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Give thanks to the LORD, proclaim his greatness; tell the nations what he has done.
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Sing praise to the LORD; tell the wonderful things he has done.
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Be glad that we belong to him; let all who worship him rejoice.
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Go to the LORD for help; and worship him continually.
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You descendants of Abraham, his servant; you descendants of Jacob, the man he chose: remember the miracles that God performed and the judgments that he gave.
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The LORD is our God; his commands are for all the world.
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He will keep his covenant forever, his promises for a thousand generations.
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He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham and his promise to Isaac.
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The LORD made a covenant with Jacob, one that will last forever.
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"I will give you the land of Canaan," he said. "It will be your own possession."
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God's people were few in number, strangers in the land of Canaan.
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They wandered from country to country, from one kingdom to another.
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But God let no one oppress them; to protect them, he warned the kings:
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"Don't harm my chosen servants; do not touch my prophets."
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The LORD sent famine to their country and took away all their food.
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But he sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
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His feet were kept in chains, and an iron collar was around his neck,
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until what he had predicted came true. The word of the LORD proved him right.
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Then the king of Egypt had him released; the ruler of nations set him free.
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He put him in charge of his government and made him ruler over all the land,
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with power over the king's officials and authority to instruct his advisers.
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Then Jacob went to Egypt and settled in that country.
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The LORD gave many children to his people and made them stronger than their enemies.
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He made the Egyptians hate his people and treat his servants with deceit.
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Then he sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
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They did God's mighty acts and performed miracles in Egypt.
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God sent darkness on the country, but the Egyptians did not obey his command.
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He turned their rivers into blood and killed all their fish.
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Their country was overrun with frogs; even the palace was filled with them.
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God commanded, and flies and gnats swarmed throughout the whole country.
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He sent hail and lightning on their land instead of rain;
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he destroyed their grapevines and fig trees and broke down all the trees.
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He commanded, and the locusts came, countless millions of them;
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they ate all the plants in the land; they ate all the crops.
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He killed the first-born sons of all the families of Egypt.
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Then he led the Israelites out; they carried silver and gold, and all of them were healthy and strong.
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The Egyptians were afraid of them and were glad when they left.
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God put a cloud over his people and a fire at night to give them light.
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They asked, and he sent quails; he gave them food from heaven to satisfy them.
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He opened a rock, and water gushed out, flowing through the desert like a river.
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He remembered his sacred promise to Abraham his servant.
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So he led his chosen people out, and they sang and shouted for joy.
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He gave them the lands of other peoples and let them take over their fields,
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so that his people would obey his laws and keep all his commands. Praise the LORD!
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In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, Baruch wrote down what I had dictated to him. Then I told him
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that the LORD, the God of Israel, had said, "Baruch,
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you are saying, 'I give up! The LORD has added sorrow to my troubles. I am worn out from groaning, and I can't find any rest!'
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"But I, the LORD, am tearing down what I have built and pulling up what I have planted. I will do this to the entire earth.
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Are you looking for special treatment for yourself ? Don't do it. I am bringing disaster on all people, but you will at least escape with your life, wherever you go. I, the LORD, have spoken."
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The LORD spoke to me about the nations,
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beginning with Egypt. This is what he said about the army of King Neco of Egypt, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia defeated at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah:
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"The Egyptian officers shout, 'Get your shields ready and march into battle!
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Harness your horses and mount them! Fall in line and put on your helmets! Sharpen your spears! Put on your armor!'
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"But what do I see?" asks the LORD. "They are turning back in terror. Their soldiers are beaten back; overcome with fear, they run as fast as they can and do not look back.
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Those who run fast cannot get away; the soldiers cannot escape. In the north, by the Euphrates, they stumble and fall.
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Who is this that rises like the Nile, like a river flooding its banks?
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It is Egypt, rising like the Nile, like a river flooding its banks. Egypt said, 'I will rise and cover the world; I will destroy cities and the people who live there.
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Command the horses to go and the chariots to roll! Send out the soldiers: men from Ethiopia and Libya, carrying shields, and skilled archers from Lydia.' "
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This is the day of the Sovereign LORD Almighty: today he will take revenge; today he will punish his enemies. His sword will eat them until it is full, and drink their blood until it is satisfied. Today the Almighty sacrifices his victims in the north, by the Euphrates.
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People of Egypt, go to Gilead and look for medicine! All your medicine has proved useless; nothing can heal you.
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Nations have heard of your shame; everyone has heard you cry. One soldier trips over another, and both of them fall to the ground.
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When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia came to attack Egypt, the LORD spoke to me. He said,
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"Proclaim it in the towns of Egypt, in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes: 'Get ready to defend yourselves; all you have will be destroyed in war!
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Why has your mighty god Apis fallen? The LORD has struck him down!'
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Your soldiers have stumbled and fallen; each one says to the other, 'Hurry! Let's go home to our people and escape the enemy's sword!'
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"Give the king of Egypt a new name--- 'Noisy Braggart Who Missed His Chance.'
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I, the LORD Almighty, am king. I am the living God. As Mount Tabor towers above the mountains and Mount Carmel stands high above the sea, so will be the strength of the one who attacks you.
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Get ready to be taken prisoner, you people of Egypt! Memphis will be made a desert, a ruin where no one lives.
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Egypt is like a splendid cow, attacked by a stinging fly from the north.
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Even her hired soldiers are helpless as calves. They did not stand and fight; all of them turned and ran. The day of their doom had arrived, the time of their destruction.
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Egypt runs away, hissing like a snake, as the enemy's army approaches. They attack her with axes, like people cutting down trees
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and destroying a thick forest. Their soldiers are too many to count; they outnumber the locusts.
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The people of Egypt are put to shame; they are conquered by the people of the north. I, the LORD, have spoken."
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The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "I am going to punish Amon, the god of Thebes, together with Egypt and its gods and kings. I am going to take the king of Egypt and all who put their trust in him,
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and hand them over to those who want to kill them, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army. But later on, people will live in Egypt again, as they did in times past. I, the LORD, have spoken.
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"My people, do not be afraid, people of Israel, do not be terrified. I will rescue you from that faraway land, from the land where you are prisoners. You will come back home and live in peace; you will be secure, and no one will make you afraid.
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I will come to you and save you. I will destroy all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not destroy you. I will not let you go unpunished; but when I punish you, I will be fair. I, the LORD, have spoken."
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Before the king of Egypt attacked Gaza, the LORD spoke to me about Philistia.
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He said: "Look! Waters are rising in the north and will rush like a river in flood. They will cover the land and everything on it, cities and the people who live there. People will call out for help; everyone on earth will cry bitterly.
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They will hear the hoofbeats of horses, the clatter of chariots, the rumble of wheels. Parents will not turn back for their children; their hands will hang limp at their sides.
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The time has come to destroy Philistia, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon all the help that remains. I, the LORD, will destroy the Philistines, all who came from the shores of Crete.
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Great sorrow has come to the people of Gaza, and Ashkelon's people are silent. How long will the rest of Philistia mourn?
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You cry out, 'Sword of the LORD! How long will you go on slashing? Go back to your scabbard, stay there and rest!'
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But how can it rest, when I have given it work to do? I have commanded it to attack Ashkelon and the people who live on the coast."
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After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened.
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Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together.
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Simon Peter said to the others, "I am going fishing." "We will come with you," they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing.
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As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water's edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
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Then he asked them, "Young men, haven't you caught anything?" "Not a thing," they answered.
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He said to them, "Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some." So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish.
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The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off ) and jumped into the water.
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The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away.
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When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread.
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Then Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
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Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear.
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Jesus said to them, "Come and eat." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord.
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So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish.
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This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from death.
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After they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" "Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Take care of my lambs."
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A second time Jesus said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," he answered, "you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep."
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A third time Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter became sad because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" and so he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!" Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep.
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I am telling you the truth: when you were young, you used to get ready and go anywhere you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you up and take you where you don't want to go."
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(In saying this, Jesus was indicating the way in which Peter would die and bring glory to God.) Then Jesus said to him, "Follow me!"
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Peter turned around and saw behind him that other disciple, whom Jesus loved---the one who had leaned close to Jesus at the meal and had asked, "Lord, who is going to betray you?"
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When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"
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Jesus answered him, "If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!"
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So a report spread among the followers of Jesus that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say he would not die; he said, "If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you?"
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He is the disciple who spoke of these things, the one who also wrote them down; and we know that what he said is true.
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Now, there are many other things that Jesus did. If they were all written down one by one, I suppose that the whole world could not hold the books that would be written.
