The LORD Almighty says, "Wake up, sword, and attack the shepherd who works for me! Kill him, and the sheep will be scattered. I will attack my people

Some day there will be a king who rules with integrity, and national leaders who govern with justice.

Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a place to hide from storms. They will be like streams flowing in a desert, like the shadow of a giant rock in a barren land.

and he will bring peace. When the Assyrians invade our country and break through our defenses, we will send our strongest leaders to fight them.

The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. "This man was really the Son of God!" he said.

So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Look! Here is the man!"

All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free.

For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!"

You see, then, how great he was. Abraham, our famous ancestor, gave him one tenth of all he got in the battle.

But Jesus lives on forever, and his work as priest does not pass on to someone else.

Every high priest is appointed to present offerings and animal sacrifices to God, and so our High Priest must also have something to offer.

Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then he sat down at the right side of God.

Listen then, Joshua, you who are the High Priest; and listen, you fellow priests of his, you that are the sign of a good future: I will reveal my servant, who is called The Branch!

Come and save this grapevine that you planted, this young vine you made grow so strong!

Preserve and protect the people you have chosen, the nation you made so strong.

The time is coming when the LORD will make every plant and tree in the land grow large and beautiful. All the people of Israel who survive will take delight and pride in the crops that the land produces.

The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.

It was the will of the LORD that his servant grow like a plant taking root in dry ground. He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing that would draw us to him.

The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land.

At that time I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will do what is right and just throughout the land.

Our God is merciful and tender. He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us

Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth."

The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the LORD: "You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit.

Another message came to me from the LORD.

"Have courage! You are now hearing the same words the prophets spoke at the time the foundation was being laid for rebuilding my Temple.

And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it.

and said, "This man said, 'I am able to tear down God's Temple and three days later build it back up.' "

"We heard him say, 'I will tear down this Temple which men have made, and after three days I will build one that is not made by men.' "

People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: "Aha! You were going to tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days!

Jesus answered, "Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again."

But the temple Jesus was speaking about was his body.

For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building.

You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself.

In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.

A man who builds a house receives more honor than the house itself. In the same way Jesus is worthy of much greater honor than Moses.

Every house, of course, is built by someone---and God is the one who has built all things.

Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable.

Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.