They shall dwell secure while I inflict
punishments on all their neighbors who despised them; thus they
shall know that I, the LORD, am their God. [EZEK 28:21-26]
Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of
man, when the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it
by their conduct and deeds... Therefore I poured out my fury upon
them (because of the blood which they poured out on the ground,
and because they defiled it with idols). I scattered them among
the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to
their conduct and deeds I judged them. But when they came among
the nations (wherever they came), they served to profane my holy
name, because it was said of them: "These are the people of
the LORD, yet they had to leave their land." So I have
relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel
profaned among the nations where they came. Therefore say to the
house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sakes do I
act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you
profaned among the nations to which you came. I will prove the
holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose
midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am
the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my
holiness through you. [Taken from EZEK 36:16-23]
Tell them: Thus speaks the Lord GOD: I will take
the Israelites from among the nations to which they have come, and
gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I
will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of
Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again
shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided
into two kingdoms. No longer shall they defile themselves with
their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I
will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse
them so that they may be my people and I may be their God. My
servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one
shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and
carefully observe my decrees. They shall live on the land which I
gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they
shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their
children's children, with my servant David their prince forever. I
will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put
my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling shall be with them; I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus the nations
shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my
sanctuary shall be set up among them forever. [EZEK 37:21-28]
You shall come up against my people Israel like a cloud
covering the land. In the last days I will bring you against my
land, that the nations may know of me, when in their sight I prove
my holiness through you, O Gog. [EZEK 38:16]
Against him I will summon every terror, says the Lord GOD,
every man's sword against his brother. I will hold judgment with
him in pestilence and bloodshed; flooding rain and hailstones,
fire and brimstone, I will rain upon him, upon his troops, and
upon the many peoples with him. I will prove my greatness and
holiness and make myself known in the sight of many nations; thus
they shall know that I am the LORD. [EZEK 38:21-23]
I will make my holy name known among my people
Israel; I will no longer allow my holy name to be profaned. Thus
the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
[EZEK 39:7]
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the
fortunes of Jacob and have pity on the whole house of Israel, and
I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their
disgrace and all the times they broke faith with me, when they
live in security on their land with no one to frighten them. When
I bring them back from among the peoples, I will gather them from
the lands of their enemies, and will prove my holiness through
them in the sight of many nations. Thus they shall know that I,
the LORD, am their God, since I who exiled them among the nations,
will gather them back on their land, not leaving any of them
behind. No longer will I hide my face from them, for I have poured
out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD. [EZEK
39:25-29]
He measured the space beyond the nave, twenty
cubits long and twenty cubits wide, and said to me, "This is
the holy of holies." [EZEK 41:4]
The way into the nave was a square doorframe. In
front of the holy place was something that looked like a wooden
altar, three cubits in height, two cubits long, and two cubits
wide. It had corners, and its base and sides were of wood. He said
to me, "This is the table which is before the LORD." The
nave had a double door, and also the holy place had a double door.
Each door had two movable leaves; two leaves were on one doorjamb
and two on the other. Carved upon them (on the doors of the nave)
were cherubim and palm trees, like those carved on the walls.
Before the vestibule outside was a wooden lattice. [EZEK 41:21-25]
He said to me, "The north and south chambers which border on the free area are the sanctuary chambers; here the priests who draw near to the LORD shall eat the most sacred meals, and here they shall keep the most sacred offerings: cereal offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings; for it is a holy place. When the priests have once entered, they shall not leave the holy place for the outer court until they have left here the clothing in which they ministered, for it is holy. They shall put on other garments, and then approach the place destined for the people."
[EZEK 42:13-14]
Then I heard someone speaking to me from the
temple, while the man stood beside me. The voice said to me: Son
of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set
the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the Israelites
forever. Never again shall they and their kings profane my holy
name with their harlotries and with the corpses of their kings
(their high places). When they placed their threshold against my
threshold and their doorpost next to mine, so that only a wall was
between us, they profaned my holy name by their abominable deeds;
therefore I consumed them in my wrath. From now on they shall put
far from me their harlotry and the corpses of their kings, and I
will dwell in their midst forever. [EZEK 43:6-9]
When [the priests] are to go out to the people in the outer court, they
shall take off the garments in which they ministered and leave
them in the chambers of the sanctuary, putting on other garments;
thus they will not transmit holiness to the people with their
garments. [Taken from EZEK 44:19]
When you apportion the land into inheritances,
you shall set apart a sacred tract of land for the LORD,
twenty-five thousand cubits long and twenty thousand wide; its
whole area shall be sacred. Of this land a square plot, five
hundred by five hundred cubits, surrounded by a free space of
fifty cubits, shall be assigned to the sanctuary. Also from this
sector measure off a strip, twenty-five thousand cubits long and
ten thousand wide, within which shall be the sanctuary, the holy
of holies. This shall be the sacred part of the land belonging to
the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who draw near to
minister to the LORD; it shall be a place for their homes and
pasture land for their cattle. [EZEK 45:1-4]
So that they do not have to take them into the outer court at the risk of transmitting holiness to the
people. [Taken from EZEK 46:20]
In the fire Azariah stood up and prayed aloud:
"Blessed are you, and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our
fathers, and glorious forever is your name. For you are just in
all you have done; all your deeds are faultless, all your ways
right, and your judgments proper. You have executed proper
judgments in all that you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem,
the holy city of our fathers. By a proper judgment you have done
all this because of our sins; For we have sinned and transgressed
by departing from you, and we have done every kind of evil. Your
commandments we have not heeded or observed, nor have we done as
you ordered us for our good. Therefore all you have brought upon
us, all you have done to us, you have done by a proper judgment.
You have handed us over to our enemies, lawless and hateful
rebels; to an unjust king, the worst in all the world. Now we
cannot open our mouths; we, your servants, who revere you, have
become a shame and a reproach. For you name's sake, do not deliver
us up forever, or make void your covenant. Do not take away your
mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your
servant, and Israel your holy one, To whom you promised to
multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on
the shores of the sea. For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any
other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because
of our sins." [Taken from DAN 3:25-37]
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our
fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed
is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all
for all ages. Blessed are you in the temple of you holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever. Blessed are you on
the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all
forever. Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne
upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and
glorious forever. Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever." [Taken from DAN 3:52-57]
Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt him above all forever. [DAN 3:87]
Finally there came before me Daniel, whose name
is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the
spirit of the holy God. I repeated the dream to him: "Belteshazzar,
chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy God is
in you and no mystery is too difficult for you; tell me the
meaning of the visions that I saw in my dream." [Taken from
DAN
4:5-6]
Then King Belshazzar was greatly terrified; his
face went ashen, and his lords were thrown into confusion. When
the queen heard of the discussion between the king and his lords,
she entered the banquet hall and said, "O king, live forever!
Be not troubled in mind, nor look so pale! There is a man in your
kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy God; during the lifetime
of your father he was seen to have brilliant knowledge and
god-like wisdom. In fact, King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made
him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and
astrologers, because of the extraordinary mind possessed by this
Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. He knew and understood
how to interpret dreams, explain enigmas, and solve difficulties.
Now therefore, summon Daniel to tell you what this means." [DAN
5:9-12]
As he spoke to me, I fell forward in a faint; he
touched me and made me stand up. "I will show you," he
said, "what is to happen later in the period of wrath; for at
the appointed time, there will be an end. The two-horned ram
you saw represents the kings of the Medes and Persians. The
he-goat is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn on its
forehead is the first king. The four that rose in its place when
it was broken are four kingdoms that will issue from his nation,
but without his strength. After their reign, when sinners
have reached their measure, There shall arise a king, impudent and
skilled in intrigue. He shall be strong and powerful, bring about
fearful ruin, and succeed in his undertaking. He shall destroy
powerful peoples; his cunning shall be against the holy ones, his
treacherous conduct shall succeed. He shall be proud of heart and
destroy many by stealth. But when he rises against the prince of
princes, he shall be broken without a hand being raised. The
vision of the evenings and the mornings is true, as spoken; Do
you, however, keep this vision undisclosed, because the days are
to be many." [DAN 8:18-26]
O Lord, in keeping with all your just deeds, let
your anger and your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem,
your holy mountain. On account of our sins and the crimes of our
fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become the reproach of all
our neighbors. [Taken from DAN 9:16]
"Seventy weeks are decreed for your people
and for your holy city: Then transgression will stop and sin will
end, guilt will be expiated, Everlasting justice will be
introduced, vision and prophecy ratified, and a most holy will be
anointed." [Taken from DAN 9:24]
The man clothed in linen, who was upstream,
lifted his right and left hands to heaven; and I heard him swear
by him who lives forever that it should be for a year, two years,
a half-year; and that, when the power of the destroyer of the holy
people was brought to an end, all these things should end. [Taken
from DAN
12:7]
How could I give you up, O Ephraim, or deliver
you up, O Israel? How could I treat you as Admah, or make you like
Zeboiim? My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not
give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again;
For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will
not let the flames consume you. [HOSEA 11:8-9]
Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house
of Israel, with deceit; Judah is still rebellious against God,
against the Holy One, who is faithful. [HOSEA 12:1]
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my
holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day
of the LORD is coming; Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of
gloom, a day of clouds and somberness! Like dawn spreading over
the mountains, a people numerous and mighty! Their like has not
been from of old, nor will it be after them, even to the years of
distant generations. [JOEL 2:1-2]
Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your
God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain; Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall pass through her no more. [JOEL 4:17]
For near is the day of the LORD for all the
nations! As you have done, so shall it be done to you, your deed
shall come back upon your own head; As you have drunk upon my holy
mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually. Yes, they
shall drink and swallow, and shall become as though they had not
been. But on Mount Zion there shall be a portion
saved; the mountain shall be holy, And the house of Jacob shall
take possession of those that dispossessed them. The house of
Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; The house
of Esau shall be stubble, and they shall set them ablaze and
devour them; Then none shall survive of the house of Esau, for the
LORD has spoken. [OBAD 1:15-18]
Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he
answered me; From the midst of the nether world I cried for help,
and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the
heart of the sea, and the flood enveloped me; All your breakers
and your billows passed over me. Then I said, "I am banished
from your sight! yet would I again look upon your holy
temple." The waters swirled about me, threatening my life;
the abyss enveloped me; seaweed clung about my head. Down I went
to the roots of the mountains; the bars of the nether world were
closing behind me forever, But you brought my life up from the
pit, O LORD, my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered
the LORD; My prayer reached you in your holy temple. [Taken from
JONAH 2:3-8]
Hear, O peoples, all of you, give heed, O earth,
and all that fills you! Let the Lord GOD be witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple! For see, the LORD comes forth from
his place, he descends and treads upon the heights of the earth.
The mountains melt under him and the valleys split open, Like wax
before the fire, like water poured down a slope. [Taken from MICAH
1:2-4]
Are you not from eternity, O LORD, my holy God,
immortal? O LORD you have marked him for judgment, O Rock, you
have readied him for punishment! Too pure are your eyes to look
upon evil, and the sight of misery you cannot endure. Why, then,
do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man
devours one more just than himself? [HAB 1:12-13]
But the LORD is in his holy temple; silence
before him, all the earth! [HAB 2:20]
God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount
Paran. Covered are the heavens with his glory, and with his praise
the earth is filled. His splendor spreads like the light; rays
shine forth from beside him, where his power is concealed. Before
him goes pestilence, and the plague follows in his steps. He
pauses to survey the earth; his look makes the nations tremble.
The eternal mountains are shattered, the age-old hills bow low
along his ancient ways. [Taken from HAB 3:3-6]
On that day You need not be ashamed of all your
deeds, your rebellious actions against me; For then will I remove
from your midst the proud braggarts, And you shall no longer exalt
yourself on my holy mountain. But I will leave as a remnant in
your midst a people humble and lowly, Who shall take refuge in the
name of the LORD; the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a
deceitful tongue; They shall pasture and couch their flocks with
none to disturb them. [ZEPH 3:11-13]
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am
coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join
themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people,
and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of
hosts has sent me to you. The LORD will possess Judah as his
portion of the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem.
Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the LORD! for he stirs
forth from his holy dwelling. [ZECH 2:14-17]
This word of the LORD of hosts came: Thus says
the LORD of hosts: I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred to
jealous wrath for her. Thus says the LORD: I will return to Zion,
and I will dwell within Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the
faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy
mountain. [Taken from ZECH 8:1-3]
And the valley of the LORD'S mountain shall be
filled up when the valley of those two mountains reaches its edge;
it shall be filled up as it was filled up by the earthquake in the
days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, shall come,
and all his holy ones with him. On that day there shall no longer
be cold or frost. There shall be one continuous day, known to the
LORD, not day and night, for in the evening time there shall be
light. On that day, living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half
to the eastern sea, and half to the western sea, and it shall be
so in summer and in winter. The LORD shall become king over the
whole earth; on that day the LORD shall be the only one, and his
name the only one. [Taken from ZECH 14:5-9]
All who are left of all the nations that came
against Jerusalem shall come up year after year to worship the
King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of Booths. If
any of the families of the earth does not come up to Jerusalem to
worship the King, the LORD of hosts, no rain shall fall upon them.
And if the family of Egypt does not come up, or enter, upon them
shall fall the plague which the LORD will inflict upon all the
nations that do not come up to celebrate the feast of Booths. This
shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the
nations that do not come up to celebrate the feast of Booths. On
that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, "Holy
to the LORD." The pots in the house of the LORD shall be as
the libation bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem
and in Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts [Taken from ZECH
14:16-21]
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is
written: 'He will command his angels concerning you' and 'with
their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against
a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "Again it is written,
'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'" [Taken
from MT 4:5-7]
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw
your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and
turn and tear you to pieces." [MT 7:6]
"When you see the desolating abomination
spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place
(let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the
mountains, a person on the housetop must not go down to get things
out of his house, a person in the field must not return to get his
cloak. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days.
Pray that your flight not be in winter or on the sabbath, for at
that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been
since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be. And
if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but
for the sake of the elect they will be shortened. If anyone says
to you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is!' do
not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and
they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if
that were possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told it to you
beforehand. So if they say to you, 'He is in the desert,' do not
go out there; if they say, 'He is in the inner rooms,' do not
believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen
as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be." [MT
24:15-27]
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole
land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"
which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "This one is
calling for Elijah." Immediately one of them ran to get a
sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to
him to drink. But the rest said, "Wait, let us see if Elijah
comes to save him." But Jesus cried out again in a loud
voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the
sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked,
rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints
who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their
tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and
appeared to many. The centurion and the men with him who were
keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the
earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, "Truly,
this was the Son of God!" [MT 27:45-54]
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean
spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the
Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet!
Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a
loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another,
"What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands
even the unclean spirits and they obey him." His fame spread
everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee. [MK 1:23-28]
Herod was the one who had John arrested and
bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother
Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is
not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias
harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was
unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous
and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he
was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. [MK 6:17-20]
"Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this
faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
[MK 8:38]
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the
greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he
has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will
all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for
me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those
who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the
arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from
their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled
with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped
Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his
promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants
forever." [LK 1:46-55]
Then Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of
David his servant, even as he promised through the mouth of his
holy prophets from of old: salvation from our enemies and from the
hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to be
mindful of his holy covenant and of the oath he swore to Abraham
our father, and to grant us that, rescued from the hand of
enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and
righteousness before him all our days." [Taken from LK 1:67-75]
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit
of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, "Ha!
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" Jesus
rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Then
the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him
without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one
another, "What is there about his word? For with authority
and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come
out." And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding
region. [LK 4:33-37]
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the
Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in
the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. [LK 9:26]
Then many of his disciples who were listening
said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since
Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said
to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the
Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that
gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have
spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who
do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who
would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father." As a result of this,
many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and
no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do
you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him,
"Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the
Holy One of God." [Taken from JN 6:60-69]
"And now I will no longer be in the world, but
they are in the world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep
them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one
just as we are." [Taken from JN 17:11]
You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus
the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds,
wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as
you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and
foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify
him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of
death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For
David says of him: 'I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my
right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been
glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will
you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to
me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch
David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to
this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn
an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his
throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh
see corruption. God raised this Jesus; of this we are all
witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the
promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as
you (both) see and hear. [ACTS 2:22-33]
When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,
"You Israelites, why are you amazed at this, and why do you
look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power
or piety? The God of Abraham, (the God) of Isaac, and (the God) of
Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence, when he had
decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and
asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you
put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are
witnesses. And by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and
know, his name has made strong, and the faith that comes through
it has given him this perfect health, in the presence of all of
you. Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just
as your leaders did; but God has thus brought to fulfillment what
he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be wiped away, and that the Lord may
grant you times of refreshment and send you the Messiah already
appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the times
of universal restoration of which God spoke through the mouth of
his holy prophets from of old. For Moses said: 'A prophet like me
will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own
kinsmen; to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.
Everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be cut off from
the people.'" [Taken from ACTS 3:12-23]
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