The Return from Egypt. 19When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said,^f “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.”^* 21He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod,^* he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. 23^{* g} He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”

24The woman bore a son and named him Samson, and when the boy grew up the LORD blessed him.
25The spirit of the LORD came upon him for the first time^h in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Marriage of Samson.
1Samson went down to Timnah where he saw one of the Philistine women.
2On his return he told his father and mother, “I saw in Timnah a woman, a Philistine. Get her for me as a wife.”
3 His father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among your kinsfolk or among all your people, that you must go and take a woman from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson answered his father, “Get her for me, for she is the one I want.”
4 Now his father and mother did not know that this had been brought about by the LORD, who was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines; for at that time they ruled over Israel.

3Thus says the LORD:

I have returned to Zion,

and I will dwell within Jerusalem;

Jerusalem will be called the faithful city,^{* b}

and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.

4Thus says the LORD of hosts:

Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of old age.^c 5The city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.

6Thus says the LORD of hosts:

Even if this should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it seem impossible in my eyes also?^d—oracle of the LORD of hosts.

7Thus says the LORD of hosts:

I am going to rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting sun. 8I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God,^e in faithfulness and justice.

9Thus says the LORD of hosts:

Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words which were spoken by the prophets when the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid^* for the building of the temple.^f 10For before those days, there were no wages for people, nor hire for animals. Those who came and went were not safe from the enemy, for I set neighbor against neighbor. 11But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in former days—oracle of the LORD of hosts.

12For there will be a sowing of peace:

the vine will yield its fruit,

the land will yield its crops,

and the heavens^* will yield their dew.

I will give all these things to the remnant of this people to possess.

Jesus, Superior to Moses.^* 1Therefore, holy “brothers,” sharing in a heavenly calling, reflect on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2who was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was “faithful in [all] his house.”^a 3But he is worthy of more “glory” than Moses, as the founder of a house has more “honor” than the house itself.^b 4Every house is founded by someone, but the founder of all is God. 5Moses was “faithful in all his house” as a “servant” to testify to what would be spoken, 6^{* c} but Christ was faithful as a son placed over his house. We are his house, if [only] we hold fast to our confidence and pride in our hope.

Renewal in Christ.^* 17So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds;ⁿ 18darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart,^o 19they have become callous and have handed themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of every kind of impurity to excess.^p 20That is not how you learned Christ, 21assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, 22that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires,^q 23and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,^r 24and put on^* the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.^s