Ezekiel 29:1-21

(1)  In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

(2)  "Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt;

(3)  speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.'

(4)  I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales.

(5)  And I will cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your streams; you shall fall on the open field, and not be brought together or gathered. To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens I give you as food.

(6)  Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. "Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel;

(7)  when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.

(8)  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast,

(9)  and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. "Because you said, 'The Nile is mine, and I made it,'

(10)  therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.

(11)  No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.

(12)  And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.

(13)  "For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,

(14)  and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.

(15)  It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations.

(16)  And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD."

(17)  In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

(18)  "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her.

(19)  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.

(20)  I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD.

(21)  "On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Matthew 16:1-28

(1)  And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

(2)  He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'

(3)  And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

(4)  An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.

(5)  When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.

(6)  Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

(7)  And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."

(8)  But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?

(9)  Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?

(10)  Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?

(11)  How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

(12)  Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

(13)  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

(14)  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

(15)  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

(16)  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

(17)  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

(18)  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

(19)  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

(20)  Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

(21)  From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

(22)  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."

(23)  But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

(24)  Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

(25)  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

(26)  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?

(27)  For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

(28)  Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

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