Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

³Jesus left Judea and started for Galilee again. ⁴This time he had to go through Samaria, ⁵and on his way he came to the town of Sychar. It was near the field that Jacob had long ago given to his son Joseph. ^6-8The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and after Jesus' disciples had gone into town to buy some food, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.
Jesus asked her, "Would you please give me a drink of water?"
⁹"You are a Jew," she replied, "and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won't have anything to do with each other?"
¹⁰Jesus answered, "You don't know what God wants to give you, and you don't know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life."
¹¹"Sir," the woman said, "you don't even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water? ¹²Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?"
¹³Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give is like a flowing fountain that gives eternal life."
¹⁵The woman replied, "Sir, please give me a drink of that water! Then I won't get thirsty and have to come to this well again."
¹⁶Jesus told her, "Go and bring your husband."
^17-18The woman answered, "I don't have a husband."
"That's right," Jesus replied, "you're telling the truth. You don't have a husband. You have already been married five times, and the man you are now living with isn't your husband."
¹⁹The woman said, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰My ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship."
²¹Jesus said to her:

Believe me, the time is coming when you won't worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans don't really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using us, God will save the world. ²³But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. ²⁴God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.

²⁵The woman said, "I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
²⁶"I am that one," Jesus told her, "and I am speaking to you now."

David Gets Ready To Bring
the Sacred Chest to Jerusalem

1 Chronicles 15 David had several buildings built in Jerusalem, and he had a tent set up where the sacred chest would be kept. ²He said, "Only Levites will be allowed to carry the chest, because the LORD has chosen them to do that work and to serve him forever."
³Next, David invited everyone to come to Jerusalem and watch the sacred chest being carried to the place he had set up for it. ⁴He also sent for Aaron's descendants and for the Levites. The Levites that came were: ⁵Uriel, the leader of the Kohath clan, and one hundred twenty of his relatives; ⁶Asaiah, the leader of the Merari clan, and two hundred twenty of his relatives; ⁷Joel, the leader of the Gershon clan, and one hundred thirty of his relatives; ⁸Shemaiah, the leader of the Elizaphan clan, and two hundred of his relatives; ⁹Eliel, the leader of the Hebron clan, and eighty of his relatives; and ¹⁰Amminadab, the leader of the Uzziel clan, with one hundred twelve of his relatives.
¹¹David called together these six Levites and the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar. ¹²He said to them, "You are the leaders of the clans in the Levi tribe. You and your relatives must first go through the ceremony to make yourselves clean and acceptable to the LORD. Then you may carry the sacred chest that belongs to the LORD God of Israel and bring it to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³The first time we tried to bring the chest to Jerusalem, we didn't ask the LORD what he wanted us to do. He was angry at us, because you Levites weren't there to carry the chest."
¹⁴The priests and the Levites made themselves clean. They were now ready to carry the sacred chest ¹⁵on poles that rested on their shoulders, just as the LORD had told Moses to do.
¹⁶David then told the leaders to choose some Levites to sing and play music on small harps, other stringed instruments, and cymbals. ^17-21The men chosen to play the cymbals were Heman the son of Joel, his relative Asaph the son of Berechiah, and Ethan the son of Kushaiah from the Merari clan. Some of their assistants played the smaller harps: they were Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah. Others played the larger harps: they were Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and two of the temple guards, Obed-Edom and Jeiel.
²²Chenaniah was chosen to be the music director, because he was a skilled musician.
^23-24Four Levites were then appointed to guard the sacred chest. They were Berechiah, Elkanah, Obed-Edom, and Jehiah.
Finally, David chose priests to walk in front of the sacred chest and blow trumpets. They were Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer.

The Sacred Chest Is Brought to Jerusalem
(2 Samuel 6.12-22)

²⁵David, the leaders of Israel, and the army commanders were very happy as they went to Obed-Edom's house to get the sacred chest. ²⁶God gave the Levites the strength they needed to carry the chest, and so they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
²⁷David, the Levites, Chenaniah the music director, and all the musicians were wearing linen robes, and David was also wearing a linen cloth. ²⁸While the sacred chest was being carried into Jerusalem, everyone was celebrating by shouting and playing music on horns, trumpets, cymbals, harps, and other stringed instruments.
²⁹Saul's daughter Michal looked out her window and watched the chest being brought into David's City. But when she saw David jumping and dancing in honor of the LORD, she was disgusted.
1 Chronicles 16 They put the sacred chest inside the tent that David had set up for it, then they offered sacrifices to please the LORD and sacrifices to ask his blessing. ²After David had finished, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD ³and gave every person in the crowd a small loaf of bread, some meat, and a handful of raisins.
⁴David appointed some of the Levites to serve at the sacred chest; they were to play music and sing praises to the LORD God of Israel. ⁵Asaph was their leader, and Zechariah was his assistant. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and another man named Jeiel were appointed to play small harps and stringed instruments. Asaph himself played the cymbals, ⁶and the two priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets every day in front of the sacred chest.

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Olive Trees

Zechariah 4 The angel who explained the visions woke me from what seemed like sleep. ²Then he asked, "What do you see?"
"A solid gold lampstand with an oil container above it," I answered. "On the stand are seven lamps, each with seven flames. ³One olive tree is on the right side and another on the left of the oil container. ⁴But, sir, what do these mean?"
⁵Then he asked, "Don't you know?"
"No sir," I replied.
⁶So the angel explained that it was the following message of the LORD to Zerubbabel:

I am the LORD All-Powerful. So don't depend on your own power or strength, but on my Spirit. ⁷Zerubbabel, that mountain in front of you will be leveled to the ground. Then you will bring out the temple's most important stone and shout, "God has been very kind."

⁸The LORD spoke to me again and said:

⁹Zerubbabel laid the foundation for the temple, and he will complete it. Then everyone will know that you were sent by me, the LORD All-Powerful. ¹⁰Those who have made fun of this day of small beginnings will celebrate when they see Zerubbabel holding this important stone.

Those seven lamps represent my eyes--the eyes of the LORD--and they see everything on this earth.

¹¹Then I asked the angel, "What about the olive trees on each side of the lampstand? What do they represent? ¹²And what is the meaning of the two branches from which golden olive oil flows through the two gold pipes?"
¹³"Don't you know?" he asked.
"No sir, I don't," was my answer.
¹⁴Then he told me, "These branches are the two chosen leaders who stand beside the Lord of all the earth."